This year has been a good year so far as far as things growing huge goes... everything has taken off well and grown gigantic etc and filled with fruits. YES! however, I feel like this is the year of disease. I don't know what is going on, I've posted on it before but now it seems like more stuff is having issues.
Tomatoes- early blight. and a few plants have something else going on which I haven't figured out yet. (they're covered in tomatoes though!)
yellow squash- scab. and I think something else but I can't identify the leaves exactly on what is going on but at this point its fine cuz its giving me lots of squash and I'm getting the scab under control I think.
cucumbers- still not sure what is going on with them. the leaves are like 3 different colors and it is whacky. I don't know if it is mosaic or what!? (don't get many cucumbers and I have 20 plants!!)
pumpkins- well? they're starting to die off on me. the leaves wilt in the afternoons which is normal apparently, but now a bunch of them are going yellowy and dying off and one of my pumpkin plants has done that completely. great. (still no pumpkins)
pole beans- the bottom leaves are starting to do something weird. there is some funky discoloration going on. and after the funky discoloration they're yellowing and dying. not sure what is up with that. I've never had this problem with pole beans before. (they are flowering now but I haven't had any beans yet).
the corn so far I've had no issues with (with the exception of a couple falling over, but thats nothing).
I don't know if it is because my garden has never grown this huge before and um, I kind of planted things closer than I should have? or what? I'm excited that it is growing like a weed, but at the same time I'm bummed about all the weirdness because I've worked hard and I don't want to lose my crops ya know? my neighbors don't seem to be having any problems so I don't know whats up with mine. I started my stuff from seeds. they didn't.
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FieldofFlowers
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I'm interested to hear more about this as well. It seems like diseases bother our garden every year... Our squash plants are turning yellow too. They seem to be bothered by fungal infections and the SVB. I had to pull up a few of our squash by the roots to kill the pesky SVB larvae. I can only hope that the cuttings I took and replanted grow roots.
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rainbowgardener
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I don't really know what summers are like in Maine, though I have a mental image of winter there! If it is like summer here (VERY humid) then yes over crowding very definitely contributes to diseases. The humidity makes things disease prone anyway and then the over-crowding cuts down air circulation and voila...
What I would suggest now is cut out every leaf that looks the slightest diseased and then if things are still not spaced to the recommendations do some thinning, cut some plants off at the roots. Once you have everything spaced appropriately and air circulating, read the ACT thread in the compost forum (or at least enough of it to find some good recipes/instructions ... it's like 30 pages, you don't have to read all of it!
). Make up a bunch of good compost tea. Drench your soil AND spray all the leaves of everything in your garden.
Healthy plants fight off diseases a lot better and this will help your plants be healthier. Let us know how it works out for you.
This will help with all the diseases -- won't help FoF with the SVB's though, they are just a plain nuisance! I'm eating zucchini from my garden from the first time ever, my zukes have always been killed by the SVB's in the past. This year I did two things.... when I planted them I wrapped the first few inches of the stem (above and below ground) in tinfoil AND then I grew them under row cover until early July.
What I would suggest now is cut out every leaf that looks the slightest diseased and then if things are still not spaced to the recommendations do some thinning, cut some plants off at the roots. Once you have everything spaced appropriately and air circulating, read the ACT thread in the compost forum (or at least enough of it to find some good recipes/instructions ... it's like 30 pages, you don't have to read all of it!
). Make up a bunch of good compost tea. Drench your soil AND spray all the leaves of everything in your garden. Healthy plants fight off diseases a lot better and this will help your plants be healthier. Let us know how it works out for you.
This will help with all the diseases -- won't help FoF with the SVB's though, they are just a plain nuisance! I'm eating zucchini from my garden from the first time ever, my zukes have always been killed by the SVB's in the past. This year I did two things.... when I planted them I wrapped the first few inches of the stem (above and below ground) in tinfoil AND then I grew them under row cover until early July.
I don't "think" I have SVB... or do you think that is what is killing my pumpkins?
Yes, we have very humid days. today wasn't bad, but mostly the air is just so thick you can't barely breathe. apparently I need a bigger garden. don't we all? LOL!
I have some compost tea from my worm bin that got rained on last week from the tornado and I was saving it for "something", so perhaps this is the something! I have probably a gallon. well, it is what I think compost tea is anyways! off to read the thread.
Yes, we have very humid days. today wasn't bad, but mostly the air is just so thick you can't barely breathe. apparently I need a bigger garden. don't we all? LOL!
I have some compost tea from my worm bin that got rained on last week from the tornado and I was saving it for "something", so perhaps this is the something! I have probably a gallon. well, it is what I think compost tea is anyways! off to read the thread.
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rainbowgardener
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well the SVB comment was for FoF (FieldofFlowers), but it could possibly be what is killing your pumpkins. Take a look at the base of the stem, see if you see any lesions where they burrowed in or any frass (sawdust like droppings) around it.
What drains from your worm bin is leachate, good stuff but not ACT. Read in the thread some first.
We would all LIKE bigger gardens (there's a thread going about that), but what you NEED right now, is more air circulation in the garden you have. Yes, indeedy, I know that thick air! So get brutal with getting rid of everything diseased and thinning, if you want to save some of your garden.
What drains from your worm bin is leachate, good stuff but not ACT. Read in the thread some first.
We would all LIKE bigger gardens (there's a thread going about that), but what you NEED right now, is more air circulation in the garden you have. Yes, indeedy, I know that thick air! So get brutal with getting rid of everything diseased and thinning, if you want to save some of your garden.
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FieldofFlowers
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I tried to wrap the stems with coconut fiber (left over from those "peat alternative" starter pots.) But they still got around by boring into the leaves, then working their way down into the stem from inside the petioles.
I don't know how I can apply a row cover over our garden without costing any $ and also without blocking the lawn around the garden making mowing difficult.
I don't know how I can apply a row cover over our garden without costing any $ and also without blocking the lawn around the garden making mowing difficult.
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rainbowgardener
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The row cover costs a little bit of money, but once you have it you can use it season after season. It doesn't go over the garden just the plants you are concerned about. It does need to go over some kind of frame so it isn't touching the plants... I use the wire frames that political yard signs come on, never throw them away! You can walk around after an election and probably collect some for free...
But once you have the bugs on your plants, it's too late for row cover. The row cover is a prevention thing, only.
But once you have the bugs on your plants, it's too late for row cover. The row cover is a prevention thing, only.
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FieldofFlowers
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Just our luck, we do have an election coming, so yes there are signs up in the neighborhood. I'll have to keep an eye out and pinch some when that election is over, lol.
In the mean time, I need a plan of action. I guess, cut out the dying plants, try to root and salvage the good parts. We also have a severely over-crowded garden (narrow 2 or 3' strip that is perhaps about 10 or 15' long). That is probably a problem in other areas. I'm running out of space.
In the mean time, I need a plan of action. I guess, cut out the dying plants, try to root and salvage the good parts. We also have a severely over-crowded garden (narrow 2 or 3' strip that is perhaps about 10 or 15' long). That is probably a problem in other areas. I'm running out of space.
As far as the beans go, I don't think you will have to worry too much. The lower leaves on my pole beans all got reddish spots and fell off, but the higher-up ones were fine and the plants are producing beans.
I, too, crowded my tomatoes this year and, as the result, am getting some septoria. However, I thing the main cause of this is that I planted them too close to the area where I has infected plants last year.
Definitely rotate your crops
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I, too, crowded my tomatoes this year and, as the result, am getting some septoria. However, I thing the main cause of this is that I planted them too close to the area where I has infected plants last year.
Definitely rotate your crops
.I believe part of the fun of gardening is the challenge. How to beat or outwit the natural forces that don't want me to grow a garden is my goal. It seems if you garden in Texas, Maine, Hawaii, or Ecuador; some natural force of nature is usually working against you. I learned years ago that the first rule is to select plants or plant varieties which are acclimated to your growing climate or conditions. Then select varieties of those which have resistance to locally prevalent conditions like blight, insects, extreme heat, or short growing seasons. I lose as many battles with nature as I win, but I still get a lot of good fresh vegetables to enjoy.
Ted
Ted