Vegetable Problems in Summer

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Abiotic Disorders | Diseases | Pests

Maybe your vegetable garden has always been successful and you've never heard of the problems described here. However, if you've had trouble with vegetable plants in the summer, we have probably experienced it too and want to help you resolve the problem.

If you have encountered diseases in the past, choosing plants for their disease resistance may help in future plantings. ANR Publication 8159, "Growing Tomatoes in the Home Garden" (PDF) includes a list of selected tomato varieties and their resistance to diseases.

Here you will find three sections of vegetable problems.

Abiotic Disorders are nonliving agents that include environmental, physiological and other nonbiological factors. Common abiotic problems would be too much or too little water, nutritional deficiencies, or too much sun.

Diseases are usually caused by fungi, bacteria, viruses, etc.

Pests in the vegetable garden are often bugs and larval (worm/caterpillar) stages of insects. The most common of these are covered here. There are lots of other pests you might encounter such as squirrels and birds--some of these pests are covered in detail in Pest Notes at the UC Integrated Pest Management website.

May 18, 2017. Written by Gail Pothour, UCCE Master Gardener of Sacramento County.