O.K.-I did some more research on here, and I'm assuming it's SVB? Man, and they were doing so well;( The irony of is that the zucchini plants which are right next to the pumpkins are fine...but maybe it's just a matter of time. Is there anything I can do right now that's organic?

If I had to guess, my money would be on bacterial wilt spread by Cucumber Beetles. If it is SVB, you will find evidence at the base of the vine. There will be signs of penetration and activity inside of the vine.

However, I would check the flowers of the pumpkin. If they do not actually house cucumber beetles, they should probably have significant damage to the flower. Cucumber beetles love eating the tender parts of the plant, and that is primarily the new growth flowers. When they dine, they spread bacteria into the plant that eventually leads to wilt. Not wilt as in drooping, but wilt as in yellowing, browning, and then dying.

Happens to my cukes, pumpkins and squash every year.

Unfortunately, not much you can do about it now.

Best of luck,
Michael

Thanks Michael. I think you're right! I saw the Cucumber beetle tonight on the leaves! At least we got 1 jar of pickles off the vines.This is what it looks like:(

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However, for the pumpkin plants I took a plant out and opened the roots and there were two bugs-I have attached the pics below. Any ideas? It is possible they have 3 bugs issues, cucumber beetles and these 2 larvae looking bugs?

This is the pumpkin patch
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And these were the bugs I saw when I opened it at the root
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The white one for sure is svb, but maybe the black ones are more advanced and I never caught mine at that stage. They certainly are shaped different from svb. Maybe they are variegated cutworms? It's only a guess and here's the url:

http://www.veggiegardener.com/pests/cutworms/

Here is a link that might be useful: variegated cutworms

So next year, what can I do (organically) that can prevent all these species from reeking havoc on my plants?;(

And I'm assuming I might as well give up for this year? Should I remove the plants before they reach the melon plants, etc?

I feel your pain. It happens to me every year. I lost both squash, a new squash i plated to offset the loss and now my pumkin plant. I hate those S.O.B.'s!!!!! I've been unable to stop them. I would love to hear what the secret it to eliminating them is.

Fmart,

That's SVB's not SOB's. LOL ;)

Susan

No way Sue, they will always be S.O.B.'s to me. LOL! They get me every year. The guy across the street from me never gets them and doesn't even try to prevent them. I don't mind a little insect damage but hate the fact that these things just kill the whole plant so fast.

Squash borers will come. I always take part of the vine further down the plant and root it. Giving it more rooting points along the vine seems to keep production away from die back. I sometimes just cut the infected part away once I know the plant has additional roots. Literally, just mound up a little dirt over any part of the vine and it will take care of itself. It wants to live, too.
I've got borers--but more squash than we can eat, so I just get over the appearance of the vines. (We also perpetually have white mildew from our humidity). Last year I had considerable cucumber die back, but not until I canned three batches of cucumbers. For me---the earlier you get the squash in the ground, the better off you are to beat the bug attack. Then, when it comes, it is too hot, I've gotten all the harvest I can handle and my friends are sick of my food, too, and I'm ready for the break the die back gives me.

My pumpkin plants looks horrible. In fact, I started them indoors and they looked awesome, I was so excited. Literally 3 to 4 hours after planting them in the garden they looked like crap (yes I gave them enough water at planting). Would there be a bug problem that quickly?

Did you harden them off before planting them?

I second taz. Too much sun, rain, or wind without hardening them off will really stress new plants. You need to acclimated them over a period of time to their new home.

It's kind of like jumping into a cold lake. Jumping right in would be brutal. Initially you will be stunned, but would slowly (hopefully) recover :) and get used to the water. The gentler way would be to take small steps into the lake and slowly get used to the water.

Plants need small steps too.

Kim

Here is a link that might be useful: My Garden

can anyone tell me whats wrong with my plant is it dying all the leaves are wilting at the bottom of the plant and turning brown but there seems to be new leaves growing and the leaves on the top seem to be ok if i can figure out how to upload a picture i will