I wouldn't be ready to go the all in approach yet. First I'd focus on improving what you already have for next year. I assume this spot was well tilled/turned and amended before planting so it already has some work invested?

You don't mention anything about nutrient supplements or feeding the plants at all? With no organic matter to provide even minimal nutrients regular supplements would have been required.

The size of the tomatoes produced all depends on the variety planted. Name? The zucchini sounds like either lack of pollination or BER (blossom end rot. Manual hand pollination may be required until sufficient insects find the garden and settle in. BER is basically a soil moisture level (inconsistency which is common with sandy soils which drain quickly) plus a bit of nutrient deprivation thrown in. Cucumbers are subject to a couple of insect transmitted diseases - signs of cucumber beetles?

The late planting will also account for some of your issues.

Dave

"Soil is very sandy; lacks organic material."

Building large compost piles throughout the garden has helped keep our organic/sand/clay blend in good balance over the years. It's not a quick fix but it's a long lasting fix.

It's possible to grow healthy vegetables in pure sand, as long as nutritional support is added. Incorporating organic material, either as an amendment or mulch, will improve the growing experience.

Planting dates can be very important. In my zone 6b-7 location, the average last frost date is April 15. That's the planting date, give or take a week or so.

1.posting you zone does not at any useful info you post.

2. you need more day light.

3. what dtm are the varieties you planted.

4. cucumbers pollination issue and cucumber beetle spread virus.

Thanks for all who commented. Our tomatoes are showing color now. I don't know the variety, as my wife picked up the plants. Since they were from a big box store, probably one of their standards -- Better Boy? perhaps. I did fertilize with Miracle Gro at the recommended rates (not on peppers, though). Anyway, the Zucchini is a failure due all the fruit rotting at thumb size or greater. Cukes never did anything. Peppers and Eggplant look OK.

We've decided the failure is due to a combination of a) poor soil b) not enough sun and c) late start. So we're going to relocate to a different part of the yard for next season.

We really need to know your geographic location to give you very good advice. As an example, early June would NOT be a late start in my area! While our last frost date is the end of March, we cannot/shouldn't plant out hot season crops (tomatoes, corn, peppers, eggplants, squashes, etc.) until the end of May or beginning of June as our soils just do not heat up fast enough nor are our nighttime temperatures warm enough before then to accommodate these high heat loving plants' needs.

And 6+ hours of sunlight a day is plenty to grow just about any vegetable - I grow most of mine on quite a bit less.

Before you do much of anything else, I'd suggest you have a professional soil test done. And one that includes the percentage of organic matter your soil contains. And then make any amendments to your soil the test suggests to increase fertility and water retention. That is very likely all you need to do to have a productive garden next season.

Again, knowing where you are is essential. State? City? USDA zones are winter hardiness zones, and don't really tell you much about summer conditions. Although you probably don't have this problem, plantout time for at least tomatoes has to figure in the likely length of the season. In my burg, summer heat is so fierce that tomatoes stop pollinating in June. As a result, the game is to get the tomato plants to mature well before then. That calls for planting out IMMEDIATELY after last frost. For me, that's late Feb/early March. They grow slow for a month or so, but when it gets warm, they have a well developed root system.

But that's correct that the first step in assessing poor soil to get remedied for next season is to get a soil test. If your neighbors have done so, you're probably good to go. In any case, digging in lots of compost sounds necessary. That will NOT fix a soil chemical deficiency, but will help soil structure.

I am located on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. We'll be doing next season with a raised bed so the soil conditions can be set easily enough.

If zucchini is rotting when its the size of your thumb, the flower wasn't pollinated. Zucchini has male and female flowers and they need to be open at the same time to get pollinated. Sometimes you have just male flowers at the beginning of the season, and sometimes you'll go for a spell with just female flowers. The female flower is at the end of a tiny zucchini. If its not pollinated, the fruit rots instead of growing. Male flower on the left, female right.

Didn't know that! Thanks. We did get a few off the plant that didn't rot.