Configuring New Products block display when there is only one product

[lepusa]

Hello, please have a look at our store: https://leadingedgeproducts.com/store/

As you see, there is one item in New Arrivals. This is because we have the New Products module set to show items added within the last 30 days, and that item is the only one added in the last 30 days. We started this store several years ago, and we rarely add new items. So I have two questions:

1. Is there a way for the module to adjust the number of columns shown to equal the number of products it is displaying? It defaults to four columns, and when there is only one item shown it is displayed in the far left column with all that extra white space to the right.

2. If #1 is not easily achieved, is there a way to manually change the date added field for certain products so that they show up as New Arrivals? I tried changing the module to show items from the last 300 days, but then every item in our store is shown as new!

Thanks for you help!