My maple roots get to about 80 feet from the trunk. One of my gardens is at least 60 ft from any tree and does have some roots. One thing he can do is the following: dig up soil, one spade deep, on the side of the garden maple roots may be coming from. Cut the soil down to another spade depth without removing it. With the spade, you should already be feeling where the roots are (after a while, you can tell roots from stones from feel).

When you find a root, insert hand saw in the cut, saw the root. They are typically not big and easily cut. Continue down the trench. Replace soil when you are done. Repeat every two years, possibly in early spring before the growing season starts.

Wilting in the sun is totally normal and expected. The plants are conserving their energy. Once it moves into shade, they should perk up. It's when you go out in the morning and they've not perked up that it's time to worry.

My garden looks like a wilted wasteland in the afternoon, but as soon as the shade hits, give it 45 minutes, if that, and it perks right up.

Here is a link that might be useful: The Corner Yard

What veggies are wilting? Squashes often wilt in afternoon heat, no matter how much soil moisture there is, and my extra lettuces in black pots go into death throes in direct afternoon sun, so they must be in the shade at all times. The lettuces in the garden, whose roots are less exposed, "soften" in heat, but don't actually wilt. Peppers and eggplants should not wilt at all.

One thought, aside from the encroaching maple possibility, is that perhaps the soil was not sufficiently drenched at planting? Here in California we get no summer rain, so any plot of land that isn't irrigated dries out very deeply, and planting a garden on such soil requires very deep initial watering to avoid dry zones below the surface.

In any case, mulching thickly with something like straw will preserve a LOT of moisture, as well as keep the roots at a cooler temperature.

The vegetables that are wilting are the cauliflower, broccoli, potatoes, peppers, cucumbers, pumpkin, cantalope, watermelon.

think i answered this question in the soils forum?? is that correct?

from what was asked there i don't see it as a watering issue but a natural process plants may go through in the heat of the day.

len

Here is a link that might be useful: lens garden page