Watering 2 times daily, early morning and late afternoon. Tomatoes are small, beans are shriveling and cukes are dying on the vines. Garden has good organics, thanks to the chicken compost.

I live in NE OH, 2 blocks from Lake Erie. Temps are nearly 10 degrees above avg, in the 90's, and it hasn't rained here in over a month and a half.

Any advice to help save my crops would be GREATLY appreciated. I'm running out of ideas.

Blame it on Bush. Seriously, the temps shouldn't be a problem. Have you put a vapor barrier on the soil around the plants? Mulch would help

Yep. Straw, and I let SOME weeds grow to attract the japanese beetles and other insects. Paths are covered in "mellowed" pine shavings from the chicken coop. Never seen anything like this summer. Too hot and dry to plant a fall harvest right now, and don't know if I can bring in this current crop.

hmmmm, dont know what you can do that your not already doing.. things should not be as bad as you are making it sound if you are watering twice a day.. its not THAT hot.. maybe you have another problem that your overlooking? nutrient problem or possibly a PH problem due to the pine needles?? i dunno,, that or your not watering enough..

seriously, just the heat is not your problem, we grow beans,okra and corn in the greenhouse without a fan all summer. temps routinely break 110 and they thrive..

If you can get a pump, shallow water type, and some barrels, got to the nearest water source that is open, such as pond or brook, and suck water to fill the barrels. Then go back and reverse the deal to water the gardens well.
We have a small brook on the property to do this with when we need it. If you are on city water, you can just water with a hose, well water if it's not low. Water either in the evening or in the early morning. Another trick to try, is fill 2 liter soda bottles with water and invert them into the soil near the individual plants. I have sunk #10 cans in the soil (punch lots of holes in the bottom 1/3rd) and filled them with water for a slow release/trickle watering system.

If you have the time/space/money, you can build a frame and put netting/cheese cloth over the frame to give the plants some shade.

Thanks all. After calling our water company, they are using a lot of chlorine in the water, so I'm letting the water sit in the kiddie pool to evaporate the chlorine before using on the garden. I also tried shading with old sheets stapled to firring strips. Thank the Lord we finally had a day of showers and clouds and temps are expected to be seasonal. It has been unusually hot and dry here this year.

ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh,, city water will sure do it..i bet letting it air will do wonders..
be sure and let us know if it makes a difference..

Allowing the chlorine to evaporate before watering has made a HUGE difference in the garden. Tomatoes are still small, but the beans and cukes I'm harvesting are awesome! Learned a valuable lesson ... beware of city water and chlorination!

thats great news.. glad to see you solved the problem..