I've grown Heritage for 7 years now and cut them down to the ground well after they are dead from freezing in the Fall. This cutting is done by hand with pruners to get good and close to the ground eliminating the stumps from which they like to throw out measly little fruiting canes earlier in the following year than the primocanes which are the desired main crop. After the cutting comes 8-12" of leaves which conveniently have fallen in time for mulching the berry beds. Caroline was planted Spring of 09 and developed very well to the point I tried leaving about 10 plants cut down to about 8" tall and the rest cut to the ground as I really didn't know what to expect with either method. The plants responded this year with excellent growth in the form of primocanes but the floricanes are short and spindly leaving me to pick them on my knees and standing on my head, not my idea of fun. The primocanes are about 4' tall and now beginning to form flower buds. I think I'll enjoy harvesting the primocanes much more. This Fall, they will all be cut down to the ground.

It's certainly not a must. I am currently mowing almost 1/2 acre with my 21" Snapper Hi-Vac. It seems to take just a little over one hour for the mowing itself, but that's also a complicated shaped lot with a fairly steep hill and several sections that have to be mowed separately. If this were a flat rectangle 1/2 acre it would go more quickly. For the same reasons (shape and slope of the yard), I think a rider would also not work as well. You also have to consider that because you can't as close to edges and obstacles with a rider, you'll spend more time trimming after you mow. I'm considering this my trial year (just moved from a much smaller lot). If I decide to move up, it will probably be to a large-deck walk-behind, maybe 33-36" in cutting width. I think even if I had whole acre I might consider a 48" walk-behind with a sulky before I bought a rider, although at that size a zero-turn rider makes a lot of sense. Although at that size, a rider would be nice if you could pull a fertilizer or other tools with it when needed.

I have lived in my house for 19 years. The people on the left of me are the original owners, having lived in their home for 55 years. The house next door........... The original owners bought the house 55 years ago too. They raised a set of twins, whom were the neighbourhood bullies. Eventually one of the twins, Doug, took over the house. Not sure if it was left to him when their parents died, or if he bought it from them. Doug drank and drank and drank. Rather than have a coffee in his travel mug at 7 in the morning, he had beer in his. He was riding a bicycle more often than his pickup truck because he was always getting caught with a DUI. When we didn't see him for a few days at a time, I would ask my kids or my husband if they had seen him. I even asked the neighbours now and then if they had seen him. My fear was that he would get drunk and fall down and hit his head and die and nobody would know. Two and a half years ago, my husband called me at work. The police had knocked on our door asking if we had seen Doug in the past week or so. We hadn't, but that wasn't unusual. After all, we lived next door to him and couldn't tell if his lights were on. He also rarely used his garage out back any more. I asked why they were looking for him. Apparently the coroner was removing his body. They figured he died on Halloween day because a dish of candy was sitting by the living room door. He was found on the couch. It was November 9th. So for over 9 days, a dead man lay on the couch just 12 feet or so from my bedroom. And it took 9 days for his friends to notice they couldn't get a hold of him. The police had to break down the back door to get inside. There have been two sets of tennants living in the house since he died. One was so awful, we called the police and the city several times because of his barking dogs. He let them bark 24/7. The second set of tennants moved out in December. We didn't mind them as much. They liked to party and if we yelled out the back window for them to keep it down because it was late, they would turn down the noise. But it wasn't good enough for the neighbours on the other side. They got a hold of the new owner (Dougs son), and had them evicted. A new person moved in about a week ago. So far.........so good...... I know the people across the street just by face. We don't talk. But we do wave occasionally. It's not like it was in the 60's and 70's when everyone knew everyone. Nowadays, everyone keeps to themselves. It's sad, really.

For years I had the kids down the street do it for $20 - this was ten years ago. They graduated and moved away and I decided that to pay what it would cost for pros, I'd do it myself. Bought myself a small riding lawn mower (paid for itself years ago) which mulches so I don't have to bag it. From start to finish when it's hosed off and put away, it takes me exactly one hour. I'm out there literally at the crack of dawn to beat the intense heat we have here in the summer. In the northwest, we have long hours of sun so I have to cut it twice a week or it will get incredibly long and too thick. Once a week, DH uses the weed eater and trims back what the mower can't quite reach. It works for us! I put on my ipod and it helps a great deal with the boredom factor. By mid fall, when I can quit cutting the grass, I'm really done with that twice a week chore but I only get sick of it really by the time I can quit doing it anyway.