Downy Mildew and Striped Cucumber Beetles

We have had rain for the past 2 weeks and cooler weather and it has felt like spring outside.   Earlier this week it warmed up again to very humid and hot air and was very uncomfortable.  Then the past 2 days it has cooled down again.  I started noticing some yellow and white spots with some brown on the leaves of the cucumbers last week.  I should have researched it right away but have finally gotten around to it.  I have discovered that the cucumbers have Downy Mildew.  

Downy Mildew patches on our Cucumber leaves

From my research this disease occurs mostly in moist cool weather (normally occurring in spring and fall).  You discover it most of the time after rain or lots of dew.  Sometimes it goes away after the weather becomes warmer and the sun is out more often.

BED #4 with Cucumber vines in back (July 9th)

I have removed most of the diseased leaves in hopes of stopping the spread of the infection.   I could choose to use a copper fungicide, which is an organic fungicide but I have decided against that.  I have read that the copper can be toxic to worms and microbes if it builds up in your soil.  If I have enough time I may try aerated compost tea which can prevent the spread of the disease.  I did save some compost just to do this!

Striped Cucumber Beetle

I have also spotted another type of beetle in the garden!  The Striped Cucumber Beetle is on our Cucumbers and Winter Squash!  I went out tonight and using my glass jar filled with water and soap I knocked them into the jar with a Q-tip.  They fly away if you try to use your fingers so I found that this method worked well.  I found many of them in the yellow flowers on the Cucumbers and the orange flowers on the Winter Squash.  I am going to be on the lookout for them each day!  The best thing you can do is to keep preventative measures in place and continue to trap them before they do harm!

June 15th Row Covers still on

June 20th Row Covers removed on Beds #3 & #4

The good news is that we did keep our row covers on the Cucumbers long enough so that the plants had time to mature.

Cucumber seeds started indoors: May 1st
Cucumber seedlings planted outdoors: May 18th
Row Covers removed: June 20th  (plants 7 weeks old)

Hopefully this extra time the plants had to grow and develop will allow them to withstand some beetles.  I am going to be on the lookout because I read that the Striped Cucumber Beetle can transmit Bacterial Wilt, Squash Mosaic Virus and increase Powdery Mildew (which we already have on the Zucchini) and Black Rot.  Yikes!!

Yellow Zinnia

On a more helpful note I am going to start to read up on the different harmful insects so that I have a more educated understanding and a visual picture for the future.  I think I saw this Cucumber Beetle a couple of weeks ago, but I was too busy to look it up!  Here is a helpful link to Identifying Harmful Insects

June 20th Update

I have been checking on the garden in the morning and again in the evening.  This is the time of year that the Squash Vine Borer attack so I am watching closely.  We had to remove our row covers because the plants were outgrowing them (and some plants need to be pollinated by bees).  We had no idea that everything would get so big so fast.  We did make a taller row cover for BED #2 (which you can see below in the picture).  This is an experiment so we will see if it works.   

For reference BED #1 (Asparagus) starts on the left.

Evidence that my little helper has been digging in the dirt!

Zinnias are just starting to bloom!

Tomato plants on deck.

BED# 1- (pictured below) Asparagus, Parsley, Tomatoes (just planted) & Basil (just planted).

Baby Tomato plants & Basil plants (just planted after removing Peas)

Asparagus are very happy.  Next year we can start harvesting them.  
For the first year we just let them fern out.

My amazing Asparagus Beetle catcher!

Each day I check for Asparagus Beetles and I find them on the plants!  I use the glass jar pictured above and I have it filled with water and some liquid dish soap.  I find the beetle put the jar under it and knock it in.  This is much easier than trying to get them with your fingers. 

BED# 2- (pictured below) Cauliflower, Broccoli, Corn, Pole Beans & Winter Squash.

Help the Cauliflower & Broccoli are falling out of the beds!

 

Our first sign of Broccoli!

I made a mistake by planting the Winter Squash plants that I had already started indoors with the corn and beans.  We were trying to do the 3 Sisters Iroquois tradition but I wasn't patient and planted the Squash before the corn and beans.  I had to add cages to the Squash so it wouldn't take over.  This will be interesting!

More detail of Squash, Corn & Beans

 CENTER OF GARDEN- (pictured below) Two Watermelon plants.  This is our first year to try them.

Growing in ground between BED #2 & #3

BED# 3- (pictured below) Onions, Carrots, Bush Beans & Summer Squash.

This bed is out of control!
(Next year we need to pick some of the Onions earlier so they don't overtake the Carrots)

Onion blooming??

(3) Summer Squash in back of BED #3

 BED# 4- (pictured below) Bush Zucchini, Peppers, Eggplant & Cucumbers.

 

Female bloom on Zucchini

The Zucchini are happy!

Garden Update- June 8th

Everything is continuing to grow in the garden.  It is amazing how quickly the plants mature at this point.   We were able to harvest our first peas today and one Zucchini has a flower! 

Front Beneficial Flower Bed

BED# 1- (pictured below) Peas, Asparagus & Parsley

Peas ready to pick!  They should be harvested every 1 to 3 days to get peak quality.  Today we picked about 1 cup of peas and then put them in the freezer.  You can also eat them right away or store them in the refrigerator.

Caterpillar of Monarch Butterfly (munching on our Parsley)

BED# 2- (pictured below) 
Broccoli, Cauliflower, (3 Sisters: Corn, Winter Squash & Pole Beans) Peas.

Plants have almost outgrown the Row Cover

BED# 3- (pictured below) 
Onions, Carrots, Bush Beans and Summer Squash

BED# 4- (pictured below) 
Zucchini, Peppers, Eggplant and Cucumbers.

Front left Zucchini is starting to flower!

Garden Update-May 25th

A quick picture update of the gardening growing!

BED #1- (pictured above) Peas starting to produce pods! 

BED #2- (pictured above) Broccoli & Cauliflower getting taller.  Winter Squash and Corn growing behind them.  Peas continuing to grow!

 BED #3- (pictured above) Onions, Bush Beans & Summer Squash.

BED #4- (pictured above) Zucchini, Peppers, Eggplant & Cucumbers.

Flower beds- (pictured above) Seeds starting to grow. 

Planting Zuchinni, Peppers, Eggplant, & Cucumber

We planted the Zucchini, Peppers, Eggplant and Cucumber plants in the garden a week earlier than planned on May 19th.  Because we have row covers with Garden Quilt Cover Fabric we felt confident that these heat loving plants could be transplanted with confidence. 
Normally you would wait to transplant eggplants into the garden until soil & air temperatures are consistently in the 70’s. For peppers you hold off until the soil is 65 degrees F.

Wheelbarrow with all supplies for planting

Laying out plants with Square Foot Gardening Method (SFGM) for spacing

This year we decided to start all the squash seeds indoors (our first time trying this) to give the plants a head start.  I planted them all in pots that decompose when planted because its best if you don't disturb their roots. All the seedlings were successful and we actually gave many away to friends because we didn't have space for all of them in the garden. 

Cucumbers (to grow up trellis) with Eggplants in front

This is our first year growing cucumbers so it will be a learning experience.  We are going to grow them vertically which is recommended in SFGM so we can conserve space in the garden for other plants.  

Below is a picture of the actual layout of Bed #4 and then beside it is the plan we drew up this winter using the SFGM spacing.

Plan for BED #4 using SFGM

Bed #4  ready to plant

Plants in BED #4 (starting from the top or back of the bed) : 
(16) Peas (after peas replant spaces)* with (8) Cucumbers
(12) Black Beauty Eggplant
(4) Red Bell Pepper
(4) Sweet Pepper
(2) Dark Star Zucchini

*This is the first year we have attempted to use succession planting (using efficient use of timing by planting a cool season spring crop followed by a heat-loving summer crop).  Unfortunately the timing didn't work out completely.  The peas were planted on March 17th but we had snow and because of that the peas took longer than expected to start growing. 
Next year we are going to have to start the peas earlier so that they have produced before we need to do the next planting.  I ended up just pulling out the peas in this bed (this bed only had 4 plants) so I could plant the cucumbers in their place. 

Pepper plant

All of these plants were grown in pots that I could plant in the garden.  All of these heat loving plants have a delicate root system so this way I didn't have to worry about them going into shock when they were planted in the garden.  You simply cut 1/2" off the top of the pot and then place the pot in the hole you have ready.  Cover up with soil, water and you are done!

Transplanted seedlings

We are excited to see the transplanted seedlings growing and are wondering how they will compare to those we bought last year.  At first we were a little concerned because our seedlings are much smaller in size than those we purchase.   However, I have read that smaller stockier transplants generally outperform those purchased because they experience far fewer problems with transplant shock than large plants.  Only time will tell!

Row Cover with Garden Quilt Fabric

Last Step: always finish by watering your newly transplanted plants.  One important tip: water around your plants not wetting the leaves.  Plants can develop fungal diseases if the leaves are wet going into the night.