Fifth Avenue Forum

The grass is looking a little shaggy, but the lawn is so wet from all that rain that there are literally still puddles in my back yard. I'm thinking the lawn is going to look shaggy all week, because I'm sure not mowing today.

I cut my lawn 7 days ago to 2.5" and applied weed and feed. With the feeding and the 27 inches of rain, even putting the deck back at 3.5" today was a major cutting

Your lawn does look very nice ntp.

Also we have a very similar pattern with sidewalk/porch/garage. I did a rock garden between my house and sidewalk with some daylillies, hosta, and gold mop cypress. It looks really nice and adds a bit of curb appeal. Once the daylillies bloom I'll snap a pic.

We picked up a lot of hummingbird/bee/butterfly attracting flowers while at that garden center, so I'm hoping that we see more wildlife this year than we have in the past. Bees, we'll always see plenty of them, as they go crazy for the pollen on our dwarf chestnut. I'd love to see more of the other two.

mac, I love daylillies, and have a neighbor who does basically what you describe. Fills in the entire area really nicely, and he's got a variety of colors.

It's so weird. I'm not a big gardener, but this time of the year I'm usually weeding and cleaning beds and planting a little bit. This year? No point, as we'll be out of this house in six weeks (fingers crossed). I keep wanting to plant something, but alas...

I did talk with the state horticulture/agriculture agent about transplanting my blueberry bushes. Gave me a bunch of tips and suggestions, although June is the dead last month I should be trying to transplant those bushes, but if done properly, it shouldn't damage them. Soil is similar in both locations too.

Do you have a good sandy, acidic soil for the blueberries?

Freeze a couple weeks ago almost assuredly means no peaches this year

Do you have a good sandy, acidic soil for the blueberries?

I do! The closer to the coast, the worse the soil gets for blueberries. Fortunately, we couldn’t buy anything where the soil is bad for blueberries!

I've given up on blueberries in my garden. Tried every trick to get the acidity up and putting in tons of peat moss. 3 strikes and they're out

Check with Penn State's Extension agents for testing and tips. Clemson Extension has been very helpful, but I think it's very southeast specific info.

I like having a lawn service, they handle our one acre. Last year we were paying about $125 every two weeks for cut, trim, and hauling away the cut grass. This year at contract renewal they bumped it to $139. Fine, we renewed.
Got a note from them today saying they are adding a 'temporary' fuel surchage of 20%. If they apply that to the total base we are looking at a cost of $166 each time. Or about $3000 per year for 9 months of service.

I haven't looked yet but I suspect I can get a rider big enough to tackle an acre for less than that. Which is what I used to do before we moved in. We only hired the service because we were living in Allison Park and driving to Latrobe every two weeks just to cut grass was a drag.

I may know a guy

You're a bit far for him to be honest. You could also probably find someone cheaper.

My lawyer brain has latched onto something. They sent us a new contract this year. It has an acceleration clause and a 36 month term. Meaning if I cancel it, I have to pay for the remaining 34 months at once.
We signed our contract in mid-March. Gas prices have only increased 6% since then, but the surcharge is 20%; over three times as much.
So they locked in all their customers into these long contracts and one month into the cutting season they pump up the cost by 20%. Hmmmmm.
They also put in a fee shifting clause wherein if I litigate I have to pay their attorney.

Luckily, this is what I do and can confidently get out of the contract with little issue. A class action, on the other hand, sounds nice. I bet I could get a bunch of their jilted customers to join me.

Not that I am going to approach it like that. But it's a good thing to have in my back pocket.

At that price, a smallish riding or zero-turn mower would pay for itself in less than two years.

Yeah. I checked and a mid-line rider is around $2k. So 12 mowings or less than six months.

That's **** up, and yes, I'd go the riding mower route myself. Buddy of mine paid a fortune for an electric riding mower, but says it's totally worth it. I believe it's an EGO riding mower.

Chipmunks ate all my corn sprouts, some pumpkin and a few others. Any recommendations? Lethal, non-lethal, doesn't matter. And no, I don't own any guns.

That's **** up, and yes, I'd go the riding mower route myself. Buddy of mine paid a fortune for an electric riding mower, but says it's totally worth it. I believe it's an EGO riding mower.

$5500 and out of stock. Neat.

Yeah, he had to wait a while for his. He's determined to go electric for everything, and he clearly meant it. He has a pile of batteries for that thing.

dodint I love that the gas surcharge is based off the total price. Convenient

My neighbhors have a Husqvarna Automower. I remember looking their model up a couple of years ago, and it was $1800. Now that same model is over $2000.

But it's battery powered and fire and forget. I'm not sure how well it would work on the hills of Western PA, but it does claim to mow 45% grades.

https://www.husqvarna.com/us/robotic-la ... mower-550/

No **** way am I paying that kind of money for that thing. Insanity.

Cheaper than the zero turn EGO though. And it works very well, too.

dodint I love that the gas surcharge is based off the total price. Convenient

Laugh it up Mr. CFO. But I'm guessing ulfster's first presentation to the board of directors will include a proposal for a 20 percent price increase across the board