I'm currently growing watermelon and strawberries in planters on my 3rd floor balcony(in Japan). I've noticed a huge increase in aphids lately and I am outside CONSTANTLY spraying them off with a water bottle. I try doing an oil and soap spray and it didn't work for long, then I did vinegar and water and ended up frying the leaves!! They just don't stop popping up pretty much everywhere. Now it's rainy season here and my sunny days are few and far between and I've also started to get fungus gnats infecting the soil. I'm at my wits end with these pests. I love my water babies to death and I want them to grow. I had fertilized (by hand) 6 girls and it seems that two have died and I hope it doesn't have anything to do with the aphids. Only one melon seeks to be growing properly. Please help me save my watermelon!
I always use the mixture below: A mixture of 1 litre of water 1 tbsp of thick soap (not detergent) 1 tbsp spirits (ethanol or methanol) Shake it up and spray from a distance on. You can repeat this several times. Good luck!
Hi! Thanks so much for your advice, I tried this....and now almost all of my leaves are black and wilting...did I spray to closely? Also I still have a bunch of aphids.....and the fungal gnats don't die
Your vinegar is what is making your plants look so bad. We use that as a weed killer. It is not friendly to plants. Did you rinse the aphids with clear water after you sprayed by chance? if so that will only give them a bath... not kill them. fungus gnats are from too wet of soil. let the soil dry out a bit more between waterings. the plant may also be wilted from the soil being too wet.
I stopped spraying with vinegar and I just keep a container around to trap the fungus gnats. I spray them off the leaves but not after using the soap/alcohol spray, so I overwatered them? This is much more difficult than I thought it'd be, am I able to cut off the dead leaves, or do I just leave them be?
These are some pictures. Almost all the leaves now have black spots, and look pretty wilted or dried out, and some of my girls are growing with black spots on them
I don't know what to tell you more than to go ahead and pinch off the leaves that look dead. Is there new growth at the end of the vine? if so, I think your plant may survive. the black blossoms probably are dead, too. those won't open and form fruit I am guessing. I have never grown melons in a pot so I am kind of winging this here... but I have grown lots and lots of melons in the ground. Too much water is often a plants demise, especially in a pot. Always check to make sure the soil is dry if the plant is wilted to make sure it isn't showing effects form heat rather than lack of moisture in the potting mix. watering a wet (soil) and wilted plant often leads to its death. How big is your pot? do you put your finger into the soil before you water to check that it is dry or wet? Do you have a dish of vinegar out to trap the gnats? if so also add a drop of soap to suck the gnats right in and drown. Do you have more seeds? can you start some new plants just in case these all die? Good luck. even if this plant doesn't live you have learned something from trying and try it again with the new knowledge you have. none of us knew what we were doing the first time we were introduced to gardening. we all came with the same amount of it when we were born... none. Some just had an earlier interest/introduction and didn't have to learn it on their own, if you grow up having no one to teach you it seems more difficult. just keep trying and asking questions. We will all help as much as we can. I want you to be successful, not so disappointed you give up.
I actually have two melons that are currently and three girls bloomed this morning. The plant itself and the vines are thriving. They're not wilting or showing signs of damage its just the leaves. I definitely think I over watered it last night (I was excited that I got a funnel to water them with) and I overdid it. I don't have any seeds currently and I got them from a local store as seedlings, I'll start over again only after this plant ceases to grow. Runners are still doing fine and its growing new vines and leaves from the base of the plant. For now I trimmed off all the leaves so it's just vines >(>.<)< today was a beautifully sunny day so I think it might survive after all this. I have a melon currently the size of an apple, and she seems to be doing alright still.....the vinegar is around the plants yea, to trap the gnats and I seem to have controlled that situation better.
Well, with the watering--you might try not watering upon the top of the soil...but rather from the bottom in the tray that your plant pot is sitting in. You do not have to give huge amounts of water. The soil in a potted plant needs to be a bit moist, but not wet. Some plants, I let completely dry out before giving water. I check this by lifting the pot--when it is time to give water, the pot will feel very light weighted. So what is the story on the aphids now? Is that problem resolved now? You did get the correct type of alcohol, didn't you? Not "rubbing alcohol".
hey... I use rubbin Hey, I use rubbing alcohol... I haven't killed the plants with it yet, but I normally don't even bother with the alcohol... just the soap and a drop of spreader sticker OR I buy lady bugs and set them to work.
I'm afraid of that stuff. hahaha. It evaporates too quickly for my liking and it is that action that could possibly injure the leaves. Britty may want to catch or buy some ladybugs to place on her plants. I don't know though, after all the spraying and so forth.
About a half inch of sand over the top of the potting soil will stop the gnats,, They do not like sand. Usually the soap spray will kill aphids. It dehydrates them and they die. Try a hot pepper spray . Chop two or three of the hottest peppers you can find and simmer on the stove with 2 cups water about 20 minutes Then add 4 cups water to the pepper mixture and let sit til cool. Mist both sides of the leaves,
I didn't use rubbing alcohol because I was afraid it would be too strong, I just used some vodka (which may the the problem.) The aphids seem to be dying out and turning black so along with all of my leaves, they're gone! Thank goodness, I'm not seeing much growth from the melons these days, when they get to a certain size do they grow more slowly? Sand is something I will definitely consider and I'm going to dry out the planter and water it from the bottom from now on. I've been looking for ladybugs, but Japan doesn't seem to sell them...I've checked online and the only thing I could find was 500 of them, that's a bit much for a small planter >.<. It looks like new leaves and vines are growing so the plant hasn't died. This has been one heck of a learning experience!
Hiya Btitty--When I said Ethanol, I didn't mean the drinking kind...I meant burning spirits. The clear type that one uses to wash windows or burn as the heat source when fondue-ing. Read here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denatured_alcohol
I figured as much, but if only you knew how hard it is to find "simple" things over here. I'll try again to find it tomorrow
