Veggies taking a turn for the worse...

[cdog222]

Hi all,

I've been a vegetable gardener off and on for about 10 years or so. In previous years, I've typically grown just a few things - a few tomatoes, peppers, beans, etc. This year, I expanded my selection and gardening space to include some pumpkins, watermelons, corn, and various greens. Up until a few weeks ago, the plants were all doing well, looking good, and producing nicely.

Sadly, things have taken a bad turn - my green bean vines are 1/3 wiped out, pumpkin vines are about shot, watermelon vines are struggling, and tomato plants are suffering as well. I've done lots of reading online, and I think I've come up with thrips as my main problem affecting everything but the tomato plants. Those are suffering from something else that I can't identify.

I've attached a few pictures (the bottom 2 show the little critter in question) - if you will excuse my newbness, and indulge me with your knowledge, I would be one appreciative gardener!!

Thanks in advance

[img]https://i886.photobucket.com/albums/ac70/cdog222/102_2005.jpg[/img]
[img]https://i886.photobucket.com/albums/ac70/cdog222/102_2007.jpg[/img]
[img]https://i886.photobucket.com/albums/ac70/cdog222/102_2009.jpg[/img]
[img]https://i886.photobucket.com/albums/ac70/cdog222/102_2011.jpg[/img]
[img]https://i886.photobucket.com/albums/ac70/cdog222/102_2018.jpg[/img]
[img]https://i886.photobucket.com/albums/ac70/cdog222/102_2019.jpg[/img]

[cynthia_h]

Glad you found us, but sorry your circumstances are so...distressing.

Take a look at some discussions here at THG re. "powdery mildew." Some of your photos look like very advanced powdery mildew. The stuff really likes to go after zucchini plants in my raised beds, that's for sure.

The Search function on the upper left-hand corner of each page will return hits of discussions on this forum.

I'm not sure, this time of night, about the black bugs, but both aphids & powdery mildew thrive in humid conditions, which have been abundant in the eastern half of the United States this season.

Best wishes, and good luck. so sorry...

Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9

[Neighborhood Gardening]

You definitely have powdery mildew in the first one and your pumpkins may not be the result of disease (directly that is). Pumpkins are very heavy nitrogen feeders and if you haven't supplemented your soil prior to planting with a good NPK organic mix you will see this kind of dying off later in the life cycle. Either double up on your N or try growing a cover crop in the off season prior to planting pumpkins.

Here's a simple solution that I picked up from Lee O'Hara's DVD (Organic Home Gardener. I think this came from a California institute. It's a 100% Organic pesticide.

1.5 tspn baking soda
1 tspn canola oil
1 tspn vindegar
1 tspn insecticidal soap
1 cup water

Mix this solution into a sprayer and mix in 1 gallon of water. Spray mid morning. Early morning will often be when beneficial insects are out and you don't want to kill them.

[GrandMomMom]

We had that Powdery Mildew hit our Zucchini / Butternut Squash patch last summer.

I was new at gardening in this region (or any other, really) and it was my adult daughter's first garden. She asked her mother-in-law who had grown zucchini in this area for years & she said that it was just part of their normal cycle & it was time to pull it up.

We had already had enough zucchini, but several butternut squash died on the vine.

So this solution, do you use it before the mildew starts? How often?