Hello from Palm Bay FL.

dolphingirl1224

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Hello everyone, I am new here and I have a question for anyone that may have an answer. I am having issues with little white spots growing on most of my plants. Squash, tomatoes , beans, peas, and tomatoes. It looks like a fungus to me but I am not sure. Also, the fruit on my spaghetti squash seems to be going bad before it even grows past about 2 in. Any ideas as to what may be wrong and what I can do about it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
 

digitS'

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:frow Welcome, dolphingirl1224!

There are insects that look like white specks (link). Some TEG gardeners who have to deal with these pests can share their experiences.

If you mean that the spots themselves are growing, you may be quite right that it is a fungus. A picture would help.

Most squash requires pollination for development. If there are no seeds developing inside the fruit, the plant stops supplying it and it drops off. If you don't have pollinating insects in good numbers, you can be out there with a small paint brush moving the pollen around, yourself.

There are also self-pollinating (parthenocarpic) varieties of many garden vegetables that you can choose from the seed catalogs.

Steve
 

dolphingirl1224

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dolphingirl1224

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Thank you for the information. I looked at the link that you provided; unfortunately, I do not think that my issue is insects. I uploaded some pictures of the tomato, cantaloupe, and spaghetti squash as requested.
 

digitS'

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Powdery mildew is my guess.

It may be sufficient to remove the infected tomato leaves to discourage its spread on those plants. My cucumbers and such, may look like that late in the season. If they are so bad as to stop production, I just pull the plants.

There are synthetic fungicides that are approved for use in vegetables but I only use them in ornamentals. I'm reluctant to suggest them.

Some organic gardeners have used organic alternatives for powdery mildew. Here is some information about that and this fungus from Colorado State University (link).

Steve
 

897tgigvib

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It sure looks like POWDERY MILDEW to me. It's related to fungus. At least on the Cucurbits it looks exactly like powdery mildew.

The white spot on the tomato leaves i'm not so certain of, but looks to be powdery mildew also.

Conditions that are good for powdery mildew is what lets it get out of hand. Semi tropical florida has probably good conditions for it, plus lots of the spores around.

I'd consider it to be a main problem to be consistently working on getting rid of if I lived down there.

Your spaghetti squash dropping fruit should be fixable by HAND POLLINATING if they are not pollinating on their own from lack of pollinating bees. Take a male flower and lightly rub its middle part on an open female flower.
 

so lucky

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In your last pic, I saw white stuff on top of the soil, too. Is that the same stuff that is on the cukes/melons? On the ground, it looks almost like a powder that was applied. Just my curiosity attacking......

I had something similar to that last year, but the spots were a little more beige looking, and they grew to cover the whole leaf, practically. I found out later that it was herbicide drift, from my neighbor's field.

You might want to check out the "organic" fungicides.
 

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