Hi Backyardener- 1a.) The bed in the picture above is about 3 years old. IÂd say the stubs really only hang around for a year or so before they decompose, so the bed never becomes mess. 1b) I donÂt think a bed would ever choke itself out. YouÂre supposed to thin the canes though but I sometimes donÂt get to that. Either way, you still get berries. I do believe raspberries will decline after a number of years (though I donÂt remember how many). I figure by that time, the kids will be out of the house and I wonÂt mind if theyÂre a bit less productive. 2.) There are differing opinions on how deep the barrier must be, but I canÂt say for sure because IÂve never tried to contain them. I believe I saw some sources which said 2 feet! All I can say is that the canes have zero problem going under my 4" deep drip edge. I should shoot for more than 8 inches though. 2b) I havenÂt really noticed them bunching up at a barrier (see pic) but if they do, just thin Âem out a bit. IÂm a neat freak too usually. -Glenn Hi Ericwi- IÂve never heard of cutting them back to 10". IÂve heard either mow them, or prune back the tops after the canes are done making berries. But, I guess your 10" isnÂt really 10", if you add 8 inches of stuff on top. Yes, you need to have "volunteers". Without new canes, your patch would be dead that year if you mowed, or next year if you just pruned the dead tops. -Glenn Hi Harvestman- Yeah, I like 2 crops just to spread out my harvest. And, now that you mention it my patches that I mow donÂt seem to be as vigorous as the ones where I just prune the dead tops. -Glenn

I have to agree with the inspector here (are you doing your kitchen under code with proper permits? Because if so, his advice will matter...they don't pass burried wires). I added two runs for future lighting on our deck when the walls were ripped out and we finished them in the box and capped them off under a blank plate for future use. There is no fire danger this way, which is a big deal. Some code issues are umm silly (don't read that mr. inspector LOL) like the requirements to have UL stickers on all lighting (they didn't exist on antique lights) but free wires running around the walls...that's one I feel quite comfortable conforming with. I love my under cabinet lighting. I suppose it depends on the kitchen layout and your other lighting options, but if it were me, I'd do the plug in lighting verses the battery stuff. I've used those, and they're ok, but not that great. I have them in our master closet and they do work well there (set to turn on when the door opens) but for any longer than a few mins, they're useless IMO. I put battery ones in my mom's house and they really make a difference for her functionality.

This reviewed published scientific paper confirmed the usefulness of heavy plastic mulches against Bermuda Grass, and found some organic mulches that were also effective. http://hortsci.ashspublications.org/content/43/3/795.full From the abstract: "Therefore, a 2-year study was conducted under 15-year-old mandarin trees to compare the effects of rice straw mulch, cattail mulch, black plastic mulch, hand hoeing, cultivation, glyphosate, and unweeded control treatments on weed control, fruit yield, and fruit quality. The greatest control (94%–100%) of weeds occurred with the plastic mulch (200 or 150 μm) and three mulch layers of rice straw or cattail. Covering soil with cattail or rice straw mulch (two layers) gave 85% to 98% control of weeds. Uncontrolled weeds in the weedy control caused significant reduction in yield and fruit quality and decreased the yield/tree by 62% compared with hand hoe treatment. Plastic mulches of 200 and 150 μm, cattail (Cyprus articulatus L.) mulch (two or three layers) and two mulch layers of rice (Oryza sativa L.) straw treatments significantly increased the fruit yield/tree by 24%, 18%, 20%, 11%, and 12% more than cultivation treatment, respectively, without significant differences among these superior treatments. Soil mulching with three layers of rice straw, cultivation, glyphosate, and 80-μm plastic mulch treatments caused a significant reduction in weed density and weed biomass, but gave lower yield than superior treatments. Which weeds were in the experiment? " The major grass weeds present on the experimental site were bermudagrass [Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers.], barnyardgrass [Echinochloa colonum (L.) Link], torpedo grass (Panicum repens L.), and sandbur (Cenchrus pennisetiformis, Hochst. & Steud.) as a grass, and redroot pigweed (Amaranthus retroflexus L.), common purslane (Portulaca oleracea L.), and petty spurge (Euphorbia peplus L.) as broadleaf weeds."

Agree with MG, beautiful drawings Sena! Very creative and a lot of very thoughtful details. I do think a dining table works better with this layout and it's nice to see that getting ride of the pony wall behind the sink helps a bit with the narrowness of Morning Room. I actually already have a bench with the farmhouse table:) It lives slid under the table on the side closest to the kitchen unless in use. I also like the efficiency of this layout. With all of the options that have been discussed and drawn it's become clear that I need to prioritize my wants to help me choose. I've since found a few pictures with kitchen cabinets extending into rooms with different ceiling heights and I'm surprised I'm OK with the look. So, any thoughts on my variations above of MG's plan with either an extended or second island? This plan seems to get me the most elements I want with the sacrifice of countertop space. I was inspired by drjay71's kitchen from the Finished Kitchens Blog:http://finishedkitchens.blogspot.com/2010/06/drjay71s-kitchen.html