I'm terribly sorry and I am not a pro, but I will offer a guess.

You are using a raised bed in a very warm climate. I checked your temps for the last 10 days - you had several very high 90's. It is possible your bed makes the heat build-up intensify - it is hard for me to see, but it looks like the bottom of the bed is covered not making full close contact with the ground.

If the heat can't dissipate by having contact with the ground , then water can't save a plant in heat distress. Maybe the others can see something I can't but I don't see it.

Here in SC, where I am in Zone 8b, the heat is a huge factor. I don't garden in beds because I want my plants and roots zones in contact with the biggest sink I can give them - the whole garden area/yard. The heat buildup is a big plus in the spring - helps launch an early start by warming up the soil. But those beds are not your friend above 98 degrees.

A shade cloth might help next time. I have read where this is the norm for Arizona and Florida zone 9 growers, or at least no late sun. I have all of my pepper plants under shade cloths or on a shaded porch. They are just hanging out spoiled until the temps drop and they can successfully pollinate again.

Your bed can still be used, but you will need to consider very heat tolerate plants like sweet potatoes, eggplants, and Okra. It is not too late.

How dry does the 'soil' feel? That is the real test. Looks likely they are way too dry from the looks.

very thirsty plants!

Don't rely on gadgets because they can be wrong. Stick your finger in the soil. Wet, dry, or moist?

Your plants are huge water lovers! If you feel with your finger that soil is dry despite your watering try mulching between your plants, but not touching stems.

I like using dried grass clippings in my vegetable beds & straw over used coffee grounds for berries. My family knows the routine that in early spring after a few mowings I want them to put on the catcher so I can then make hay on a tarp. I save it to use throughout the growing season to keep vegetables cleaner & reduces frequency of watering.

Hope it's a quick fix for you - add mulch to keep water in soil!

Don't trust that moisture meter. Poke your finger in the soil, and if's not at least mildly damp starting about an inch down, water.

And when you do water, water a _lot_; you want to get it thoroughly and deeply watered each time that you water, so that you're not giving it constant little sprinkles. I generally water until it ponds up and gets shiny, wait for that water to drain so that it's not shiny any longer, and repeat that two or three or even more times.

(This is all assuming that you don't have bottoms on those raised beds - the plants have access to the ground, so that the water can drain, rather than the beds being giant pots, right?)

You could also add extra mulch; that lets the soil retain water without you having to constantly get it sopping wet by watering it over and over.

In general, if your soil is cracking and your plants are begging for water like they seem to be in the pictures, trust your own senses, not some gadget that may not be suited to your soil type, or may just be broken.

unless you have a hose at the base of the plant with the faucet on full go all day long, you are not going to overwater these.

thanks all!

I got the moisture meter thing since I had killed some plants (rosemary and lavender) since I had the gall to water them [sigh] - so I worry about my judgment when it comes to watering.

I am hoping the blueberry issue is because the soil is too alkaline - we have black gumbo here. We did do some amendments when we planted them. I had so many blooms and berries forming - and now the berries are withered.

I am so paranoid about drowning plants! And since items I have read say you can get the same symptoms from overwatering...

Rosemary can indeed be killed by too much watering. In the last climate where I lived it got enough water in the winter and should essentially never be watered in the summer. Here, it likes just a little bit of summer water.

But that's a special case. Vegetables need lots and lots of water. As long as you're watering them deeply and then leaving them for a day or so, rather than constantly running out there so that their roots are always sopping, you're infinitely less likely to kill them with overwatering than with underwatering.

When I hand-water, I'll often stand over one, say, five-by-five spot for a full minute or more, then water the one next to it while I watch to see how fast the first one drains and ceases to be "shiny". Or I'll leave a soaker head in the bed and let the bed _flood_, so that it's got water half an inch or an inch high in it, then move it to another bed and watch the first bed drain.

If it drains faster than about five seconds, I'll do another round and watch it drain again. I generally keep at it until I have at least a faint doubt of, "Uh-oh, did I seriously overwater? Is it going to drain?" because it takes several seconds or even a minute to drain. And then it drains and I breathe a sigh of relief and I know that it's good and saturated and that in all but the hottest weather, I can leave it for three or four days.

All of the details - how fast a saturated patch drains, how many days I can wait, and so on - depend on your soil and your weather. If your soil is sandy, it may never take more than a few seconds to drain. If it's clay, it may take minutes. But my point is to water _thoroughly_, and as infrequently as is reasonable, rather than giving it frequent little sprinkles.

To start getting a feel for your soil, start poking your finger in it frequently. (If you hate dirty nails, use lightweight rubber gloves.) My view is that ideally, soil for vegetables should be like a moist brownie, not sopping but not dry, and no more than the top inch should get dry. You can keep it at that ideal state longer by adding mulch, so that the excess water will drain but the residual water won't evaporate off the top.

i second the old reliable finger poke. if it feels cool and moist (not wet)your good. They will always appreciate an afternoon drink by soaking only the soil around the stem but not wetting the plant.