Yeti Knits: Veggie Garden

I have been working on a vegetable garden in the backyard. So far everything is still alive lol, but I have run into some problems with certain veggies. The first being green beans... DO NOT EVER get the leaves wet! It can cause a bunch of problems, one being powdery mildew. I am unsure if they are going to make it, even after buying some organic fungus spray. Plan B is to plant the nice new green ones I bought and keep the others in quarantine until they either have recouped or I have to toss them. Since using the spray the new leaves seem to be staying green, so I am taking it as a good sign.

These are the before pics

The next veggie is the squash/zucchini I started from seeds, besides mixing them up lol, they weren't doing well in the temporary containers. I have been waiting for the fence to be completed before planting in the ground and the black containers were baking my poor squash. So I have moved them out of the full sun into part shade and they seem to be recouping a bit with some new green leaves and flowers. They will be planted as soon as the gate is completed, hopefully tomorrow. Plan B is to buy a couple replacements in case they aren't going to recover, they are pretty sad looking.

On one of my planted squash, I believe I have silver-leaf. I did spray in case the powdery mildew was spreading but on further inspection the white/silver does not rub off like with powdery mildew. I sprayed again today with insecticide soap and in doing so found some white flies, which cause the silver-leaf. I sprayed all the squash and zucchini thoroughly since they like to hide on the underside of the leaves.

This is the before pic.

The bane of my existence, besides the aphid attack and powdery mildew, is caterpillars. They have tried to attack almost everything and it started in the front garden with my petunias. There were literally no flowers left, the budworms ate every single one. Until I bought Safer brand caterpillar killer, the stuff works like a charm. My petunias are back to full bloom after only a couple weeks after being demolished. Besides petunias different kinds of caterpillars (mostly green) have attacked my: strawberry, lettuce, basil, eggplant, squash, green beans, corn, morning glories and a few other flowers as well as leaves. I keep a close eye and reapply if any munching is noticed.

The other pest getting to my plants has been mice. They apparently love bell peppers, banana peppers, parsley, and strawberries. I have to set traps to keep them at bay, but the stray cat in the neighborhood has been helping out as well.

These pics are from 5-27-14