Question
QUESTION: I planted summer squash and butternut squash this year. Other than growing slowly, as compared with other gardeners, there have been no problems until recently. I'm not sure which squash the problem is with.

I have enclosed a photo. As you can see, this one leaf is covered with spots, and the red arrows point to black areas where there are holes through the leaf. Although it doesn't show on the leaf in the photo, the veins on some of the other leaves are grayish, while on some of the leaves they are the normal green.

What would make these gray veins. The leaves with the gray veins do not have the spots as on the leaf in the photo, and the leaf in the photo, with the spots, does not have gray veins.

I have noticed small ants running around on the ground. Could they be the cause?

ANSWER: Jerry:
Sorry, I was not able to see your image. Can you try again? Not sure about the gray veins. Does it appear to affect the growth?

Steve

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Squash Plants   QUESTION: Sorry, forgot to add the photo. I took a new photo showing the black spots and holes through the one leaf (red arrows), and the yellow arrow points to one of the leaves with gray veins.

For the past several years my squash has not grown well. Someone a couple miles from me has squash with very bushy green leaves and long vines. Mine are barely a foot high and the area covered is probably about a 18" wide.

I found a 1998 photo in which I had very nice squash plants. I think it was around that time I had put lime on the garden. This year the squash is in an area I just dug up this year. I tilled some manure in, but added no lime.

The squash and cucumbers planted in another small garden roughly 50' from the 1st garden are also slow growing, but the onions are doing well. This second garden is near a big pine tree. I understand pine needles can make the soil acid. Could this cause small squash plants?

Answer
Jerry:
Suggest having a soil test done. Ck in with your local county ag Extension office about this. It is free through them. The gray veins ate not a disease nor insect. Could be weather related or just the variety of squash.  The spots may be a disease called anthracnose. Try to keep leaves dry by watering early in the morning or by watering from below.  
The soil test could be very useful.

Steve