give the watering a chance and hopefully that will have been the problem. did you check if the soil was dry first before watering? wind at those temps when the soil is dry can have hazardous effects. anytime the temps are expected to go below 45 I water thoroughly and hope for the best. it's very important that newly planted transplants be not allowed to dry out until their roots are well established. make sure all of your plants receive at least an inch of water weekly, if you have to stick your finger into the soil and make sure the soil is damp all the way down. if not water thoroughly, wait 15-30 min (depending on soil consistency) then stick your finger down into the soil again if it still isn't damp you aren't watering thoroughly enough and water again until it is.

gardening is a live and learn lesson...mark it down as a lesson learned.

Lilacs, so sorry to hear about your troubles. My cantaloupe didn't take at all. I had planted 3 plants (seedlings) and between the sun and the slugs, they're gone. I planted another 3 - the same thing. I now have watermelon plants in their place. I've already replaced some snap dragons too. (See the key to a pretty garden is to keep replacing the dead plants until they take!) We've had some screwy weather here. Two nights ago we had record lows (in the low 40's). Today we are expecting record highs! Hang in there. We all have off seasons for gardening. I'm still planting mine (I'm way behind!)

Wait it out, it might come back.

When I put planted my garden, everything looked good the 1st week, but then the leaves on my cantalope, watermelon, squash and a few others started looking really bad like they were dying.

At that time, I was water once a day and felt I might have been over watering them. Because of this, I went to watering once ever other day and things started to turn around. Now, everything looks great and I don't water without checking the soil. If it's dry at 3 inches, then it's water time. If it's still moist, I don't water, because I want deep roots.

Good luck and let us know how things progress.

Don't give up on them yet. Some of it may be due to those danged peat pots. ;) It takes forever for them to degrade enough for the roots to get out. And the hot caps only complicate the problems for the plants.

Next year try skipping the peat pots all together or at least removing them before transplanting, and pitch the hot caps.

Just think of all you have learned this year about proper planting dates, varieties, and watering. Keeping a journal? It will really come in handy next year.

The lilac bush will likely recover and would love to have to have a couple of shovels of composted manure spread around its base (not too close) and watered in very deeply. The iris stems, when blooming, fall over for all of us. It's the weight. ;) Once they are finished blooming, cut off the stalk about 1/2 way down and add about 2" of soil mixed with compost around the base of the plant. There is still plenty of time in your zone to replant zukes and melons but I'd wait until your temps warm up a bit. They prefer the heat of mid summer.

Meanwhile, contact your local county extension office and ask for links to or copies of their gardening info and pest control data. They can provide you with proper planting times, variety recommendations, pest control solutions, etc. And if they are first class, they will also have a local Master gardener who makes house calls. :) Hang in there lilacs!

Dave

I bought some of those "cowpots" thinking maybe I'll use them for fall harvest veggies. They might degrade better than the peat pots. I checked my beds tonight. One peat pot of cauliflowers flat out died. :-( The other brassica are hanging in there. They look sad, but not dead. That's the important thing.

I watered everything tonight. Soaked the ground good. I checked the soil first. If I went down far enough there was a little moisture, but not a lot.

My pansies are pretty much dead, and I don't understand that. A week ago, I had maybe a hundred blooms. They looked fantastic. Now they're lying on the ground looking dry and dying.

My raised bed potatoes haven't put in an appearance, but the potatoes in the potato bag are looking great. But the bag helps keep the moisture in, and the top of the bag protects them from the wind.

I figured out where the aphids came from. The gazania I bought a couple days ago. I also have little black flying things in my plant room.

Neem oil. When I plant everything outside, I'll douse them with neem oil.