On Wednesday, August 19, 2015 at 11:31:16 AM UTC-4, Terry Coombs wrote:
The vine crop space this year is right next to the blackberry patch , and
they've been climbing . So far there are 3 pumpkins on the vine (in the
berry patch , several more on the ground), and the weight is bringing them
down . This area is just downhill from where I was piling the chicken litter
in a compost pile , and it's doing better than anything else in the garden .
This tells me that my poor growth everywhere else is due to a shortage of
nutrients - or a Ph problem that makes them unavailable , or a combination
of both . I'll be taking samples to the county extension agent for testing .
Once I know just what the problems are I can correct them , and maybe even
get some decent crops next year - or this , if I get results in time .

--
Snag

Well, I would guess that nitrogen is lacking. Being that the pumpkins are doing much better than other things and they are just downhill from the chicken manure pile one would believe that nutrients are flowing from the pile to the plant. A major component of chicken manure is nitrogen. In my area the soil is acidic. Farmers commonly add lime to pastures and cropland every 2-5 years. Check with neighbors to see if they add lime(for low Ph) or sulfur(for high Ph). This will tell you if the local soil is sweet or acidic. The county agent's report will help you make a more accurate additions, but you can make additions without it.
Steve