What IS the problem now with my squash AHGGGGG

[pebbles]

With everyones help here I finally determined that I had a really bad aphid problem on my squash. All my squash plants, that are usually my pride and joy when all else fails, wilted, dried up and never produced really great this year. I pulled them all and replanted with more squash two weeks ago. At four days the squash seeds sprouted and look good for a day and then wilted. Now every sprout is withered or completely gone My camera does not take close-up pics. The little two leaf sprouts seemed to have little tiny grayish dots on the top side of the leaves. Should I just clear everything and cover with black plastic through August to kill what ever it is and then replant something other than squash for my fall garden? What do you think? HELPPPPP!!!!!!

 

[momofdrew]

what ever it is it doesnt sound good maybe mildew??? I'd put plastic down to disinfect the area be sure it is well watered first so it can cook under the plastic...

someone else might have a better idea

 

[calypso985]

With everyones help here I finally determined that I had a really bad aphid problem on my squash. All my squash plants, that are usually my pride and joy when all else fails, wilted, dried up and never produced really great this year. I pulled them all and replanted with more squash two weeks ago. At four days the squash seeds sprouted and look good for a day and then wilted. Now every sprout is withered or completely gone My camera does not take close-up pics. The little two leaf sprouts seemed to have little tiny grayish dots on the top side of the leaves. Should I just clear everything and cover with black plastic through August to kill what ever it is and then replant something other than squash for my fall garden? What do you think? HELPPPPP!!!!!!

Congratulations. Sounds like you have Powdery Mildew in your squash beds. I wish I could give you a magic formula for curing it, but so far I haven't found ANYTHING that works. Once it infects an area, it remains in the soil, just waiting for the next crop of squash plants. It attacks mainly leaves and stems, and basically sucks them dry which weakens the plant and eventually kills it. In a large healthy plant, it takes longer for the damage to become noticeable, but it eventually stops fruit production altogether. In a young plant, if you plant it in infected soil, it's a goner.

One thing to keep in mind if you try cutting off the afflicted parts of the plants (or remove dead ones): DO NOT ADD THEM to your compost pile! Doing so will just contaminate your compost, making it unusable for curcurbids (summer squashes, cucumbers, melons).

My squashes and cucumbers are all but dead this year. The p.m. got them good during a period of relatively high humidity for this area. If anyone has any suggestions for how to effectively deal with this menace to all squash-dom, PLEASE share your secret!!

 

[digitS']

Here are some ideas from Colorado State University (click).

My gardens always have more or less powdery mildew every year. There is some in the squash this year just as always. I'm willing to pull the plants if they really start to go down hill.

In the ornamentals, I am willing to spray with fungicides - CSU gives you some ideas. I've kept mildew off the calendula this year and that's a very PM susceptible plant.

Regarding aphids & PM - and this may have nothing to do with your replanted squash, Pebbles - the trees most effected by aphids a few months ago, are the same trees really suffering from mildew now, I've noticed. You can see the sheen of aphid honeydew on maples and oaks especially. Now, many of those same trees show problems with mildew. The sheen has been replaced by grey. I guess this just shows that giving the plants relief from aphids should be important in helping them avoid disease problems later.

Steve