Also on the squash already it looks like PM
I snipped the infected leaves, bad idea?

It seems like the plants most affected are the ones not doing so well and the ones with a huge amount of ants around them, I've read the ants also put then on leaves, if this is the case it's looking like I'm going to have to take action
Any specific recommendations for my specific situation.

A couple days in a row, spray undersides of leaves with a water nozzle early in the morning and again at dusk. 3-4 days later, spray entire plants with insecticidal soap at dusk. Rinse in morning with water nozzle. Soap treatment again a few days later. Rinse again in the morn. A week later, spray with neem oil at dusk. Again, neem oil a week later. Release lacewing larvae or ladybugs. Refrain from using any sprays except repellent sprays or water nozzle treatments after release of beneficials. Before you release the beneficials though, try to control the ant problem -- the ants will either scare the ladybugs or eat the lacewing eggs.

In the meantime(between treatments), research Integrated Pest Management.

This is what I would do. Let's see what the experts have to say.

As far as the PM is concerned, yep. Prune leaves and spray with a fungicide. Neem oil is a fungicide. Here's the thing about PM--- I've read that any treatment you may want to use(and have it be effective) has to be started PRIOR to actually seeing symptoms. So, NEXT year you'll know... before the middle of JUNE, start treating for PM.

Just one of the many things I've learned on GW in the last year. I'm about to whip out the baking soda real soon.

Kevin

That's insane. Dave was right yet again, I have way to many plants.
If I have to do that to every plant that has them I have to but dam that seems overwhelming

I'm going to save the email and try to start ASAP

As far as pm, i just planted the squash a few weeks ago and it has it already, so it's pointless to use oil if plant already has it. Geez

Is there anything that grows without a million problems ????

The ants are everywhere , in every box, on every bloom. Where do I even been with them.

That's insane. Dave was right yet again, I have way to many plants.
If I have to do that to every plant that has them I have to but dam that seems overwhelming

I'm going to save the email and try to start ASAP

As far as pm, i just planted the squash a few weeks ago and it has it already, so it's pointless to use oil if plant already has it. Geez

Is there anything that grows without a million problems ????

The ants are everywhere , in every box, on every bloom. Where do I even been with them.

Ants are protecting those aphids. They have a symbiotic relationship. Some species just protect them and feed off the honeydew, others actively farm them, moving them from plant to plant for better "grazing"

Terro Ant baits (boric acid baits) work wonders.

Here is a link that might be useful: Dairy Ants

You want a chemical or an organic solution?

For the PM - keep in mind it is primarily an aesthetic issue. You can control it but you can't cure it so you can dispose of the plants and replant and hope the weather improves or you can try to salvage these. Your choice.

Chemical - Bayer 3 in 1 fungicide and insect spray. Controls the PM and kills the aphids. When the aphids are controlled the ants move on.

Organic - for the PM 1 tsp baking soda in 1 qt of water. Spray stems and tops of leaves. Changes pH of leaf surface and the PM dies back. For the aphids 1 T liquid dish soap in 1 gallon of water, shake well and pour into sprayer. Lightly mist the aphids but do not drench the plants and do not apply in direct sun (if you ever see any).

OR rather than making things even wetter and worse you can sit back, watch, wait and learn until things dry out and then see what you have left to work with. That is what most of us have to do during bad weather years. We remind ourselves that there is always next year.

And surprisingly much more survives than we'd expect. We learn in the process that rather than jumping the gun with sprays and such that most plants can tolerate some aphids without going belly up and the buggars life cycle is limited anyway and when they go away so do the ants. We learn that powdery mildew looks like &^$*& but we still get fruit from the plants. Maybe not as much but an ok amount. And we learn patience and realistic expectations, the most important lesson of all.

Part of gardening is accepting that you can't save everything and that often the harder you try the worse you make the situation. Some years, like when the weather is gifting you with a record setting poor spring season and storms rarely seen you just do the best you can and call it lessons well learned.

Dave

Sorry to discourage you Deli. Like I said, let's see what others have to say. My way might be a bit of overkill.

It's not too bad... an hour or less for each treatment for your setup. After a few weeks, you'll be able to relax for hopefully a few ...:)

By the way(with my experience with PM and squashes/zucchini),. you can actually control it enough to get some harvests out your plants, especially zucchini.

Good luck.

Kevin

I had powdery mildew on my squash and zucchini plants....I bought a Garden Safe product at Lowe's called Fungicide 3 (basically neem oil) and it worked pretty well and this was AFTER my plants were infected. I recommended to a friend and it helped her plants a lot too.