Pests overtaking raised garden

[Mike]

I don't know why I've had such bad luck with this raised garden. Everything that I grown in buckets or flower pots (the peppers, herbs, flowers) have all been doing fine, but the raised garden is plagued with issues again this year.

The tomato plants have been awesome all year from seed start until the last week and now are looking like this.


Leaves are wilting and the fruit looks really bad. Granted I haven't been able to get out there for the last several days but I did get out there yesterday and have discovered the tomatoes are being eaten alive.

Tomato splitting:


Whole side of a tomato being eaten by what looks like small flies or gnats:



Sadly it doesn't stop with the tomatoes either, the summer squash is being attacked too:


Looks like a grub had attacked it. Found a worm that was white in color with a blackish head.


I thought about buying some Sevin insecticide but at this point I'm not sure if it would be a waste trying to save any of these plants. What's your thoughts?

 

[w_r_ranch]

Mike,

Picture #1 show 'leaf curl' & some brown spots.. Leaf problems are the most difficult to 'diagnose'... Get me a close-up picture of the worst leaf & I'll give it a shot. Also, do the plants wilt during the day & recover at night???

Picture #2 shows tomatoes split open. This occurs when the skins of the ripe fruit can't keep pace with the growth of the insides. This problem is quite common & is exasperated by fluctuations in watering...this can be due to heavy watering after a long period of no water or it can also be caused by having a period of dry weather, then getting a heavy rain that suddenly over-waters the tomatoes.

Picture #3 also shows splitting & bird damage. I've had very good luck here reducing bird damage by installing feeders & providing water for them about 25' away from out garden.

Picture #4 of the summer squash damage (and your description of the 'worm') is caused by the squash borer (learn more about them here).

 

[Mike]

Sam,

Thanks for the info. I'll see about getting more pictures of the leafs this evening.

Your explanation sounds pretty accurate as we've been getting hammered with rain this month, in fact more than twice the average rainfall for the month of July. We've been either having really hot days with scattered storms, or a few days of rain followed by a day or two of dry then back to rain. It's been a mess around here.

This year I didn't install the bird net and is probably why I am seeing this issue this year and not last year. The bird feeder idea might be one to try.

As for the squash, from the link it seems the plants might be a lost cause at this point. To make matters worse, several squash leafs are showing what looks like grayish moldy looking spots on them. I've sprayed some Bonide Liquid Copper on them but we'll see how it works.

 

[Mr_Yan]

Squash vine borrers are my bane. At this point I have almost entirely moved to growing solid vine squashes and have reduced the problem to almost nothing.

@Mike look at the base of the summer squash / zuchinni plants. Are there little holes with yellow is crystalized junk bits around them? That is a telltale sign that the borrer grubs are inside the vine chewing away. If this is the case it is generally fatal to the plant.

 

[ElviraBaldwin]

It's really bad to see those pictures. Please do take care of yours plants.