Hi Edie........I've never fertilized the cucumbers. Maybe that's the problem. What kind of fertilizer to they need?They are outside for the bees to come around. I think I do have flowers without little cucumbers attached. I have 5 plants in a large pot. One plant was started inside and did OK for the transplant. The others were put in later. It's the transplanted one that's having the problem. It is the biggest of course. I've been removing the sickly looking leaves from the tomatoes. I'm not getting many flowers. I have Roma and Cherry. I think it's the Roma that have a few small fruits now. They are also in a container. I'm concerned that I've put too many plants in the container. I think there are 3 roma and 3 cherry in there. The container is 1.5 to 2 feet diameter and about as tall. I'm also concerned I have been watering the cucumbers too much. I thought they needed lots of water. The tomatoes get less water. Every day or two I water the cukes if there has been no rain. Not as much for the tomatoes. Thanks for your response Edie. Every little bit of help is good for me. I haven't had a yard for years so this is the first year I've tried to plant. My seedlings got pretty leggy due to lack of light I think. I got a light for them after they were well underway. I'll know better next year and start everything with a light from the beginning.

I think a lot of it comes down to why we "need to know" whatever. To advise of the tragedy is newsworthy only in its exceptionalism, and that could have been summed up in a 1-sentence soundbite repeated ad infinitum, ad vomitum. And that's pretty much what happened. More info can be categorized: who did what to whom, when and where. And let's be honest - "Why" is invariably speculative, becoming informative only well after the event -- consider the news reports about Hitler at 1-year intervals. "Why" has no place in the immediacy, and is of use only to those can study it after the event. The general public does not have the training, skills, knowledge or interest to actually make use of any determination of "why". Unless we are in the vicinity and have the needed skills to assist the authorities, we certainly don't "need" to know tragic or horrific details on a minute-by-minute basis. And if we do need those details, news teams are unlikely to provide am acceptable means of communication of the required information. The rest of us fall into the categories of being involved and/or being an observer. Involvment means you are personally connected to one of the victims -- and I don't mean living in the same home state, I mean you actually know the person. People who are involved would have been grateful for specific information regarding the victims, both in learning who was injured or killed; or confirming that the known person was safe. In this category, public media could have been useful, but I found the publicized information was scanty and late in being delivered. Non-involved observers do NOT have a "need" to know. The media can pander to their morbid curiosity and demands, but catering to inquisitive ghouls is sensationalism and neither admirable or necessary.

It has been beautiful here the past few days,but too hot for tender seedlings and old widowed women. I sat some plants out by the front door (purchased plants, WS seedlings, and bulbs that didn't quite get the care they needed during their stay in the garage over winter)and to my dismay, or shock, when I stepped outside they all looked like they had been plopped down in the middle of the Sahara Desert not the middle of the Appalachian Mountains! It's hot. And let me add, I am one that has been whining about how cold it has been lately. So we go from what felt like freezing to this?? They are calling for rain/thunderstorms starting Wednesday, and that is fine by me. I only wish I had my plants out in the garden before then, but doubt it. Somebody pass me the Pina Colada, or Margarita, or whatever the popular beach/hot weather drink is!

Kitchen scraps are going in milk jugs and then set on top of the compost pile out back. This way they should go through several freeze/thaw cycles before being finally added to the bin. Late December in northern-Illinois and you don't know what you'll get - today was the first real snowfall of the season but tomorrow is supposed to be back to low 40s F. I thought about the reusable grocery bags but gave up on them after a while. I am thinking one would work well if I need to store VC before we thaw out for next season. For the most part the bags are made of non-woven polypropylene. UV from the sun will eat that stuff up before a season is over in the garden. As for a bin it would be a good test. It will have a high surface area to volume ratio though. Expect to water it a lot is what I think. Would a small bag like this make more of a batch process compost cycle than a traditional bin?