This has been a weird spring, we had that 80 degree spell that tricked some of us into thinking we should sow earlier than we normally do -- that and the renumbering of our hardiness zones. Are your seeds new this year? Unless you store them carefully, older seeds can lose their viability. I've noticed a big difference between new and older seeds. The new ones just pop right up when conditions are right. I live an hour or two north of you and my peas and spinach, planted in mid- March and April, are up and looking healthy, so it's not the weather. As others have mentioned, onion seeds have to be started indoors very early (like early Feb.) It's still too cold here for outdoor planting of basil, zukes, cukes, tomatoes, eggplant, squash, peppers and beans. Normally I put them out May 15 to 30, depending on the weather. There's no advantage to doing it too early. They like it hot. I start the beans, squash and cukes outside. I start eggplant, peppers and tomatoes indoors in cells or soil blocks in mid-March, then transplant them into bigger pots or blocks after a few weeks.

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 have a bareroot rose from last year and I have it in front of a side fence to discourage anyone from hopping the fence to get in the back. Someone stepped on it late last fall and broke and bent canes off to the ground and within a few inches. I cut them off and with normal watering it came back this spring, growing off what I thought were dead canes and I didn't see anywhere it could start growing from again. I almost think it's going to be a better rose bush for it. I don't think a bent, damaged cane could sustain the weight roses would put on it. From what you're saying I don't believe the rose will regrow the damage done. I don't really understand where it's broke out but I think you'll have to prune it off and hope to spark new growth with some watering. I'd be putting some Vitamin B1 on it for stress. You might create a well around the rose and water it deeply before you go, maybe it would be enough if it's not too warm where you are. Roses are pretty tough, I've had various accidents with them and thought they'd be toast and they were fine.

You may not be doing anything wrong. I stopped buying plants on E-Bay because of the quality. They could still bud out but I think many of the sellers keep the plants out of the ground too long before shipping. You might want to cut back the top a few inches and see iof the wood is green, if brown DOA.