Growing Fruit and Vegetables – September

August merged seamlessly into September, the drought continued and the bugs, despite my best efforts continued to thrive and multiply.

The latest visitor to take up residence bored its way into several of the tomatoes, growing in pots. Once discovered I quickly disposed of these (that’s the tomatoes not the pots) and then wished I’d cut open one of the tomatoes to discover who had moved in. I’m still none the wiser as to their identity – any clues please?

An insect bored into my tomatoes!

Read more about my successes and failures over at Piglet in Portugal

Problem Cucumbers – Is it Anthracnose, Downy Mildew or…?

HELP!!!

I don’t pigging believe it – the cucumber plants I’m growing in pots are dying…

The picture below, taken in July 2012, shows a healthy cucumber plant.

My healthy cucumber July 2012

However, by August brown spots had appeared on the plant and the baby cucumbers failed to develop. A little research revealed the problem could either be caused by a fungus called Anthracnose or Downy Mildew. Or could it be something else?

August – Cucumber leaves with brown spots

And to top it off I then discovered another cucumber plant has white mold growing on the stems. I wonder if it is Sclerotinia Stem Rot?

Cucumber with white mold on stem

The baby cucumber plants I’m bringing on to provide Autumn cucumbers are also affected. So I need to find a cure…urgently!

I’m now off to search for, and trial some natural recipes – baking powder and milk seem popular ingredients – I hope they work!

If you have any suggestions re. diagnosis and/or natural cures please, PLEASE share in the comments section below.