Can anybody tell me what the heck this is ??

[Clyounger6]

I feel like my garden went haywire in a week ;(. I’ve posted pictures below I found some kind of mold I’ve never seen on my zucchini this morning . Then weird yellow spots on the leaves of my pumpkin plant ! Then 5 million ants on my okra . And suggestions ?

 

[Ridgerunner]

My guess on the okra is that you have aphids on them. The aphids secrete a sweet substance the ants eat. The ants protect the aphids from some predators. A mutually beneficial relationship. Get rid of the aphids and the ants should go away. Knock then off with a powerful spray of water or maybe with an insecticidal soap.

 

[ducks4you]

Fungus on your squash, ants on your okra so your plants are sick IF your fruit is dying. Otherwise ants aren't much of an issue, alTHOUGH I don't remember seeing ants on my okra in the past. Again, you have a soil issue. MULCH, MULCH, MULCH! You stress your plants when the get too wet, dry out to bone dry, etc. Watering with a hose won't change that. ONLY mulching. I said in another post, you can ALWAYS use grass clippings, if you have nothing else.

 

[flowerbug]

agreed with @Ridgerunner on the ants/aphids. the only time i've grown okra here they had the same issue with aphids. none of my other garden plants had aphids but the okra was loaded. we have a healthy population of aphid eaters here so that was a surprise to me.

as for the fungi on the squash you may need to plant the squash in a different location which gets more air flow and sunshine. fungi don't usually attack squash plant fruits. it could be a soil issue or some other issue, but as of yet i've not seen a description of your location to be able to say anything else.

 

[Clyounger6]

I did mulch last week after you suggested it . I put mulch in the whole garden .

 

[Clyounger6]

agreed with @Ridgerunner on the ants/aphids. the only time i've grown okra here they had the same issue with aphids. none of my other garden plants had aphids but the okra was loaded. we have a healthy population of aphid eaters here so that was a surprise to me.

as for the fungi on the squash you may need to plant the squash in a different location which gets more air flow and sunshine. fungi don't usually attack squash plant fruits. it could be a soil issue or some other issue, but as of yet i've not seen a description of your location to be able to say anything else.

 

[Clyounger6]

We live in east Texas the Soil is sandy loamy I’m told but we mixed garden soil in with it when we tilled . The zucchini should have plenty of ventilation there’s nothing blocking the breeze or anything . They get direct sunlight about 7-8 hours a day but are partly shaded between 12-2 by a tree that’s near by . I did add mulch last week and the plants are looking a lot better new blooms and leaves . I just found 2 this morning that has that black mold on them . Let me know if there’s anything else I can add . Thanks

 

[flowerbug]

We live in east Texas the Soil is sandy loamy I’m told but we mixed garden soil in with it when we tilled . The zucchini should have plenty of ventilation there’s nothing blocking the breeze or anything . They get direct sunlight about 7-8 hours a day but are partly shaded between 12-2 by a tree that’s near by . I did add mulch last week and the plants are looking a lot better new blooms and leaves . I just found 2 this morning that has that black mold on them . Let me know if there’s anything else I can add . Thanks

we have mostly clay here and i try to add all my organic materials the previous fall and not the spring, but from what i can tell i've had squash grow ok in areas where there is a lot of organic matter and compost in the soil so it looks like perhaps the garden soil you used may have had a particularly bad case of some specific fungus which is giving you troubles. was this garden soil from another garden at your place or brought in via bags or ?

dispose of the black mold squash, don't let those spores spread around (by wind or water). i wrap things like that in newspaper and bury them deeply where they won't be disturbed again for several years (if at all), but if you can't bury things just wrap them in newspaper and put them in the trash. i hate disposing of any organic materials but in the case of mold laden things like that i will throw them out to be landfilled if i can't bury them.

 

[thistlebloom]

Squash blossom end rot can cause those symptoms. Could be a calcium imbalance that can be caused by a number of things. Look up squash blossom end rot and see if the symptoms match.

 

[baymule]

@Clyounger6 please put your location on your avatar. Often times climate conditions make a difference. Some parts of east Texas have had a lot of rain. The humidity is up, just walking outside is enough to be dripping with sweat.

cut the affected zucchini off and dispose of it. It sounds like you are trying to do everything right, sometimes The Garden Goddess conspires against us.