Hi ggg, I have all my plants in smart pots. So I can just dump the soil and start fresh. I just pulled a huge zucchini off the plant, so I hate to give it up. I think I may be able to save one stalk, but if not, I will try another squash. I am going to HD to get some BT and another squash plant. What kills me is that I think I saw the moth. A black and red thing. But I didn't know what it was, so I left it alone. I wish I would have killed it. My cuke hasn't been affected yet as far as I can see. It was much smaller than the squash plant when we started them and is just now getting big. So maybe it bypassed the borers. But I will put BT on it anyway and keep looking for eggs.

I've found the yellow sticky cards not useful for killing fungus gnats---they just aren't that attracted to them, unlike whitefly. I also gave up the cards cuz I would have my house all clean and beautifully decorated with my favorite plants, and then see dead bugs stuck to bright yellow cards everywhere. ICK ICK ICK! My ZZ plant really suffers from gnats too because there is a lot of dirt available around the stems. My favorite product is Gnatrol----it is a naturally occuring bacteria that is only harmful to the gnats. You'll probably have to get it off the internet cuz I've never seen it in stores. It's not expensive---maybe $25 dollars per liter, which will last a LONG time. You mix a small bit of it with water and then just wet down the top inch of soil (do not actually water the plant with it---you'll rot the ZZ and waste the Gnatrol). When you first put it on it'll smell like a ....a bad fart (excuse the language, but that's what my husband thought I was doing in the growing room when I used it---I almost died laughing!). Once it dries there will be no odor at all. :) Happy gnat killing, as I hate those disgusting little buggers. ;) Oh, one more thing. An inch of fine sand on top of your soil will prevent gants too, but it makes it harder to test moisture levels. Personally it's too much mess for me but I know others who successfully use that technique.

Perhaps insect damage? FataMorgana

There is nothing wrong with the tomatoes that have the virus other than their looks BER is not caused by a virus. Also, it's not simply the appearance that's affected -- the part of the fruit affected by BER is inedible. === you should remove the infected ones whether you eat them or not, so they do not infect the newer ones That use of "infected" is correct but misleading. Fruit which have BER are infected in the sense of having that condition, and being damaged by it. However, BER is not an infection. Fruit affected by BER are not infectious; they do not contain an infectious agent (like a bacterium or a virus). They cannot transmit the condition to other fruit. There may be secondary fungal infections, but AFAIK they do not happen often. The main advantage in removing BER-damaged fruit is not to prevent fungus attacking other fruit, but to allow the plant to use its resources on usable fruit rather than on fruit which already have BER. === I think it might be stress do to water. The soil dries out quickly and the plants look a little wilty. So then I give them water (too much maybe? How much should potted tomatoes get a day?). Sometimes I water twice a day when it gets really hot. Do you think the fluxuation in moisture is maybe causing this? Should I maybe move them to a bit more shade? Should I mulch them? Water more? Water less? Water deeply? Give only sips of Water? 7 gallons should be a good pot size. However, black pots absorb heat from the sun, and may overheat the roots. Covering the pot with something white, light-colored, or silver will deflect some of the heat. And definitely mulch your tomatoes, regardless of whether they're planted in containers or in the ground! Mulch not only keeps the soil from drying out quite so fast, but it keeps the roots cooler. It keeps down weed growth as well. And it also lessens the chance of disease -- rainwater or watering-can water striking the soil can bounce soil microorganisms onto the leaves, which can result in Bad Diseases You Don't Want to Have. Any time tomato plants look wilty, they need water. Withholding water will not help them. If they need water twice a day, then water them twice a day. Water until you see water coming out of the drain-holes. But it's not always that easy. Peat, when dry, doesn't easily absorb water. When a pot filled with a peat-based mix dries out, the peat shrinks. Then when you water, the water just runs down the air spaces at the sides of the pot, leading you to believe the plant has enough moisture -- but nothing could be farther from the truth: the plant is actually dying of thirst. You may have to water slowly and repeatedly to really get the peat moist again. Small containers are an advantage here: you can pick them up and set them in a saucer full of water until they soak up as much as they can.