"Black sooty residue" is probably the key here -- I suspect what you have is actually called Black Sooty Mould -- a mould which grows on honeydew, which is the sticky-sweet discharge from sucking insects like scale or aphids. I would look carefully at the branches and undersides of the leaves, I suspect you will find an infestation of either scale insects, mealybugs, aphids, or similar. If so, I would treat the trees, either with an oil-type spray, or with a systemic insecticide like Imadicloprid. Dennis SE Michigan

Kandy, please take this as just an initial shot at attempting to find the cause of your situation: Do be aware-it is possible to overwater plants. Some of the visual cues that this is happening include chlorosis(Yellowing of foliage that is supposed to be green) wilting stems and foliage (I know-sounds wrong, but is true), other off-color effects, and lack of vigor. And yes, all of these symptoms can be caused by numerous other causal agents! Wouldn't you know it! So, it seems like you know what you're about with gardening, etc. Perhaps you can provide additional info for us. Finally, while it is too early for "fall color", some plants each year do seem to show early color change. We don't always necessarily find out the reason(s) for this effect. Are you seeing something beyond just the odd coloration here and there....to a more general. systemic situation? +oM

Yes, nobody grows vegetables like Silvia can. But Donna is right. Most of us pull out tomatoes and many other vegetables starting in May, then either take the summer off or switch to hot weather veg like okra, sweet potatoes, gandules, malabar spinach and so on, and start up again with tomatoes in the fall. The summers here are just too hard on plants, not only the heat, but the explosion of pests. And many of us stick with containers for tomatoes because of the nematode problem. If you aren't familiar with it, the University of FL publishes an excellent guide to vegetable gardening in Fl, including suggested planting dates for each region. Also, you might want to read around at justonebackyard.com. He's in West Palm, but his blog and videos will give you a good idea of what produces when. Here is a link that might be useful: IFAS Planting Guide

We really need to pictures to see what's going on :-) First to correctly ID the plant - a number of plants have the name of 'fuchsia' that are not true fuchsias: Cape fuchsia (Phygelius), California fuchsia (Zauschneria/Epilobium), for example. Second, to see what exactly is happening - hardy fuchsias are remarkably drought tolerant once established and require minimal watering - recycled or gray water should be no different from regular tap water afa the plants are concerned, unless you use a lot of detergent or other cleansers.