Organic Gardening starts with the soil, so you need to know as much about your soil as possible, so start by contacting your county office of the Oregon State Universities Cooperative Extension Service about having a soil test done. Once that is done dig into your soi wiuth these simple tests to find out more about your soil; 1) Structure. From that soil sample put enough of the rest to make a 4 inch level in a clear 1 quart jar, with a tight fitting lid. Fill that jar with water and replace the lid, tightly. Shake the jar vigorously and then let it stand for 24 hours. Your soil will settle out according to soil particle size and weight. A good loam will have about 1-3/4 inch (about 45%) of sand on the bottom. about 1 inch (about 25%) of silt next, about 1 inch (25%) of clay above that, and about 1/4 inch (about 5%) of organic matter on the top. 2) Drainage. Dig a hole 1 foot square and 1 foot deep and fill that with water. After that water drains away refill the hole with more water and time how long it takes that to drain away. Anything less than 2 hours and your soil drains too quickly and needs more organic matter to slow that drainage down. Anything over 6 hours and the soil drains too slowly and needs lots of organic matter to speed it up. 3) Tilth. Take a handful of your slightly damp soil and squeeze it tightly. When the pressure is released the soil should hold together in that clump, but when poked with a finger that clump should fall apart. 4) Smell. What does your soil smell like? A pleasant, rich earthy odor? Putrid, offensive, repugnant odor? The more organic matter in your soil the more active the soil bacteria will be and the nicer you soil will smell. 5) Life. How many earthworms per shovel full were there? 5 or more indicates a pretty healthy soil. Fewer than 5, according to the Natural Resources Conservation Service, indicates a soil that is not healthy. Once done there you will have a much better idea of what your soil needs and what you need to do to get those needs into the soil.

Not dying yet. A bit spindly -- need more light. Yellow lower leaves often indicates low nitrogen. Have you fertilized? If so, with what, at what strength, and when?

Actually, the fruit of Passion Vine is highly edible -- you've just picked it too soon. Another common name for the vine is Wild Apricot, which should give you some idea of the general taste of the ripe fruit. When it's ripe the skin pales to a soft yellow green and the flesh will be quite soft. The ripe seeds inside will be dark. The black bug might be a leaf footed bug. They suck sap, but don't seem to do too much damage in my garden, unlike their relative the squash bug, which pretty much destroys my squash plantings every year. Marty Here is a link that might be useful: Leaf Footed Bug

Sorry, I should've included more information. So here it is: I'm in southern California, zone 10. This plant was planted in a 7 gallon container, and is put out on our rooftop deck where it gets full sun about 6 hrs/day, sometimes even more. I planted it in a container with Ocean Frost potting soil, and I applied Dr. Earth tom, veg, herb fertilizer only once when I planted it in Feb of this year. I water every other day, or when the soil looks dry, I water thoroughly as I read that's the best way to water these tomato plants. I water in the morning before going to work, and I also adjust for rain (which hasn't happened that often, but it has rained pretty hard for a day or so, within the past couple weeks). Hope that helps! :) Thanks! Cenesia