Great garden, but is it unraveling?

Up until this point I've had an awesome garden as a first year gardener. Now my potatoes are dying, my cucumbers are dying and my squash are taken over with bugs. Please help.


The potatoes went first, then the cucumbers and now the squash.

I will post several pictures. You can see in this picture there are larva on the backs of the squash leaves. There are also white and similiar looking green bugs with black extremeties. EDITED TO NOTE: THESE ARE SQUASH BIG LARVA



This message was edited Jun 21, 2011 8:31 AM

Here is a picture of the potatoe leaves.

And the cucumber leaves.

This is the last post and picture.. This is of the squash leaves. The squash really don't look that bad yet, but are covered in bugs. I forgot to mention that I haven't found any bugs or larva on the potatoes or cucumbers. They were all doing pretty well until this weekend. Cucumber have been putting off fruit for 2 weeks and the squash for a week.

Madison

Your garden isn't going to pieces.

#1 make sure you pick your cucumbers as soon as they reach eating size. If you miss one and it gets big pick it and throw it on your compost pile and keep on picking. If you let one go the whole plant will shut down and die.

#2 check your potatoes and see if you have any tubers. If you planted early ones they may be ready to go. Mine look like they've been hit by the blight, I went rooting around and I have some really nice potatoes. We're having some tonight. You might be in the early stages of the blight. Pick off the affected leaves and on a nice windy, sunny, dry day douse the plants with baking soda dissolved in water or if you have a duster, dust them with it early in the morning while they're still damp with dew. That should atleast slow it up. If it goes rampant and your leaves and stalks are dying wholesale cut it all off, bag it and put it in the garbage unless you're allowed to burn in your area. This will save your tubers. Burn any tubers that get infected and don't use the soil again until it has had a good freeze. Make sure you get out all the tubers.

#3 Organic gardening is all about prevention. Hit it with a spray of liquid kelp every two weeks or so to help keep it healthy. A heathy plant makes its own bug repellent. Put in some bird feeders and bird baths. Birds are our #1 allies in the fight against 6 legged leaf munchers. Spray every couple weeks with baking soda and Bt they'll help hold down the fungus and catapillers that the birds don't get. Make sure you get the undersides of your leaves you'd be surprised at what hangs out there. Make use of companion and trap plantings to control pests and remember, a chewed hole or brown leaf is no big deal. If it really bothers you pick it off. Keep all dropped leaves cleaned up as well as dead ones to avoid nesting places for diseases and bugs.

For now I'd give them all a good dose, leaf, root and branch of either a good compost tea or kelp tea. Both should help. Also, mix up a solution of molassas and water and soak the root area. That will get your microorganisms going and will help your plants alot.

Good luck
Yehudith

This message was edited Jun 21, 2011 4:06 PM

I'm not as "organic" as some, but I consider insecticides that have pyrethrin as the only active ingredient to be organic - and that's what I spray on any visible bugs.

Pyrethrin comes from chrysanthemum roots - it's the plant's natural defense against insects. If it touches a bug while it's wet, the bug dies. Once pyrethrin dries it's harmless and same-day harvesting is even OK. There's no residual poison left on plants or to go into the environment - it's a "liquid flyswatter".

That's organic enough for me - and far preferable to watching bugs eat my garden.

Thanks so much for the advice. I will try to post pictures of the whole areas of the garden tomorrow to give you an idea of how much of the squash and cucumbers are dying back. ALSO NEW INFO- The bugs on the squash are young squash bugs (go figure)

This message was edited Jun 21, 2011 8:30 AM

I smash the squash bugs with my fingers that gets rid of them and I feel a whole lot better.

The little eggs in the second picture sure look like "Squash Beetle eggs"... they will ruin the plant and fruit,...
the cuke leaf looks like my Cucumber Beetle affected plans,.. and the potato leaves look like flea beetles?

I'd use some spinosad or other bug killer..?

When I looked on the back of my plant leaves, I discovered aphids. I'm in the process of trying to get rid of them--they proliferate like crazy. Have you fertilized regularly? Not sure about your soil or area. My garden is beautiful (without the aphids) but I've fertilized according to instructions with an organic fertilizer and some Jobes spikes.

Also, my dad always told me to check for cutworms, which are frequent in eastern Washington (I'm in Seattle and haven't had any).

Just a few suggestions from a happy gardener.