I'm wondering if it might be the fertilizer. How much did you put down and what kind? Has it rained more than it did last year? Is it hotter? What's in your compost? That sounds like an awful lot of watering to me. I know it is really hot there, but still...

"The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step". Perception does not necessarily reflect reality and the little things you see today get even smaller in time. The idea about hiring a young person for weeding is a great one! It's not really hard work and they earn some spending money. I wonder if $5 and hour is the going rate...I mean it sounds good to me, I wonder if it does to a young person. I think the other advice is good to. Don't look at the sum total of what you want to do - it's too great. The giant redwood comes down one chop at a time. Try and do a little bit on a regular basis and you'll be amazed at how all those little bits add up. Above all, I don't think you want those 'ditch' lillies (would those be tiger lillies?) everywhere, unless you'll let it all go to field.

pH of 7.4 is just a little above neutral, so not bad for many plant species. BTW, if compost from an area having more or less neutral pH soil is tested for its pH, it will generally be right around the same range as the area's soil. Some folks think compost is always highly acidic. In fact, it rarely is, and then only if strongly acidic feedstocks were used in its prep. +oM

Though it could have been much worse my tomato-related difficulties had much to do with temps and weather. A cool spell coupled with steady rain in late May and early June. This slowed down growth but thankfully serious disease did not set in, i'll wager that preventative spraying helped. I have a tiny bit more blossom drop than normal, it seems to be affecting Brandy Boy the most. Whereas my prized red and pink hearts seem to be holding most blossoms, and setting a good amount of little heart shaped fruit. My annuum peppers have the nasty bacterial spot again, i didn't catch it early enough, so now i get to battle it all season long. I'll do some quick research on systemic fungicides, just so i don't have to rely on copper-sulfate + serenade. I've already yanked and replaced the worst looking plants... Steve