The picture of the eggplant linked shows it in the ground, with a bark mulch - not in a pot (as best as I can tell). I would be concerned about nitrogen shortage if very much of that mulch has been incorporated into the soil. That may be the problem anyway but I'll take your word for how it looked earlier and the reason you thought it was spider mites, King. Linked below is a picture where you can actually see some of the mites and webbing around the edge of an eggplant leaf. Most of the mites are under the leaf but the darn things are so tiny you have to really concentrate to see them. "What's that over here? Did that speck move?" If the problem is bad enuf, then you begin to see the webbing. Your picture doesn't show leaves like the one linked below. The chlorosis may just be the plant in recovery, as you suggest, King. I like to spray with water, allow to dry, then spray with an insecticide for spider mites. Insecticidal soap really works fairly well. Late afternoon would be the time to do something like this, there in Phoenix. With many plants in recovery, easily available soil moisture and nutrients provide them with what they need to get back on track. Best I can think of . . . digitSteve Here is a link that might be useful:

You might consider a real soil test from a lab. Check with your state's Extension Service. Each county should have it's own Cooperative Extension Office which provides free publications and information for the asking. They will have valuable vegetable/gardening tables available specifically for your area determined by universities and horticultural research scientists who have collected data from growing those crops in your state. Your tax dollars are already paying for this service so you may as well get some use out of it. Before you amend your soil any further by guessing, get your soil tested. Your Extension Service can provide you with soil testing information. Mine was only $9.00, less than the cost of some strictly pH over the counter tests, and far more thorough. No guessing at what might need to be added, no money wasted.

Klo, You can try spraying them with Safer Insecticidal Soap or with Neem, both of which are organic and neither of which should hurt the toads. Without seeing them, it is hard to know if they are salavageable, but if they were mine, I'd just yank them out and plant a new batch from seed for fall. Cucumbers really struggle in the heat here, so they perform best for me as a spring and a fall crop, and keeping the spring crop alive long enough to produce in the fall is almost impossible because of the many pests that attack them here during the height of the summer. Cucumbers are very prone to both insect damage (from aphids, cucumber beetles, spider mites, squash bugs and leaf miners among others) and to disease (powdery mildew, downy mildew and various bacterial diseases) at this time of year and once the plants start looking bad, they seldom recover enough to produce well, but instead limp along, not quite dead but not quite thriving either. The recommended planting dates for fall cucumbers are August 10-August 20, and you can sow seed directly in the ground or sow seeds in paper cups (with drainage holes punched in the bottom), six-packs or other containers and then transplant them into the ground. I usually sow them in cups sometime after mid-July and set them out in mid-August. By mid-August, the incidence of pest problems and disease lessens and fresh, new plants generally can fight the diseases and insects long enough to produce a bumper crop of fall cucumbers. Dawn

Melissa, Have you read Square Foot Gardening? I can't remember the author's last name for sure right now, but I think he's Mel Bartholomew or something like that. Very nice way to look at space and spacing issues. I'm thinking on my cuke wall I'm going to have two rows, staggered, with a foot spacing in between each plant. On a fifteen foot "row" that'll be 30 plants! MIGHT be too much weight for the netting, but I'm going to give it a shot. Worst case scenario, I can pull plants if needed. That netting has got me thinking of other spots I can go vertically too... for pole beans. My breaded okra is still a work in progress... LOL! When I first did it, I just breaded it like regular and froze it on a sheet of wax paper in the freezer. Worked, but the okra was fairly hard when cooked. Last summer I blanched the okra, THEN breaded it and froze it. This turned out better, but still not what I'm looking for. (I figured out it's better to thaw the okra a little bit before frying it on both ways.) NEXT YEAR, I'm going to pre-fry it in a tempura type batter, cool completely THEN freeze. I like cooking projects... LOL! NOW, on the loofah/loufa/dishcloth/vining okra gourd thing... LOL! Honestly, I have no idea what the "real" name is for these dang things I've been growing. A friend gave me the seed and I just love growing them. When they're young, you cook them like regular ol' okra. Mid size to a bit bigger, I took a steak knife and cut it straight down the length of it and pulled the outer "husk" from the inner fibers. Then I de-seeded it and laid the fiborous part out to dry, and LOW AND BEHOLD, a loofah! This is what I'm calling "dishcloth". I did try to use half as a body scrubber, but it's way too scratchy for me. Works great on dishes tho! It becomes soft when wet, but still scratchy to a point... then dries out nicely and rebounds to it's shape! I loved it, next year I will have many more. I also let a couple get as large as possible and dry out on the vine, with seeds still in them. My little boy uses them as musical "shakers"! I'll try to take a pic of them here today and post it so you can see what I mean. All that from just one plant, I LOVE it. I had them planted along the edge of my carport in a "wall", and the beautiful yellow flowers were a joy to see everyday! The vines were so healthy, they grew all up on the top of the carport. I had a few dried gourds on the top of the carport at the end of the season. THIS will be a regular plant for me, it's just easy and fun to grow! Dawn, I honestly do not think I've run into a cucumber beetle... YET. Watch this year be the year for them... LOL! My wall of cukes might just be too inviting for them not to show up. Yes, I hear of most people around here having either hybrid or wild blackberries growing, so I thought that'd be the way to go for me. Of course, strawberries are also very big around here too, but I don't have the space to devote to a huge bed of just ONE thing (in my mind). If I did, I'd do asparagus first, then strawberries. MIGHT try one of those hanging strawberry bags, but that's another project. :) The trees around my area are pecan and cedar... LOL! I've never heard of ANYONE having luck with apple trees around here. Well, we're having a rainy day here. The St. Francis river is up and we're under flash flood warnings too. I live in a higher part of town, so I'm not too worried about us. The farmers that farm along the river might have problems tho. Just been a wet, sloggy year for Northeastern Arkansas! Planting was late due to the wet spring, and harvesting was hard due to a wet fall! I really need to see what our rainfall averages are for the year, I'm betting we've set a record. But, of course, snow would be nice... but rain is better than ice! LOL! We're off to spend the rest of the day at my parent's house... ya'll stay safe, warm and dry! :) Beth p.s. My DARLING husband gave me an early Christmas present! It's a Veggie Tales t-shirt! On the front, it's got Bob the Tomato and it says "If you like to talk to tomatoes..."! LOL! I laughed so hard! I love that show... the theme song goes like this. If you like to talk to tomatoes... If a squash can make you smile... If you like to waltz with potatoes, up and down the produce aisle... have we got a show for you! Too cute, huh?