Looks like aphids to me as well. To upload multiple photos in a single post you first need to upload them to a third party site such as photobucket. Then you copy and paste the HTML link from there to here. Rodney

When you use self-watering pots, a lot of times the top of your soil forms a white film (that's why I stopped using those). As for the plant and flowers, it might be mildew. You'll need to increase the circulation, so if its with other plants I'd isolate it. There are a lot of effective chemical treatments, but non chemical treatments include brushing milk over the leaves, or a baking soda solution spray (1 tsp/quart). If you have any Lysol around the house and are willing to go chemical, Lysol works well, but may leave spots on your plant, which it will eventually grow out of anyway.

NE, "3. Some plants don't like wet leaves and preferred to be watered under their leaves. The wet leaves can mildew." A common misconception about Powdery Mildew is that PM is promoted by wet leaves. That misconception is so widespread that it is now almost an urban myth. Many supposedly authoritative books say that wet foliage promotes Powdery Mildew. Wet foliage does promote many foliage diseases, but not Powdery Mildew. Apparently most garden writers refer to the works of other garden writers and this has become a glaring example of the hazards of "Group Think". The truth is that Powdery Mildew spores cannot germinate in water and that water prevents it. Powdery Mildew grows on dry leaves. Refer to the National Gardening Association's Q&A on Powdery Mildew on Zinnias in which they say, "Powdery mildew is unique among common plant diseases in that it doesn't require a wet leaf surface to spread. It can thus thrive during hot, dry weather, which is why you see it appearing in August. The general advice to inhibit the spread of fungal diseases is to avoid wetting leaf surfaces. In the case of powdery mildew, you can actually inhibit infection with frequent sprays of water." Considering all the books and other publications that are wrong on this subject, and how widespread this urban myth actually is, its going to take a lot of effort to correct this deeply rooted misconception about Powdery Mildew. I am giving it a shot here, but it's a shot in the dark. ZM

rhizo: Housekeeping, as in, removing diseased dying leaves? I have been for pumpkins, not so much for my cucurbits because they are very dense. I remove what I can, but there are some dead leaves pretty buried within the vines. I am not sure the cause of the dead leaves (is there a natural amount of leaves that die on a vine from "natural" (i.e., non disease/pest) causes? I'm going to post another problem today with photos. Some of my butternut squash leaves are VERY chlorotic, and some dying, and I can't tell the cause, as others are healthy and green. (I don't think it's PM, but who knows?) I look forward to your expertise(s). rhizo ... if there's something else I'm missing as far as "housekeeping" is concerned, please let me know! :) Thanks for taking the time to be concerned and answer. -Veronica