I had the same problem trying to grow things under a sycamore here. I became too busy with things and couldn't take care of the bed well (with watering mainly) and so scrapped the bed. There is still a strip inbetween the tree and the foundation though, just not directly under it any more. You are not alone, I also found the tree slurped up a lot of nutrients from the surrounding soil. Seriously, some pockets of soil underneath looked devoid of any nutrients. The problem I had was that most of the plants did indeed seem to need yearly feedings to keep from noticeably dwindling in size. There is only so much compost one can put on that sort of bed, especially since too much build up of the soil won't exactly be good for the tree and the roots and "smother" them if too much is used. The strip I have is also getting tapped out in the nutrient department, though I composted it generously the fall before last. I'm going to get some good organic fertilizer for this area and give them a helping in those years I am not able to compost. Liquid fish fertilizer is also a pretty easy way to give them a booster. Alfalfa pellets did okay, but I'm not sure that alone would be enough. Ps. it is not impossible to grow under trees. I had several plants that did surprisingly well there, with regular watering and a bit of nutrient supplements from time to time. Epimedium, Cymbalaria, Omphaloides (surprising), Polygonatum, certain Geraniums, to name a few. Sometimes in "difficult" areas I plant somewhat invasive spreaders, since they are kept more in check in this situation. Carex morrowii, variegated ribbon grass, Ajuga, creeping jenny, Dicentra (formosa I think it was), Limelight Artemesia, Lamium, etc. It's just a matter of finding what what works well for you and a little extra upkeep... Just my thoughts anyway! CMK

Get a non corrosive pale, mix together some stump and brush killer with diesel fuel. Take care to wear protective clothing so none of the mixture gets on your skin or in your eyes and nasal passages. Use a paint brush to apply the mixture to all the foliage and also any bark of the roots or sucker trunks. Keep brushing the growth you want to kill untill your mixture is gone. Do not leave any mixture in the pale that will have to be stored, and do not pour any of the mixture onto the ground. Only use like I mentioned above, by applying it by paintbrush onto the trunks, bark, and folliage of the trees and shurbs or weed brush that you want to get rid of. After finishing the first major application; safely discard the pail and brush, along with any empty containers, and clothing worn. Shower well and apply Aloe Vera, followed by a good moisturizer to your skin. I know it is a little late to tell you this, now, but your job would have been much easier if you had drilled holes in the trunk after cutting down the tree and applied this stuff; waited about a week, drilled some more holes and applied this mixture again. At the same time any root suckers should have had this stuff applied. Only after doing that long enough that you could no longer see any sprouting from the trunk and suckers coming up from the roots should you have had the trunk and Major roots ground. Even then you may have still needed to apply the mixture to some sprouts, but it would not have been as many as what you are seeing now. Also keep in mind that every time you cut off one of those root suckers it sends a message to the root to produce even more new suckers. My experience with the mixture I described above, and when it was applied only with a paintbrush, never damaged the nearby ponds' ecosystems or polluted the soil. With the method I just describe, I successfully got rid of some horrible hackberry trees, which grew in a thicket form, on our side of a farmer's fence row. That thicket was an about 5 foot deep strip which ran all along the fence line of my property. At the very end of that thicket grew a large infested chinese elm which dropped sticky sap and also sent up many root suckers, which if allowed could have also created a smaller thicket. First we had all the trees cut down and removed. Then I killed the stumps in a manner described above. then after a couple weeks I had the stumps and major roots all along that fence row ground. All this was done in the Summer, and by the fall into the following spring, no more suckers grew for me have to contend with. That following Spring I successfull planted a line of more desireable oaks, pecans, Foster holly, and Loblolly pines. All the those trees have survived, except for some of the holly which ground squirrels killed where the Elm tree's roots had been ground. My only other loss was two loblolly pines in front of there where the water table rose too high and suffocated their roots. Last fall I added two Ponderosa pines back in the area where the old elm had been removed, and they have done great ever since. I first had some sandy loam top soil brought in to help raise the soil more above the high water table in that area. Also, chose to not replace the two loblolly trees which had suffocated from the water table that previously had been too high.

"Well, the biggest piece is a 20-year-old Ethan Allen sofa. The fabric was navy in a former life, but is faded & torn now. Conceivably, someone might want it to reupholster. Perhaps I could sell it for cheap then give the money to charity." No offense, but it doesn't sound like an item that many people would want or could use. Reupholstering is pretty pricey anyway so that wouldn't be anyone's bargain. I'd suggest paying to have it removed. As you say, that gives someone some money for doing the labor. And before I get jumped on by those who will say 'beggars can't be choosers' etc, I think that in today's world of mass production when there are a lot of decent items being discarded, charities shouldn't be expected to come haul off decades old, faded and torn heavy furniture. That is a service to you, not the charity. I've called Salvation Army and also a homeless assistance agency here in my town, similar to what has already been described. They have a 'showroom' in which families transitioning from shelters to permanent homes can pick out what they need. Then again I tend to be a serial remodeler, unfortunately. So the stuff I've been discarding is relatively new and although not top of the line, still in pretty good condition. I do have a massive tv armoire that was cheap to begin with and now has the back coming apart, the door hanging etc. I'm going to have my son take that to the trash station when I get ready to replace it; I wouldn't donate it because it is junk. Ann

IRC does not have a requirement for window screens, but many county and municipal housing codes do require them. In some cases, the local codes may make an exception for homes with air conditioning. Also, the FHA, HUD, and USDA mortgage programs specify that screens be in place and in good condition. The USDA inspection checklist, for example, states that windows “must have an insect screen in good repair.” Damaged windows screens, however, are always called out for repair. When an openable window has an empty slot for a window screen, an inspector may call it out as a defect for repair simply because there was one and it is gone.