I've got lots and lots of plants from that family growing. They seem to do really well for me when planted in mounds of mushroom compost and provided with good drip irrigating to keep the roots moist and cool. Only struggles I seem to have with them is potassium deficiency which tends to make them more prone to powdery mildew and I'm trying to combat with maxicrop. I have also had some trouble with caterpillars, vine borrers and squash bugs (actually several types of bugs in the same general group squash bugs, stink bugs, and leaf footed bugs) but there is little to be done about them. The caterpillars I can battle with thruicide. The main problem I'm guessing for your poor little squash might be the vine borrers. They can kill off a whole plant pretty quickly. The moth (or whatever it is) lays an egg near the base of the plant or along the stem. When the larva hatches it eats into the stem and then eats along the inside of the stem killing any part of the plant above the larva within the stem. They can cause really quick death of a plant if they start boring in near the base of the plant. You may find a hole near where a leaf meats the stem and if the whole plant isn't already dead, you can use a pin to stab the larva inside the stem or just split open the stem to find the larva and kill it so it can't develop and re-produce. BT or thuricide isn't very effective against vine borrers since they only eat a small hold into the stem and then are safe inside the plant. BT only really works if the caterpillar eats the stuff. The comments about the sun are good. Most squash and cucs I've known don't like complete full day sun though I have some doing ok in mounds of mushroom compost with drip irrigation in my back yard (however they were direct seeded and not transplants.)

Hi Rich~ I'll try to answer your ??'s best I can.. :) but one question I will answer up front... the pool was definitely worth every penny.. :) The summer is not even in full swing yet & it's been great ! :) As far as the pool decking, the PB included 500 sqft in that price.. the additional we added was done thru their sub at an additional 8.50 per sq foot. (stamped-two colors)I think we wound up with about 1200 total... Also keep in mind our original estimate for the gunite pool was closer to $42,000, but I added alot of extras that brought it up.. a little higher... As far as choosing gunite, it was for the design ability you have with it, as well as the quality... My inlaws have a 20 year old gunite pool that has been issue free.. they have re-surfaced it once, just last year... The estimate you received for $900 sqft of pavers seems way high... I have a raised patio that's about 400sqft and a lower patio thats about 600sqft and my total cost was $10,000 lower then your estimate. I used the same contractor for both the pavers and the deck and pool landscaping, but our paver patio was done about 2 years ago. I worked with the landscape guy to design the look I wanted ...but the norm is he designs for you (I am just a control freak..lol) I think that it's nice to have something planned beforehand for the 'Big picture'.. but sometimes like in our case, we just had an idea that we built on.. cause it seems what you want sometimes changes when you see the real thing.... Anyway I am happy to give you the name of the landscape/paver guy... I am not sure where you are located, but their office is in Monmouth County... (FGM is the company and Joe is who you should ask for 732 580-1967) You can say Lori referred you if you want.. :) Here is there web site : http://www.fgmlandscaping.com/home.htm Good luck with everything and feel free to ask whatever ??'s you may have... The computer is such a great resource.... :)

Well I have not updated in a few days because I have been too busy to have a chance. The latest for today; the pool will be plastered and completed tomorrow, making it a three week project. The landscaping and gutters for the house were completed today. The marcite was delivered from supplier today and will be installed tomorrow. We start filling the pool tomorrow after marcite and will be swimming over the weekend. I will post some pictures tonight of the progress as of today and then I will start a new post tomorrow or Friday with the completed pictures of the pool. It just depends on how long the water fill up takes. It has been very time consuming and hard work doing it myself, but totally worth it in the end, especially to have it completed in 3 weeks. Can't wait for the weekend! :-)

Congrats on the new pool, it looks FANTASTIC!!! quote" I also think it was huge that we went into this very well educated on what we wanted, most of which we learned from this forum. "quote I'm certain this was a tremendous assistance during your process. I find it sad when I see thread titles like yours, it was very refreshing to read about your great turn. WAY TO GO for both you and top50!!! Note to all readers, Having a good construction experience isn't about just signing with any pool construction company. You can have a bad experience with any company large or small or have a good one just as equally. Legwork and checking the credibility (referrals, BBB, C of C, vendors, service providers etc..) of your potential builder will go a long long way in giving you a better shot at a good company. The best men in the industry are positioned right where top50 was (middle of the pack pricing and great credibility) during this quotation. You don't always end up with the best pool when you drop the most coin, you just dropped more money. But, when a potential builder is way less than the other competitors you can rest assured that you won't. See ya, Kelly