brown, wilting leaves - updated

[SuperChemicalGirl]

(Another transplanted lurking BYCer... finally needed to register... HI!!!)

I had a rotten time with my garden last year (tons of rain, tomato blight, groundhog and slugs) and didn't get anything out of the garden (with the exception of frustration). This year I decided to do something different and just planted leftover seeds that my sister sent me and that I had left from last year. Consequently I was a bit lax and have no idea what I planted where. I know the plants in question are squash, zucchini, pumpkins, cukes or gourds.

I'm still having problems with some cool/cloudy weather this year, the groundhog continues to be a huge issue and the slugs are back for the feast as well. On top of all that now I'm having leaves turn brown and wilt. This happened VERY QUICKLY, within 24 hours, and it's affecting all of the above types of plants except maybe one or two at the present. Any ideas of what it might be and if it can be treated/fixed? Thanks in advance.

 

[dragonlaurel]

I have a tip about the slugs at least. Try sprinkling some diatomaceous earth around the plants. Slugs and many other bugs can't handle it.

 

[Hattie the Hen]

Hi SuperChemicalGirl,

First of all>>>>>>>>>>>

I hate to tell you but I suspect you have blight on your squash, cucumbers etc. I had it on all my tomatoes & squash family last year & lost the whole harvest. Did you plant in the same areas as last year because the virus stays in the soil but is also very easily spread from neighboring gardens or on plants you buy in. Here in the UK so many people had it so it was nearly impossible to avoid. It is always worse in wet & dull years.

You need to sterilise all tools, pots, supports etc (I use bleach water to clean everything, including the gloves I use). I use newly bought sacks of soil which is also pre-sterilised. All plants that get this virus I make sure are discarded into the trash bin (they must NOT go into your compost pile or any community one -- ie. composting collection -- as this is one of the ways it is spread. You need to mulch thickly on top of your soil under any plants you put in to stop any splash back onto the leaves & stem of your vunerable plants. There are many posts on this blight if you take a look by pressing the SEARCH button at the top of the page.

I feel for you as I was so upset last year when it happened to me -- it broke my heart. This year I am growing ALL my tomatoes in pots & I have even moved these to my front garden (the blight was in the raised beds in the back garden last year). I have planted two squash in a raised bed in the back but that grew peas last year but I am prepared to pull them out if I see a sign of the disease.

As to the slugs I have been saving all my egg shells all winter & which I have now strewn around the ground near the stems of all plants that slugs adore. It really works but I can't eat enough eggs to keep up with my planting......!! I also catch my chickens peering longingly through the protective netting of the beds looking at both the shells & the crops........

I wish you good luck as I didn't have any luck with any of the cures people recommended & I reckon I tried the lot that didn't involve chemicals (my garden is organic).


Hattie

 

[SuperChemicalGirl]

Thank you for pointing me in the right direction. Now that I know what I'm looking for I'll use the search at the top. I do know there's pretty much nothing I can do at this point though and I'm very disappointed.

The worst part of it is that blight wasn't even in my thoughts. The paper last year had an article saying that blight probably won't survive the winter in our frozen soil, but just to be safe plant your tomatoes in a different spot. So, like you, I planted them in buckets in the front yard (out of and away from the regular raised bed garden in the back) and haven't thought about blight since. I had no idea it affected plants other than tomatoes.

Well it's not a good day until ya learn something new.

Thanks for the help.

 

[vfem]

I am sorry to hear about the blight. Like so many we had issues too... and most people caught the blight because of infected plants purchased through local retailers and nurseries from big name companies!

With that said a lot of us got it. I got lucky and got it under control and rescued several plants, but lost a few as well... my survivors didn't produce well.

My suggestion is if you want to try, put the bad leaves and throw them out, like Hattie said (no composted ect). Treat with a fungicide of your choice and randomly treat when its not wet out all season. It will hold it back enough to allow the plant to produce if its strong enough. Those look like pretty well established plants, couldn't hurt to try rather then lose everything with such a short season in Maine!

Good luck!

 

[wifezilla]

On slugs...
I have had better luck with crushed oyster shell than DE. It doesn't sink in the soil as fast and you don't have to reapply as often.

 

[Dave2000]

Have you tried putting some phosphorus rich fertilizer down?

Slugs like beer, bury a lid at ground level and they'll crawl in and drown.

 

[SuperChemicalGirl]

I have eggshells down. However, thanks to the blight my garden is dying quickly.

I hate using chemicals but I'm desperate to have some type of food out of my garden this year. I saw Daconil (chlorothalonil) at Lowes today. It promises to kill blight. Even after reading through the warning packet on the back twice (warning: toxic to everything, you will grow a second head, get cancer, etc) I'm still tempted to try it.

Has anyone tried this? Did it work?

I just got back from planting Lowes plants (the selection this time of year stunk!) at my boyfriends house in the hopes that he will have better luck than I growing things.

Now if only the poison ivy I've got would catch the blight!

 

[boggybranch]

Wooooweee....I anxious to read the feedback, as blight has devastated my garden, as well. But........I don't need another head.

 

[SuperChemicalGirl]

And yes, I watered with epsom salts, high phosphorous. Once this blight started again I also tried an aspirin in the water too. At least they won't die in pain

I tried the beer trick with my slugs last year - turned out the little jerks didn't like cheap beer. They really liked Shipyard. And I don't like sharing!