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

I love my range so far but have only had it for one week so I am probably not the best one to offer advice...but here it is anyway - My 48" range is the GE Monogram dual fuel with 6 burners and griddle. Honestly, I was a little worried about ordering it and almost bit the bullet and ordered a Wolf at the last minute, but I just couldn't justify the $10k pricetag. My GE Monogram cost $7860. I've owned both a Thermador cooktop and a DCS range in the past so that's my frame of reference, but I can tell you that this range is in a whole different league and definitely tops the former two. I was worried that the burners would not be as effective as a BlueStar or Wolf and their open flame, super high heat, but so far they've been great, and I can't imagine anything better. I don't need anything more...I will use my wok on the range this weekend, and I'm excited to check it out because the GE's burner grates flip upside down to hold the wok. I imagine the heat will be more than enough for my wok. I read a complaint that the burner flame was too low underneath the pan and did not spread out enough, but that is definitely not the case with mine. The flame seems small enough for my small pans and wide and tall enough for big pans. This is unlike the flame on my former DCS range, which always spread out around the base of my small pots. GE's Monogram line of ranges used to be made by DCS, but this is the first model to be brought back "in house" by GE. In some ways, this made me a little nervous because in my mind, I thought of GE as maybe more "ordinary" than DCS and that DCS might be more proficient at making exceptional cooking appliances (I think that's even their tagline!) but it's not the case. The GE group responsible for this range definitely knew their stuff when it comes to cooking. So far, I've made seared salmon, fried eggs and a few other things on the range, and the heat is awesome from low simmer to super high. I can tell that I will use the griddle frequently. So far, I've made pancakes, sauteed veggies, quesadillas and some other stuff on the griddle, and it's all been perfect. My kids tell me that now we won't even want to go to our favorite greasy spoon diner for the occasional Sunday breakfasts because we all love that griddle! It really does turn out perfectly browned and "griddled" food - I didn't even know there was such a thing. My daughter baked muffins last night, which is the first time we used the oven (besides just the broiler) and they came out great - evenly baked and moist. We need to test the oven further, but so far, so good. I broiled some boneless chicken breasts the other night and they were very good. I was worried because I'm used to the searing heat of the infrared broiler on the DCS. The electric coils (or whatever they're called) on the GE are not quite as awesome as the infrared, but if the infrared is rated a "10" then I would say the broiler on the GE performed at a "9"...there really was not much difference between how the chicken broiled on this one and how it did on my old DCS infrared...maybe a little less "seared" and lighter brown, but not noticeably different to most people. It may make a big difference with a nice piece of steak, but for that we have a BBQ grill outside and since we live in So Cal, we use it all year round. Frankly, I thought I would just never use the broiler on the GE Monogram, but I can see that it will work well for most things. The other impressive thing about the range is what many refer to as "fit and finish". I used to disregard the importance of how a range felt/looked, and I thought that the more basic it was, the better, but now I've changed my mind. The GE Monogram range is clearly very well made and attention to detail/quality is noticeable. The very solid knobs click the heat on nicely and do not make the "click, click, click" after ignition like my old DCS. No surfaces are hot where they're not supposed to be hot. The range of the flame seems perfect to me, from super low to super high. The knobs have little lights illuminating them so you can see the range of the movement between simmer and high. The racks in the oven glide, which we all marvel at. So, in summary, I have to say I'm pleasantly surprised and really delighted by this range. There have been quite a few negative reports about GE Monogram, and I feel like people don't really even consider it as one of the "top" options, but I think it's fantastic so far and I hope to continue to feel that way! Best of luck.

Well, Stevied, thanks for your concern about "hijacking" my thread but I think we would all be better off if it morphs into a discussion of how we can all (male and female) be more sensitive in communication with our significant others than if it remains a narrowly focused thrashing out of my little problem. After all...I've already relegated that to the "last week's annoyance" category. Some might say that I've swept it under the rug...I prefer to think I've moved on. And I think I might learn a lot from a man who is willing to think a bit about these things. A different perspective, doncha know? I suspect that part of the problem your wife has with your attempts to communicate stems from old hurts. She may be expecting repeats of earlier disappointments and such. It's hard to imagine that a husband who would make such a sweet, humble attempt to understand and change would be rebuffed. There must be some issue lurking here. Have you asked about that? You say that you still can't help her feel better - well, apart from the fact that one person really cannot be responsible completely for the feelings of another - have you asked her to break things down for you into really small, doable bits? If you find that you just don't know what to do or say, could you say, "Honey, I can tell that you are hurting and I hate that and really want to help. What do you need me to do or say right now? What am I not getting about this? Do believe me that I want to understand and am not trying to be thick...I just don't quite see it and need you to help me understand how to help you. I'm hoping that if you walk me through it a few times I'll start to get it on my own." Any woman who would reject that must have a LOT of mistrust left over from somewhere. And those issues will have to be dealt with before progress is made. Also, apology has its valuable place. If you react in a way that turns out to be mistaken, apologize! Right away you can say, "Whoa! I think I read that wrong. You were serious, weren't you? I'm sorry I didn't get that. Let me back up and try again cause I really didn't want to hurt your feelings." And you may need to start out by assuming that it's ALL important for a while. Rather than putting all the burden on her to announce whether you should really pay attention or not, how about just assuming that if her mouth is moving you need to get in gear? I seriously doubt that she will be as annoyed on account of you taking something seriously when she was kidding as she would if you ignore her when she is trying to get your attention. You say that you want to help and you just can't seem to figure it out? Well, take the time and trouble to just pay attention to everything she says for a while and see if that helps. Really listen every time she speaks, take a few seconds at least to try to see what she is really saying and if you don't get it ask her to clarify for you. If nothing else, it should be a huge compliment to her that you are willing to pay attention to her. We really do teach others how to treat us. Heaven knows what I'M thinking...I seem to always teach people to take me totally for granted and to ignore my needs. When will I ever learn NOT to do that? Or HOW not to do that? But it's always easier to give advice about someone else's problem than to figure out our own or to take advice when it applies to us. So why shouldn't your wife teach you what she needs? If you are as willing to learn as you appear to be, I think she would be making a huge mistake not to jump at the chance. Guys like you don't grow on trees!

Jay, thanks for the Green site. I'll have to sit down and take my time going through it. marti8a, that is quite the house. It looks huge! It looks like they have implemented some good ideas, but the absolute true cracker style is very simple compared to that home, in the general style. However, whose to say if those early settlers were still around they wouldn't be trying something new, right? There were a few around with a cupola in the early days, but they don't seem to be common. We were going to put one on the house originally, but they can be hard to maintain and is another area for a potential roof leak. My husband said with the proper vents the house will perform the same as if it had a cupola. Some of the older homes have vents on the gable ends. I can't even imagine having a cupola with windows. I've seen a couple of them on modern versions of a cracker home. For one thing, who would ever want to clean the things? No one. So then you see dirty windows all the time. The other thing is the sun would be beating in and making the house extremely hot. There really isn't a practical way to cover them. Some cupolas do not have windows, but anytime you make a hole in your roof for something...... As people settled here from different areas they gradually brought some other styles with them. There are a few old homes in town that have been restored, and they have a more victorian look. There are also a few southern plantation styles that are old. The most common style still standing here is a two story "I" house with the added addition(s) on the back of the home. They had their kitchens outside the main living area for heat and safety reasons. They also added on as their families grew. The area that we live in is so cool because we can study these homes everytime we go into town or for a ride on back roads. We had a composting toilet in our "little house" (about 400 square feet) that we lived in while we built the main house many moons ago, when we were first married. I love the idea of composting toilets, and would have no problem with one in an outbuilding, but I didn't enjoy having one in my home. I'm not a squeemish person either. It made me feel like I had an outhouse in my house. They also have to be delt with properly or you can end up with odors, flies etc. I didn't get bugs in the house, but sometimes the venting fan froze in the winter and then pee you! The shower we build will most likely have a lip as well because the roll in ones can make a mess. I guess if one of us ever needs a wheelchair we'll have to remodel the shower. Hopefully, it'll never happen. My big thing is no shower door to clean and no shower curtains to deal with either. I'm still feeling really good about my loft. I won't be changing my mind again. Gee, I sure wish all of you were my neighbors. We'd have such a good time! Sandy