Hey there folks,

I've discovered a fungus on one of my Squash plants and think it's Powdery Mildew on the leaves but not sure. The actual fungus is happening on my fruits and flowers. I've included a pic for review below. I've cut the leaves off that were infected (not all leaves had signs) but would love to know if the fungus is from the mildew AND if there's a way to combat this. We've had a really humid 3 weeks lately, par for the course on the Eastern Shore of MD. Any info would be greatly appreciated!!!

Thanx!!




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Enjoy life, play in the dirt.

Living with mold and mildew and some of the viruses that come with the package is one of the things that I have been adjusting to foggy Northern California gardening.

I am not exactly sure what you have, but it should like you are doing the right thing. Removing affected leaves.

Here are some more things that might help.

FIRST BE CAREFUL NOT TO OVER PRUNE, but that said, look at airflow through the plant. If you can improve that by removing a leaf here and there, it will help a bit.

Once fruit forms, look at getting rid of the soft part of the flower. Once you are sure the germination is complete and the flower isn't needed, try to remove what can easily be done without hurting the fruit itself.

There are go guarentees, but I hope you get a little help from mother nature. Last year I tried giant pumpkins and watched helplessly as the first two got to the size of volleyballs and then turned yellow and dies with leaves around them getting a bit moldy. A third started to develop and it was ugly and deformed and I just shook my head thinking things where getting worse and my wife was right. Luck changed and things got a little drier and sunnier. It only made it to 100lb, but was oddly misshaped to look a little like a skull and I was able to proudly display it in the front at halloween.

I am heading out to the east coast this week, so I don't want to hear anymore about hot and muggy. Think cool and pre-fall weather.

This looks to be Powdery Mildew.

Wash your gardening equipment to help get rid of Powdery Mildew.

Also,

Here's a recipe to make your own spray to try and keep it down:

1 teaspoon baking soda
1 quart water
A few drops of liquid soap

Before treating your plants, test the spray on a few leaves to make sure they are not too sensitive.