Our garden is doing fairly well, but I am still puzzled by the demise of our squash and zucchini plants. What makes this:
...turn to this?
I thought perhaps it's squash bores, but I don't know what signs to look for. The soil around the plants are rather dry, and the healthy ones are covered with aphids.Today I donned my gardening gloves and squashed aphids until my fingertips were soaked with their gooey insides. I hate that part of gardening. Ugh.
But at least the plants are safe from aphids for a short while. I don't think the bugs are causing the death of the plants, though, because the leaves aren't really eaten - you can see for yourself that they're yellow and wilted, but whole.
Can any of you help us figure this out?
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2 comments:
Hmm . . . While I am certainly no gardening expert, three different things come to mind:
1) Lack of water
2) Bacterial wilt (which is transmitted by cucumber beetles).
3) Squash vine borers. If this is the case, when looking at the base of the plant you can usually see the hole where they bored in. One of the best indicators of the borers is sawdust like residue near the base of the plant.
Those are just some ideas! I hope that you are able to figure out what is causing your squash to wilt. If it is the borers, you can do a search on the internet to find out how to (hopefully!) rid your plants of them.
I, too, went on a bug killing excursion this morning (and the past few mornings also). The target species: newly hatched squash bugs . . . only I did not use gloves. Smart, wasn't it?! :) Sometimes one must do what one must do. The bugs were there, no gloves in sight, so . . . end of story. I actually do not mind it as long as they are little ones. The adults, however, get stepped on. :) And so far by handpicking them, the squash bugs are being kept under control!
Thanks so much, Sarah! I can't find any holes, but the sawdust-like residue is certainly there. Dad's suspicion has proven true. He's so smart! Thanks for the help.
By the way, I don't think I could pick bugs bare-handed. Ugh!
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