I am no expert, but definately buts for the holes. As for brittle and yellow that tells me overwatering and wind damage. Yellow is a sign of overwatering, and the brittle is wind damage. Funny hot you can have overwatered dried out plants. I just wetn through this with some tomato plants. My gramma told me to cut milk jugs and put them around the plants to keep them safe from winds! Luckily the winds have died down here and I haven't had to and everything is doing well now. Cut back to watering every other day and see if that helps. My cucumbers seem to not like a lot of water. So I try to direct water the plants around it rather than hosing it all down. I hope others chime in and correct me if I'm wrong. Its my first year gardening so I've been reading and learning a lot alogn the way but am no expert ;)

Most often holes in the leaves of bean plants are caused by the Mexican Bean Beetle, the black sheep of the Lady Beetle family. These wee thingys look similar to all the other Lady Beetles except they are yellow. If you have them the first line of defense is a trap crop of soybeans or floating row covers, or both. There are several predators (spined soldier bugs, parasitic wasps) that can be encouraged to hang around by interplanting flowers and herbs (often considered "weeds") that attract these buggers. Late types of defense would be Neem Oil Products or pyrethrin products, For the future look closely at your soil and work at making that soil into a good, healthy soil, because plants growing in good, healthy soils that are strong and healthy are better able to withstand insect pests and are most often less desireable to them.

Hi I am in Palm Springs, California and I just picked and ate the first Kentucky Wonder pole beans of the season. Also I was able to pick and eat the first okra. Got one new cucumber on the one vine that survived the summer. 8 great tomato plants are 12 foot high they are flowering now but no setting. the Sweet 100 tomatos are going great they are green now. Two egg plants survived the summer also. These plant will give us more than we can eat. They are in bloom now but as yet not fruit. Basil is great. One plant. I just got to keep picking it and keeping it from going to seed. I have one potato plant also. All these are planted in Two 8X4 raised beds. The supersweet 100 cherry tomatos are in one 4X4 raised bed. Also in the yard is one tangeringe grafted onto sour orange. A Lemon, Mexican Lime, valencia orange and grapfruit. There is a dwarf plumb tree as well. I think I lost to peach trees and one apple tree. I almost forgot I planted charlston grey watermellons as ground cover. They taste great. Any suggestion on what to plant and at what time would be great. Noeld Here is a link that might be useful: Tai Chi Education and Research Institute

Water When the Top Inch or Two of Soil is Dry? I don't think so. Most growers unfamiliar with how water behaves in container media are prone to repeating the title mantra. But, if we were to look at some facts, first on the list would be saturated or partially saturated medium is limiting in a number of ways. Roots need an ample supply of oxygen in order that roots can function normally. Saturated soil surrounding roots limits oxygen required to drive root function, thereby impairing root efficiency and possibly setting the stage for any of a number of fungal pathogens that thrive in anaerobic (airless) conditions. Soil saturation limits gas exchange, so waste gases like methane and CO2 in the root zone are less able to leave the soil, also limiting root function; and, it kills the fine roots that do the lion's share of work involving water uptake and nutrient distribution. When this occurs, chemical messengers tell plant central injury to the root system has occurred. Top growth stops immediately, because root growth always precedes top growth – the top will not grow if the roots cannot support the growth with water/nutrients. The plant is then forced to regenerate dead roots, using energy which otherwise would have been devoted to additional top growth, keeping the plant's systems orderly, keeping the plant wearing a 'healthy glow', and improving the plant's ability to defend itself. In short, the wasted energy would have kept the plant looking/ growing better, and healthier. If a pot is 10” deep, the top 2” can feel completely dry to the touch, even while the bottom 6” is 100 saturated. That means 60% of the medium would be fighting you tooth and nail for control over the plant's vitality …… and this is the point at which you should water again? Does that sound reasonable? We don't care even a whit if the top 2" of the soil are dry. Roots there are largely plumbing and anchorage, with essentially none of the fine almost microscopic roots that do the lion's share of the plant's heavy lifting. Most of us who grow plants which don't provide food are doing so because we were born with a nurturing bone, and we're looking for the personal satisfaction that comes from knowing we're successful nurturers. Growing a plant that handles wet or dry conditions well doesn't mean we should test them to see what they'll tolerate, but it does mean you can and should let the soil dry down so you can only detect moisture (by using a 'tell') in the bottom inch or two of soil. Let me know if you're unfamiliar with the term 'tell'. ************************************************************************* Fear of failure limits our abilities. While it's often said that failure is just another opportunity to make a more intelligent start, it doesn't make sense to use failure and the disappointment that comes with it as a preferred method of acquiring knowledge. Trial and error is a painfully slow way to learn; and unfortunately, it takes a fair amount of knowledge to even identify or determine what mistake(s) led to the failure. The fastest way to advance in our journey toward green thumb status is by way of learning all we can about the plant and the science of growing as soon as we possibly can. Knowledge saves us from the punishment inherent in the error part of 'trial-and-error'. Some might say that growing is supposed to be fun and all that science baloney is a distraction; however, if we consider the reason we grow is for the personal satisfaction, the question becomes 'is there more personal satisfaction in failure after failure or in advancing from a rank beginner to the place where all the successes behind us, provided thanks to an improved set of knowledge and tools, combine to rightly allow us to expect further success in any subsequent growing adventure'? Learning first, then acting second to make use of time spent in practical applications to validate what we already learned is exponentially faster than trial-and error; and it provides us with a real opportunity to leave the trial-and-error crowd standing in our slipstream. Al