"simy1" wrote in message
oups.com...
This year for the first time I have been using Rotenone regularly in my
garden. I am fairly happy with the results. The brassica are
unblemished by cabbageworms, and huge. I sprayed the base of the
zucchini, and so far there is no sign of vine borers. Both used to be a
regular occurrence in the past.

But all my cucumbers (4) and all the winter quash (3) show signs of
bacterial wilt. Soon zucchini, melons and watermelons may follow. I
sprayed them irregularly, for fear of killing pollinators. Indeed some
of the melons have only one fruit, and the zucchini and string beans
have gone through a dry period, so I may have done something bad. Last
week I used a paintbrush to pollinate things by hand. I inspected the
cuke flowers two days ago and I found a cucumber beetle (striped) every
second flower.

The cukes are fairly advanced in the disease but they have all produced
their share. The winter squash are still going through the all male
flowers period, barely show signs, but I suspect I will lose the crop
(as well as 80 sqft of garden use, they are huge plants). No signs yet
in the other plants. I wonder how others manage cuke beetles, specially
during blooming.

Rotenone provides good insect control but will do nothing for leaf diseases.

Next year, rotate your crops, plant resistant varieties, mulch to inhibit
splashing rain water from spreading soil-borne diseases, and maintain a
weekly fungicide spray routine.