Watermelon Disease Identification Aid

[morewronggardener]

First garden here. I've got 3 watermelon plants that up until recently, haven't had any problems. Now, two of the plants are yellowing and don't seem to be growing quite as fast as before. The third has some issues closer to the older part of the plant, but the new vines seem healthy. I've included photos. Any aid in helping diagnose and correct this problem would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Chuck]

It looks to me as if you are keeping everything to wet. It looks as if your soil is saturated and the leaf damage looks just like too much water. How often do you water?

 

[morewronggardener]

Thank you. I water once daily, and have been watering at night, overhead, which after a bit of reading seems is often advised against. Also, the garden isn't super deep so I wonder if drainage is a problem as well?

 

[Chuck]

Thank you. I water once daily, and have been watering at night, overhead, which after a bit of reading seems is often advised against. Also, the garden isn't super deep so I wonder if drainage is a problem as well?

Then that's the problem. Overhead watering is a big no-no especially at night. It causes fungal problems. Overhead watering in the AM is acceptable as the water will dry/evaporate from the leaves rapidly. When one waters they should completely saturate the soil deeply and then wait until the soil completely dries 2 or 3 inches deep, normally between 7 and 10 days. Only water when the leaves are wilted in the Early Daylight Hours. If the aren't wilted the plant does not need water.