Fifth Avenue Forum

Enjoy your lifetime of asparagus!

Enjoy your lifetime of asparagus!

Funny story: as a kid my dad planted asparagus in his garden. I hated asparagus. As part of our chores, my brother and I had to pick the asparagus from the garden. Well, maybe 10% made it in the house and the other 90% was thrown in the woods. Sorry dad, asparagus crop is bad this year

I wanted to plant berries this year in a big sunny corner of the yard I just cleared out but I've learned Queen Colby has been house hunting on her phone so I doubt I can hold that one off long enough to make it worth it.

I wanted to plant berries this year in a big sunny corner of the yard I just cleared out but I've learned Queen Colby has been house hunting on her phone so I doubt I can hold that one off long enough to make it worth it.

Yeah you want about 3 years to really get ROI on fruit bushes

At the end of February last year, this is what our nectarine tree looked like.



Today, there is not a single blossom. Meanwhile, the peach tree (out of frame on the right) is jammin' with blossoms this past week. Do I have a dead nectarine tree?

Nah man, Punxsutawney Phil didn't see his shadow last year. This year he did. Obviously your peach tree didn't get the message. You're good.

Don't speak ill of Phil.

Is it just me or are fruit trees way up in price this year?

Last year was a boon for the horticultural industry. Supply and demand has driven prices up.

Figure today is a good a day as any to prep the lawnmower for the new season. Pressure wash the deck, sharpen and balance the blades, replace the oil and filter.

I love my Honda mower, but man, this is the second year in a row I need to buy new blades. The bottom blade had too many large chips in it to file off. I’m not even sure an angle grinder would have saved it.

I have absolutely no desire to mow a law ever again.

I enjoy the start of the season. Good weather, I get to lose myself in music while making the lawn look nice, etc. By late July with the humidity, however, I hate it.

I love mowing the lawn. One of life's greatest pleasures. I love making our yard look too notch in general.

If not for the guy down the street who is semi-retired and tends to his lawn like one of his kids, I’d have the nicest lawn in the neighborhood.

I did crabgrass preventer on Wednesday. I'll aerate and overseed in about a month, and then fertilize again shortly after that.

I just did crabgrass preventer today. I think I also need to replace my Honda mower blades too.

I love cutting grass. It's like my form of meditation. Yard work in general is, although to NTPs point it does suck when humid.

Planning on building some mobile raised beds for along the side of the house and maybe the deck... is there ahuge difference between pine and cedar for the build? Am I going to get a huge bump in lifetime if I use cedar?

I don’t think you’ll find many who would choose pine over cedar. There are just too many benefits from using it.

I'm largely just looking at cost to longevity. I've got scrap pine and wouldn't need to spend a ton to make the beds, but if they're going to crap out after 2 years where cedar would last 15... well, okay. I'll pony up and get the cedar.

Personally, I’d pony up for cedar. It has natural protection against both weather and pests. I like the look of it, too, but that’s subjective.

I got about 5 years out of rough cut pine boards that were (a true) 2x14 when I did my raised beds. They rotted away after that.

I think if you do cedar and maybe line the inside faces of the wood with plastic you may get a little longer out of them.

I made grow boxes for my deck 3 years ago out of pine and sealed it. They're still fine

What about railroad ties?

I don't know how long they were there but the railroad ties built into the retaining wall at the old Allison Park house were a complete mess by the time we moved out. No idea how the buyers didn't complain.