70 years ago our family lived in Syracuse and my parents took in roomers. There was an elderly woman and her younger working daughter who both roomed with us. It turns out both the older woman and my mother were from northern New York as kids. So one meal they got to reminiscing about school time and how they got out of school in springtime. Their secret was to go out in the woods and dig wild leeks to eat and stink themselves up so the teacher would send them home. This prompted the elderly roomer to express about how much she loved wild leeks with the comment, "I'd walk a mile for a leek". There was just silence for about 5 or 6 seconds and then a quiet stifled snicker from one of the male roomers at the end of the table followed by an eruption from all the males at the table. We never did explain that properly

I'm sorry that you are having problems with yours. And I know that you aren't happy right now. But before spending money on a new unit I would try the mulching blades. Another thing to look at is how and where you are supporting the hose. I use rubber straps with hooks, hooked in to a wire tie around the hose. I had to move it a few times before I got it right. The rubber straps let the hose move when turning and keep the hose straighter. I also didn't like the "universal" deck adapter. It never seemed to fit quite right. I bought a deck shoot (adapter) for a bagger, designed for my deck and it works so much better. I got it from one of the guys that post here. I can't remember his name but I have it on file! Can you post a picture with the setup? I might can help, not sure.

Actually I do know why leeks are not more popular. You reek of wild leeks after you eat them. You sweat leek smell, you exhale leek smell. It just oozes out any way possible it seems. haha But if a whole community is doing the same thing then everyone can stink and it does not matter anyway. Leeks are so darn tasty anyway it's worth a little odor for a wonderful gastronomic experience. tazdacat I'm not entirely certain that Ramps appear in Zone 2 and they may only be hardy to Zone 3-4. Some lists even say Zone 5. I wish people would make up their minds and decide the hardiness of wild leeks and be done with it. haha Otherwise it is so confusing. Here is a website link. http://www.discoverlife.org/nh/tx/Plantae/Monocotyledoneae/Liliaceae/Allium/tricoccum/index.html Listed on that site are distribution maps and other information. Also, in an earlier post, I misspelled the Latin name. Allium tricoccum For help in finding wild ones, look at photos on the internet. There are tons. Then the environment where they are found is depicted and then one can easily try and match up the photos with their own area. And timing is very important. Some indicator trees and plants include Sugar Maples, Triliums, the Fiddlehead/Ostrich ferns, Solomon's Seal. In the mean time I am going to be emailing away again this year, asking for people's help in distributing some wild leek clumps. I for one want to create a colony on our property of both wild onion and wild leek, along with many other perennial vegetables as a kind of conservation and permaculture project. Because in many places, the wild plants are being over harvested. But then again elsewhere, the leeks are dug up and tossed because it's near a dairy farm and the farmers don't want the cows eating the leeks because it makes the milk taste funny. I wrote a guy two years ago asking if he could mail off some clumps to people instead of just destroying them. And he replied sorry they are all gone to the dump. *frown* Here is a link that might be useful: Allium tricoccum

Bart, I agree that Vinca on a path is an accident waiting to happen. Super stringy, tangly and great murder mystery material. If you want a slightly more expensive but more long term solution, I'd go with crushed rock (NOT pea gravel) and edge the path with some kind of hardscape material--bricks, recycled concrete, etc. The crushed rock will need to be amended over the stretch of time but not completely replaced. The hardscape edging will mostly hold the path material in place. Chunks of broken concrete work well and are cheap and usually free. They can, with safety precautions, be sledge hammered into smaller chunks. Sometimes construction companies will drop a pile of concrete at a homeowner's lot. It saves the company dump and recycling fees. You can combine the crushed rocks and edging with switchbacks and log inserts or other "steps" in the steeper areas. If the grade isn't super dicey and the path is wide enough, a wheel barrow or garden cart can fairly easily traverse this kind of path. I've installed paths like this on pretty steep terrain and maintained the gardens and paths following installation. Prior to the installation of a path, one Portland West Hills slope was so steep that I slid down it on my belly during a particularly saturated winter, fingers digging a trail like cat claws on curtains all the looooong way down to the bottom of the incline! Carol