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!

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I will caution you to be careful with Daltile since I had a very recent, very bad experience. Our tile guy bought what we requested and many things were not in stock. Very long story short, most of it came in little by little over the next few months. After 2.5 or 3 months the master bath floor was still not in (they missed two different dates on this one) and it wasn't going to be in for two more months. Everything else was already installed and designed around this floor and I had to pick something else. Just make sure they actually have it and don't trust any future dates they give you because they are just guesses and you may never get it. Oh, the customer service can't be considered bad since it is completely non existent.

There are few software products that need more power than a good laptop, either Windows or Apple, require. That's a LAPTOP, not a TABLET. People do confuse the two and they are very different things. Heavy duty photo editing and CAD usually do require a desktop. Also, some business proprietary software may as well. Many colleges offer free Microsoft Word. Windows is already installed on most PC computers, laptop or desktop. It's Word that is free - free for as long as the student is enrolled. By that time (4-5 years), they will probably be buying a new computer/software anyway. My DGS's college-to-be does this. maifleir, I strongly advise your NIECE to look on the U of Seattle's website, for computer requirements/recommendations. It will be there, I promise. And the niece better start learning how to find such info or college is going to be a big challenge! No more "mom" doing things for her! Also, look at the prices on their Bookstore website. At Cornell, the laptop that I will most likely be buying my DGS, is $200 less than it would be on Apple's website. As the time for students arriving draws closer, they may have some "package offers" - free or heavily discounted printer with computer deals - they did when DD arrived there 27 years ago! Unfortunately, they were far more expensive than what the money her grandparents had given her, would buy, so we did not take up that offer. We're going to wait until a week or so before he goes to college to buy and he can pick it up in the bookstore when he gets there.