I'm not sure they're eggs...my wife has reported these to me, but I haven't seen them yet. Still, the fact some appear on the underside of leaves suggests to me that they're eggs rather than natural outgrowths (or whatever your vines get, jean).

Hey Bluethumb, I was offline for the weekend, too busy in the garden. But I'm really glad to hear that your cukes perked up again. Like others have mentioned, I suspect that they were suffering from overwatering while in the peat pots. Then the stress of transplanting made them weak, which is exactly when the bugs move in for a munch. Now that they are perking up, try not to overwater. A good test is to dig a small hole in the ground with your finger - if the soil is moist down to 1 inch, you're good, no need to water. I agree with kimmsr that letting the plants wilt puts them under stress, but it is definitely a sign that they're ready for a drink. Many plants will wilt in the midday sun whether the soil is moist or not, so don't be fooled by that. Water deeply rather than frequently - once the plants are established, one inch of water a week should be fine. About your compost pile, your friend is right, there's no need to get fancy or to worry too much about carbon to nitrogen ratios and all the other technical stuff you'll read. Pile it up good, turn it once in a while, and be patient. I don't know how much space you have, but I like to use a 3-pile system, so that I have one pile ready in early spring, one in the fall and one on the go. I usually start a new pile or two every spring and add to it over the spring and summer. The bottom layer of that pile will be ready in the Fall. I skim off the top of the spring/summer pile that hasn't decomposed and use it to start a new pile in the fall and add to it all winter. The top of the winter pile gets turned into the spring pile, and so on. I'm not that scientific about it, I just use what's ready and turn what's not. You should try to have a good mix of browns (e.g. Fall leaves, small twigs, dry grass) and greens (e.g. grass clippings, kitchen scraps, weeds that have not gone to seed) so that your pile is never too wet and turns into a sloppy mass - but even that I don't worry about too much. Just turn regularly and use whatever looks closest to dirt. If you can recognize what the material is, it's not ready to use. If it smells earthy and looks like dirt - use it!

I'd check with Jene at Jene's Tropicals. She's closed on Sundays, but last time I was there she had a decent selection of grapes. St Petersburg

What pests are you preventing?