None of the pictures seem to be showing up for me so I can't see anything that you are talking about. One thing you mentioned was blossom end rot. Just so you know, this isn't a disease. Blossom end rot happens when something keeps calcium from getting to the developing fruit fast enough. It is a calcium deficiency but don't let it trick you into thinking that your soil is deficient. It seems more common on earily fruit and plants often grow out of it. It is sometimes due to irratic moisture or letting the roots get dried out which impairs their ability to take up the calcium that is in the soil. There are some sprays out there that can help keep developing fruits from suffering the problem though once a fruit has the rotted blossom end, there is no cure for that particular fruit, you might as well pull it. You noted that this is your first year trying organic gardening. Hang in there, most people seem to think it takes 3 years to really get the soil improved. You also mentioned that you think it isn't just your yard. The weather will play a huge roll in certain maladies. In some areas this year it was powdery mildew (dry weather mold which I had back in the dry spring.) Wet humid weather will bring on a whole different set of problems, (as it starts pour down rain here as I type.) Don't be too quick to blame your troubles on organic gardening when the weather is at fault. Especially if this is your first season. It does take a while to transition from chemicals to organic methods. Some of our tomato plants look a bit strange. The ones we grew back in the spring did too. They still produced some good tomatoes but probably not as many as they could have. What the tomato looks like is not so important as long as they taste good, unless you are into competitions or selling them. Have you had soil tests done? Your local extension office should be able to tell you more about soil testing, it doesn't cost very much. It is possible that you could be adding something that is throwing things out of whack. You mentioned using vinegar, if your soil is already on the acidic side, the vinegar could be causing the pH to get out of the ideal range for many of your plants. On the other hand, many people add lime just because it seems to be the thing to do. Problem is, pH greatly affects what nutrients are available from the soil. Also, an over abundance of some nutrients may make other nutrients unavailable to the plants. Getting the right balance for your soil, climate, situation, and plants can take a while. Building up a micro-herd of soil microbes takes time. Composting takes time. Even adding tons of soil enhancements to your dirt will take time before they produce the desired results. I am new to organic gardening too. I used to use lots of Miracle Grow. This first season my soil is still basically sand. Most of my veggies are growing in "raised" beds (my few layers version of lasagna gardening.) My verson for most of them this season was a layer or two of cardboard with a mound of mushroom compost on top with a thick layer of wood chip mulch over it all. This is working well for squash, zucchini, cucumbers, and pumpkins so far. The tomatoes were planted into the ground where the sand had mushroom compost mixed into it. I've also planted into cardboard boxes filled with the free compost from our county. This makes a quick raised bed that will last a season, when it's done just pull the sides of the cardboard box away, spread the compost around and hoe out any weeds. I've had pretty good (not perfect) luck with these methods for my first couple seasons. It takes a very large amount of organic matter to properly amend sandy soil in hot humid climates since the microbes break the stuff down very quickly and much of the nutrients will leach away fast through the sand. Sorry I'm not of much help on your specific problems but I wish you luck and I hope you will hang with it for a couple more seasons before you say it doesn't work.

Beautiful dog, too! I know what you mean, though. My old boxer liked to swim, so she would have been a hazard around the pond. Unfortunately, she's gone now. Old age. I've actually been considering another dog to help guard the pond against predators. No coon problem, but we do have herons in my neck of the woods. No losses yet, though, thankfully.

Kathi, yes, they're nicotiana. Last year I planted nicotiana Aztec, just one plantÂan impulse buy at the farmer's market. It reseeded this year. I don't know if Aztec is a hybrid, but this year's plants are the same white, at least. I was going to add a few more pictures, but I just put them in the Gallery, where I guess these should have gone in the first place. Sorry about that! But happy to meet everyone. Susan

Wow, Thank ya'll so much. After I did my first one, I was completely hooked. Now I look at everything and wonder how it will looked all decorated up. My hubby says that he is scared to sit still for too long, for fear I might mosaic him. I have to say that my tray is my favorite. I cheated a bit with the edges. I bought the precut tiles at Lowes because they were the perfect colors. But I did peel them and attach them.LOL Thank ya'll for all your comments. I look forward to getting to know you all and learning new tricks. Also, I don't know how the pictures got small. They were huge when I posted them. Have a great day! Allyson