As tomplum noted, grass buildup is a problem. Air hose is your friend. Every few hours blow the decks clean. If a previous owners mowed with the pulleys jammed packed with leaves and grass, wears the engine. Same for your cooling system --> radiator or cooling fins. Blow everything clean. Zeros are called hydrostatic, but its really motor oil. Mine has Mobil-1 Full Synthetic 15W-50. Supposed to be cleaned, but I have yet to change mine. Entire threads on that here. For me, the big problem is dealing with bumps in the lawn. Most ZTRs can go pretty fast. But your really can't do that unless your lawn is rolled totally flat.

I am fairly new to growing garlic as well and it is almost entirely softneck. I would agree that what you are describing from my reading would be a 'bulblet' , not to be confused with a 'bulbil' which forms at the top of a stalk. There has been a lot of debate about terms and definitions and I could be wrong - see thread linked below. I don't think that it is worth trying to grow a head from a bulblet (it seems to take 2 years, 1 to form a round and the next to make a head) unless you have very limited planting stock or want to experiment. The bulblets are a bit like hardened seed that need some coaxing to sprout reliably because their coating could have them sitting under the ground for a while. This is not related to your question but - you might want to look into softneck garlic varieties - they shine in CA. Elephant garlic is nice for roasting but for storage and flavor in recipes you can do better, but definately plant both. Best of luck! Hope this helps. Here is a link that might be useful: http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/allium/msg0715390631692.html?18

Shallots and onions you eat the bulbs. Scallions don't form bulbs but are pulled and both white and green top are eaten. Chives and garlic chives you eat the greenery which can be clipped and will grow back. The last two can be left in place for years and will produce more or less continuously during the growing season. Chive blossoms can be used to flavor vinegar (and turn it pink). They are very decorative as are garlic chives so both can be used in the flower garden.

Here you go, Robin: Gellchom's Favorite Challah - a very rich and sweet type Adapted from The World of Jewish Cooking, by Gil Marks Makes 1 very large, 2 large (what I usually make), or 3 medium loaves 2 pkg. active dry yeast "or 1 1-oz. cake fresh yeast> 2 c. warm water (105-110 for dry yeast, 80-85° for fresh), divided ¾ c honey 4 large eggs ½ c vegetable oil 1 T regular salt or 5 t kosher salt about 8 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (may need more) 1 egg beaten with 1 T water (I usually forget the water!) sesame or poppy seeds (we like sesame) Dissolve the yeast in ½ c. of the water in mixer bowl. Add 1 teaspoon of the honey and let stand until foamy, 5-10 min. Add the remaining water, the remaining honey, eggs, oil, salt, and 3 cups of the flour. Using dough hook at speed 2, stir in the remaining flour, ½ cup at a time, until it holds together. Then let the machine knead it at speed 2 for 10 minutes until smooth and elastic. Place in a well-greased bowl (the dough is very sticky), turning to coat, cover loosely with greased plastic wrap. Let it rise at room temperature (I sometimes use a slightly warm oven) until double in bulk, around 90 minutes, or in the refrigerator overnight. Punch down the dough and let it rest 10 minutes. Shape into braids (see below), crowns, or whatever shape you want. Have plenty of flour handy; the dough is very sticky and gooey. It sometimes helps to sprinkle a little flour on top as you go. (At this point, after shaping, you can freeze the loaves. When ready to use, thaw 6 hours covered on a baking sheet to let it rise.) Place the shaped loaves on a greased baking sheet with a little corn meal sprinkled on it, or in a greased loaf pan. Cover and let rise at room temperature or in warm oven until double in bulk, around 45 minutes, or in refrigerator for up to 2 days. Put rack in center of oven and heat to 350°. Brush challah with egg wash (donÂt drip on the baking sheet, or youÂll have a real mess) and sprinkle with seeds, if desired. If you dip your finger in the egg and make slight indentations, the seeds stick better. Bake until golden brown and hollow-sounding when tapped; about 35 minutes for medium challahs or large ones with just slightly underbaked centers (as we like them), about 45 minutes for large ones. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. NOTE: Sometimes, the dough doesn't look like it is rising much, but when I bake it, it rose more in the oven. It always seems to come out fine, even though it sometimes behaves different before baking. If you find the dough too hard to work with, or you don't want it quite as sweet and rich as we like it, use 3 eggs and 1/2 c honey, and don't underbake. To braid: separate dough into 3 or 4 strands. Pinch together one end and tuck under. With 3 strands (which is what I do), braid like hair, loosely, then pinch together ends and tuck under. 4 strands looks really pretty, but it is hard to describe without a drawing! Basically, bring outside strands in and cross inward over 2 at a time. I'm sure you'll figure it out. Jewishrecipes.org has instructions. Finally, for it to be "official" challah, after kneading but before shaping, you need to take a pinch of the dough the size of an olive and burn it. But I usually forget. Shabbat shalom!