The squash succumbed to mildew probably. Solution: do not shower them, use drip or just place the hose under them and let it run. They do not do particularly well in containers. The tomatoes did the same, except they got some sort of wilt caused by their leaves being wet. Solution is the same, and they, too, do not do particularly well in containers. Beans do not make it when temps exceed 90. Grow other crops, such as okra, eggplant, pepper, melon, watermelon, or grow some beans well adapted to heat, such as cowpeas or yardlong. 100 is too high for most vegetables.

Well just wait and see you may not need to do anything! I've found with a healthy organic garden you are pestered by very few pests and diseases! (mother nature has a way of equaling things out! In our favor too if nice veggies or flowers etc. are our desire!).... You're growing: Tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, herbs, squash, cantelope, strawberries, and raspberries. Tomatos luckily are bothered by few pests.... most bugs (and animals) don't like them (except a dog I once had.... loved tomatos.... picked them once they were ripe.... very "gingerly" (a retriever type dog.... English Springer Spaniel) off the vine!) Tomatos sometimes get diseases but not usually..... I have with most seedlings though.... tomatos included its good to put a "wrapper" like of aluminum foil on the bottom half of the plant (in the soil) to ward off cut worms..... I've heard this same procedure can help ward off squash vine borer (on cucumbers and melon which you are growing).... Strawberries are usually bothered by birds... use floating row covers to prevent them eating them..... Companion planting is good and not planting the wrong plants together is good (i.e. tomatos and potatos) as per herbs chives are good in any vegetable garden to ward off pests and basil "loves" tomatos..... Don't know much about raspberries and the like but my guess is birds would like to nibble them too.... (row covers! :) ) Cedar mulch also keep away pests and some animals and helps block out weeds.... a "living" mulch is good to block out weeds (shallow rooted so it wont' interfere with other plant roots) and attractive enough so you like it! I like sedum subtarmentosum for this. (It also as all mulches retains inthe soil water)..... Interspersing veggies/herb and flower etc. beds with cover crops.... attractive or other wise helps to enrich soil.... crimson clover looks nice in any bed! :) Herbs and veggies generally in my opinion should be grown together as they help one another grow.... but herbs are welcom in any garden (mainly to keep away) pests..... Alliums decorative or otherwise are always a good choice! :)

I just saw this thread. For a few years, I tried making my own paste by running the tomatoes through a food mill to remove seeds and skins, then taking the resulting thick juice and putting it in plastic picnic plates, then into the food dehydrator. Its not that easy, too deep in the plates it ferments before it tries, to shallow you end up with 'tomato leather'. But with practice, it was reasonably easy to come up with a decent paste. But its a whole lotta work for not much paste. The reasons I tried was to get a better tasting result, figuring that most store-bought tomato paste comes from mechanically harvested hybrid plum tomatoes that are picked at the convenience of the factory, which is why so many of them taste like cardboard. LIke others, I've found that just buying a few cans of tomato paste and adding it as a thickener is the way to go. I usually stick with Contadina, which seems to be pretty consistent with good flavor. Far better than anything else I've tried. Each season, we can 100 or so quarts of thickened, tomato-based sauces. With that amount, I buy tomato paste in #10 cans, by the case of 6 - even with shipping, its half the cost of buying those 12 oz cans in the store. I open a can, divide it into plastic bags each holding two cups, one bag is enough for a 10 wt batch of sauce. They can easily be frozen.

Olpaka, is a good choice, I've had some cracking with Cherokee Purple, but sounds like you may do ok with all the mulch and irrigation, which helps. I've had very good luck with Bonnie Best. In fact I'm still picking tomatoes from it now. I planted it April first and got a good crop till june and july when the temps were over 100 everyday, but when the monsoons came and temps got back into the 90's it started blooming and now has another large crop about ready to harvest. It is good all purpose canning and fresh eating.