Wow, I never expected this thread to go so long! We are now officially in the new house, and I'm glad I stuck to my inclination to get the larger lot. Our dogs looked SOOOO happy running around in that big backyard when we arrived yesterday. Because of the septic field, there are some limits on what I can garden (I know some people garden over septic fields, but I would rather avoid it if I have alternatives), but I plan to interplant the grass over the septic field with things that are yummy grazing for chickens. It's a bit overwhelming just thinking of where to get started. All those cottonwoods in the back need to be thinned, and the whole area cleaned up and mulched with compost, and there's lots of landscaping to do before the fruit trees go in. ALL of the sod in the front yard needs to come up, but it looks to be a rhizomatous grass, so THAT is easier said than done. I'm planning on a native, waterwise garden for the front half of the front yard, then cordoned grapes to form a low fence, with kitchen garden with perennial flowers, herbs and maybe some currants, kiwis and hops between the grapes and the backyard fence. I'm just glad there's some ready-made beds to grow the basic veggies in this year, because I have about 10 years of work ahead to do everything I am envisioning!

ngslc, I found a thread on a different forum by doing a Yahoo search "John Deere AWS 425 tire size" search. In the thread, a poster said that he had replaced the 23" std. rears with 26" ag lug tires and "the fit under the fenders was tight". But the poster also indicated he had these tires mounted on wider than std. wheels also. (wider wheels can result in slightly lower overall diameter than with narrow stock wheel). You will probably want to find a tire to fit your stock wheels that has a larger diameter instead of going all out with new wheels and tires. Anyhow, I'm going to guess that 26" is probably the max you will will get under the fender without mods to the fenders. Remember, 3" taller tire increases your ground clearance by roughly 1 & 1/2". Hopefully some other forum members who have "been there-done that" will post some specific brands and sizes to help you decide.

Christin, other than the Sempervivums and hardy Sedums all my Echeverias and other tender succulents winter in a cool greenhouse. I have kept an Echeveria alive planted in the ground by upturning a black 2 gal. pot over it when the temps dropped, I think it was Echeveria elegans. It's not so much the cold it's the wet that does them in. A lot of them can tolerate 32* for a time. I have a 3 tiered plant stand with lights in the basement I should experiment with a few this winter. When I get mine all rounded up and sorted out I'll post a few pictures of the ones I have. Annette

Pennreel - for sure, they seem almost inadequate, but let me assure you, they are tough little tires. There have been so many changes in tires in the last few years, in their construction and design, and I'm sure there will a bunch more in the next few! First off, they are designated "ST" tires, which stands for "special trailer"; sidewalls are a lot more stiff, helps minimize sway. If you were to use a designated "P" tire, which stands for "passenger", the trailer would fish tail all over the place because of the soft sidewall. Overall, the trailer tire is made tougher because the trailer does not have the complex shock absorbing suspensions of an automobile or truck, so the tire has to be able to take some tough knocks. A friend of mine has a son-in-law who works for a large tire distributor and they handle all kinds of brands and types of tires; he tells me the narrow trailer tires wear better than if they were wider ... and that they actually track better. One more thing the SIL says, when you go around a corner or a curve with a trailer, it's better that it slides sideways just a tad; got something to do with this tracking again. Anyway, the narrow tires do that better than the wider ones. Oh, and they are cheaper when you go to replace them. I run 13" tires on a large (single axle) popup camper for four years and they did a fine job. Just watch the tire pressure. Make sure you keep the amount in the tire that's listed on the sidewall, i.e., if it says 55psi or 65psi, run that exact amount, no less. The only problems I've ever heard about these sized trailer tires, is not keeping the air pressure where it's supposed to be. Oh, don't store (or park) the trailer on bare ground for long periods of time; keep something under them, between the tire and the ground, or they will dry rot. There is an article by Champion trailers about tires (hope this is still good) - http://www.championtrailers.com/tire_art.html Dale