You can till clay, if you do it at the right time. Tilling too wet clay makes for major problems and trying to till too dry clay is about immpossible. Then, once the clay has enough organic matter in it it probably would not need to be tilled again unless someone walked on it or other wise compacted it. These simple soil tests may be of some help. 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 your 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.

The first thing I notice is that you're growing your pumpkins in a field of thick weeds and grass. That's not necessarily too bad as long as you have a large cultivated area at the main stem for them to draw from, but I don't see that either. Basically, your pumpkins are competing for survival with some very fierce competitors. This is a fight you won't win. I also see some powdery white spotting which is Powdery Mildew, a natural enemy of squashes but generally only a problem for weakened plants. A few fertilizers spread the base is not what your pumpkins need. They need room to spread their roots. I would suggest a deeply cultivated and composted 4' x 4' weed-free area to start each pumpkin. And that's the minimum. The more area of moist, fertile soil they have to spread across, the better off they will be. Additionally, you may or may not be having problems with Squash Vine Borers (SVB). I don't have those where I live and know little about them. But from what I understand they are *very* nasty and hard to avoid. You may want to research that a bit.

Sounds like you've got everything planned correctly. My first frost is around mid-November as well. I put out transplants somewhere between July 4th and 15th. There's not really much you can do about the heat. Some shade the first few days after transplanting can help, but tomatoes need sunlight to grow. The heat shouldn't be too bad for them, other than causing blossom drop. Just keep them watered well and watch out for fungal diseases. Jason

I've had the same problem this year with my basement. For weeks all I could think of was "A River Runs Through It" or "Waterworld". :-) Tomatoes hate being waterlogged. Moreso than most plants. You could always stick your finger (or a stick) in the ground it see if it's soggy down around the roots. Or, if you pull up one of the plants, check to see that the ground is not waterlogged around the roots. If it is, that is likely the problem. I doubt anything leached from the roof into the water and killed the plants. We are down to some of the most likely suspects: 1. Water - way too much or way too little. 2. Herbicides -- either sprayed nearby and drifted unto the plants, or in the manure (or soil, if brought in). However, I would expect to see deformed and stunted foliage prior to death. Looking at the dead leaves, it's hard to detect any distortion in the foliage. The wilting leaves don't look distorted. 3. Disease. There are several diseases that can cause wilting, but disease is not obvious from the photo. Afterthought: Since your sedum looks unhealthy also, did you use cow manure on that too? Many farms use pasture pesticides that pass right through grazers' digestive systems and into the manure unchanged. Then we take the manure, dress our gardens, and it causes our plants to die or at least struggle. When getting manure or soil or compost, it would probably be a good idea to ask which pesticides they are using in their pasture. Then use accordingly. Link to an article below - just in case it applies to your situation (which is hard to discern). Here is a link that might be useful: Herbicide Carryover