I went out to my garden this morning and was stricken with horror! My tomato plants have what looks like, maybe, early blight and it also looks like something might be munching on them. The leaves have round brown/tan spots, with yellow discoloration spreading from there. The main leaves affected, for the moment, are the lower leaves. The holes are round and near the edges of the leaves--with a distinct edge. These are mainly the upper and possibly younger leaves. I did a check for aphids, but didn't find anything, except some spider webs near the stem of the plant.

My yellow squash look like they've been squashed, literally. Some of the leaves and stems are starting to wilt and fall outward.

And, finally, my pumpkins are in trouble. One plant was doing wonderful. It was huge and even had a good sized pumpkin. For 3 days last week, we had horrid winds--I'd guess upper 20 mile per hour winds and my pumpkins were unprotected. It was very wilted every evening, so I'd give it some extra water to help reinvigorate them. It now has a perpetual wilt and are on the brink of death. I'm almost sure that it's a goner. Is this possibly bacterial wilt?? I haven't seen any of those cucumber beetles around.

I have pictures of all my problems loaded into photobucket--but I don't know how to post the album for everyone too see!

Thanks,
Sarah

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Sarah - Zone 5b/6

20 miles and hour!!! Thats normal for where I live. As for you plants I don't know but the tomato plant problem sounds the same as mine.

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people tell me I have the body of a god... too bad its buddah.

The link works fine for me Sarah

Sarah, first off, I wouldn't worry too much about your tomatoes just yet. A few holes in a few leaves is not something that will affect the plant. Just keep an eye out for the possible cause, maybe tomato hornworms, etc., and kill anything you find on the plants. Second, it's a little early for blight in you zone. That doesn't look like blight to me. Early blight does not come early as it's name suggests. Blight most often occurs in prolonged periods of wet, humid weather. Just keep an eye on it and maybe remove and throw away affected leaves for now.

The pumpkin plant problem may be squash vine borer. Maybe take a close up of the stem where it enters the ground where the SVB may have entered the vine. It's possible for vining curcurbits like pumpkins to recover from SVB damage because they have the ability to root along the vine and be able to sustain the plant because of the new roots. The winds you speak of are probably not a problem. Unfortunately there's not much you can do but wait and observe.

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John - Zone 6

They are very difficult to control. The enter the stem and tunnel through the vine eating the soft tissue inside it. Before you realize it the damage is done.

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John - Zone 6

That's a good way to ensure the survival of your plants. Just be sure to cover the vines at nodes where the leaves grow from as they will root easily there. Slicing the vine to find the borers to remove or kill them is recommended also.

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Terry

May the force be with you

I lost my tomatoes to 'blight' last year and got a tip from an old time gardener . He recomended copper spray or dust. I am using it this year and so for so good. It is a 'natural' remedy and controls many insects and desease. That being said, it is toxic, when first applied so you must be careful about children and pets. I have cats who love to prowl in my garden. I spray and don't let them out until I am certain that all the plants are dry. I would love to hear what the more experienced gardeners here have to say about this remedy.

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Daconil is safe to use up until the day of harvest and also provides control of late blight which copper based sprays do not. Late blight is a far more devastating disease and was actually the cause of Ireland's potato famine in the 1800's that ended up in over a million people dying.

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John - Zone 6

LakeGran

I too have cats and they do LOVE to prowl in the garden. They think it`s there own personal jungle. The bad thing is they also think it`s a giant litter box as well.