Daily gardening tip · Northern hemisphere · Sunday 30 August 2026 · late summer
Prune Mildew on Squash Leaves
In late summer, a white, dusty fungus often appears on squash leaves, but you can stop it from taking over your plants by acting now.
15 minuteseasydiseases
Locate your squash, zucchini, or pumpkin plants and inspect the older, lower leaves.
Look for white, powdery spots that look like a dusting of flour on the leaf surfaces.
Use clean pruning shears to cut off only the leaves that are heavily spotted with this white mildew.
Cut the leaf stems close to the main vine without damaging the main stem.
Put the infected leaves directly into the trash rather than your compost pile to avoid spreading the spores.
Why it works
Powdery mildew is a fungal disease that thrives in the warm days and cool, humid nights of late summer. Removing the infected leaves reduces the number of fungal spores in your garden, which slows down the spread of the disease and keeps the remaining healthy leaves photosynthesizing for a longer harvest.
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