M.Brane
ALLIANCE MEMBER
We are kindred spirits. The joys of living in the foothills of SoCal.
Between 265 & 485 SQ/FT The "Glendora Garage"
- Thread starter Dan in Pasadena
- Start date
Workspaces sized between 265 and 485 squarefeet.
Jayman17
Well-known member
How do those avocado trees produce? Are they the haas variety?
M.Brane
ALLIANCE MEMBER
The one I planted in the hole with the rock is a Hass. It nearly died when we had a major heat wave last Sept, but it's coming back. It will be a few years before it bears fruit.
We also have a Bacon that produces quite well despite it being young. I would guess it's around 5 years.
At my last house there was a Pinkerton that had to be many decades old. In the fall it would be loaded. My landlord would come & leave with 5-6 shopping bags full. I asked him one day what he was doing with them all. He said he freezes them. Didn't know you could do that.
We also have a Bacon that produces quite well despite it being young. I would guess it's around 5 years.
At my last house there was a Pinkerton that had to be many decades old. In the fall it would be loaded. My landlord would come & leave with 5-6 shopping bags full. I asked him one day what he was doing with them all. He said he freezes them. Didn't know you could do that.
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Dan in Pasadena
Well-known member
No idea. Avocados show up and I don't know how that happens. Bees, I suppose?
Mine is a Haas. My girlfriend thinks it is a dwarf variety. I don't remember a label on the can saying that. Online says they grow to "2-3 meters". That's about 6 to just under 10 ft tall. Ours is about 8-9 feet tall after 4-1/2 years. If it were a full sized one I would have expected it to be taller, but I don't know. But it gives good avocados. Plenty of them in summer. Maybe it's good thing if it is a dwarf.
PugetDude
ALLIANCE MEMBER
So, are the avocados dwarf as well?
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Dan in Pasadena
Well-known member
Yes, the avocados are smaller but not a lot smaller. Still plenty big enough. Of course it just doesnt produce as many over all.
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Dan in Pasadena
Well-known member
Pulled out 2 more rosemary bushes with the truck today. One on either end of the 3 still here. Only 2 because that's all that would fit in the yard trash. Then we transplanted agapanthus plants split out of one clump. Did a LOT of other stuff today too, none of which shows in these pictures but it took all day and tired me out.
Back in the corner of this picture we have 3 hydrangeas we put in a couple years ago. The hacked bushes right in the middle of this pic (growing in the neighbor's yard) used to be big, beautiful and loaded with yellow flowers. They overhung the hydrangeas shading them and the hydrangeas were doing great. But homeowner's insurance (Mercury) made us cut them back hard supposedly due to "fire danger". The sun roasted the hydrangeas and they are barely alive now BUT.... And of course Mercury cancelled us anyway because we wouldn't remove the 20 ft tall ficus hedges that surround the backyard! EFFER'S!
Anyway, I trimmed off the dead parts of the hydrangeas, cleaned around and fertilized them with MiracleGro. My fingers are crossed that they'll improve and then I'll transplant them to a shaded area to recover. Hydrangeas have truly beautiful, showy pink or blue flowers. The picture doesn't show much but my girlfriend and I worked our butts off. It is supposed to rain heavily here the next 3 days (yikes for the burn areas!) so it had to get done today.
Back in the corner of this picture we have 3 hydrangeas we put in a couple years ago. The hacked bushes right in the middle of this pic (growing in the neighbor's yard) used to be big, beautiful and loaded with yellow flowers. They overhung the hydrangeas shading them and the hydrangeas were doing great. But homeowner's insurance (Mercury) made us cut them back hard supposedly due to "fire danger". The sun roasted the hydrangeas and they are barely alive now BUT.... And of course Mercury cancelled us anyway because we wouldn't remove the 20 ft tall ficus hedges that surround the backyard! EFFER'S!
Anyway, I trimmed off the dead parts of the hydrangeas, cleaned around and fertilized them with MiracleGro. My fingers are crossed that they'll improve and then I'll transplant them to a shaded area to recover. Hydrangeas have truly beautiful, showy pink or blue flowers. The picture doesn't show much but my girlfriend and I worked our butts off. It is supposed to rain heavily here the next 3 days (yikes for the burn areas!) so it had to get done today.
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Dan in Pasadena
Well-known member
PS: Trash will be picked up tomorrow and hopefully (fingers crossed) I can pull out the 3 remaining rosemary bushes Saturday after rains passes. I'll just have to run over the cuttings A LOT of times with the lawn mower to get them small enough to all fit in the trashcan. UGH.
kaymccampbell
Well-known member
How small a can do you have? We've got the 100-ish gallon can. I think I could toss those in direct, with little or no cutting.
Jayman17
Well-known member
Nice looking yard Dan
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Dan in Pasadena
Well-known member
Our yard trash can is about 4-1/2 ft tall and 30"+ in diameter at the top. Last time I got 3 bushes in but I had to climb in and mash down the last one. BARELY fit but those were smaller than these ones.
It's amazing how damn woody these are under the halo of green. Toward the center the stalks are all over an 1" in diameter and really hard to cut with my biggest loppers. I cut them til I can't make the center any smaller without using a chain saw, then I toss that part in.
kaymccampbell
Well-known member
Here's what I use to cut small stuff up nowadays. Makes a world of difference to old hands. Cuts 1.25" like butter
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Dan in Pasadena
Well-known member
Thank you.
It's getting a lot more sparse but SWMBO wanted to change it and it's hard to argue since it will mean less regular shearing.
She also wants to remove the lantana bushes that I've now allowed to become a hedge but were individual "balls" when we moved in. I got tired of shearing those so I let them grow together.
If we remove those I'll put in dwarf "pittosporum tobira" called "Wheeler's Dwarf". I only know correct plant names because my brother-in-law is a landscape architect and was the Director of Parks for Whittier city before he retired. He taught me this stuff when I bought my first house a hundred years ago. They'll easily stay small mounds but they don't bloom, just dark green. I'll plant annual flowers around them - which I like doing though it is an expense couple times a year.
M.Brane
ALLIANCE MEMBER
I can't wait until I can eliminate the front lawn. It's gonna be compacted DG RV parking. 50 years of mowing I am done with it! Then we will be down to fruit trees, tomatoes, a slow growing hedge, and weeds in the easement.
The tomatoes are crazy, but my girl deals with those. They are yummy.
The tomatoes are crazy, but my girl deals with those. They are yummy.
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Dan in Pasadena
Well-known member
Kay,
Thanks for the head's up. I've looked at those. I'm left handed and my left wrist is aching today so your post reminded me to get smarter and order a shear like yours.
I JUST went to Amazon and ordered these for my Milwaukee M18 batteries. They don't offer a "Milwaukee" brand for M18's only for M12 batteries which I don't have and haven't wanted to buy another battery size and charger.
What I bought are some no name Chinese shears but I the Milwaukee ones are Chinese too of course.
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Dan in Pasadena
Well-known member
Thank you. It's changing but I have a shot from the original Zillow listing 5 years ago so I can remember how it once was.
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Bob Heine
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Here's what I use to cut small stuff up nowadays. Makes a world of difference to old hands. Cuts 1.25" like butter
Kay and Dan, I'm not sure the brand makes a huge difference but battery powered pruning shears make a painful job a pleasure. Kay's 20v powered DeWalt must eat limbs like twigs. I am so far down the red rabbit hole it was an easy decision. I even chose the 12v Milwaukee Hatchet because of its size and weight. Most of my Milwaukee tools are 12v but I do have a few 18v. Like DeWalt, Milwaukee sells reasonably priced chargers that handle both sizes in one charger. Brand name batteries upset me. They are way more expensive than the knockoffs. I have a number of off-brand 12- and 18-volt batteries for the Milwaukee tools. I haven't marked any of my batteries with purchase dates so I may be completely off base. Almost all of the 12v batteries that have gone belly-up have been the ones with the Milwaukee brand on them. None of my 18v batteries have failed to re-charge but that might be because they are used less frequently and for longer times.Kay,
Thanks for the head's up. I've looked at those. I'm left handed and my left wrist is aching today so your post reminded me to get smarter and order a shear like yours.
I JUST went to Amazon and ordered these for my Milwaukee M18 batteries. They don't offer a "Milwaukee" brand for M18's only for M12 batteries which I don't have and haven't wanted to buy another battery size and charger.
What I bought are some no name Chinese shears but I the Milwaukee ones are Chinese too of course.
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Dan in Pasadena
Well-known member
Interesting because all I have are Milwaukee brand 18v batteries and they have been super reliable.
When my ancient Makita 9.6v drill finally died back in - guessing - about 2015 or '16 I went to Home Depot fully planning to buy a DeWalt. It just so happened the Milwaukee rep was in the tool department setting up their new display. He offered to give me a two-fer deal if I would buy the Milwaukee. I bought their M18 Fuel drill/driver and he threw in a hammer drill (or maybe vice versa!). I got 2 chargers and 3 total batteries though they were the small size ones. I use them on the drill and my small Milwaukee shop vac that's the size of a big shoe box,
The drill driver finally started slipping maybe 6 months ago and it wasn't worth it to pay for repair. I think it lasted maybe 9-10 years but I used it incessantly. I bought a replacement without battery since the ones I have still work fine. When we moved in 2020 I bought the Milwaukee Quik-Lok tool to use as a string trimmer and it has a hedge trimmer attachment. I bought two big 6Ah Milwaukee batteries and they've been used almost daily with the Quik-Lok or my blower for 5 years, never a problem.
As a side note, I bought some off brand Chinese glue gun that claimed to work with Milwaukee M18 batteries - no dice. Didn't fit at all and I returned it. Too bad because I really would like to have a cordless one.
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Dan in Pasadena
Well-known member
I have 2 rescue dogs, Fifi and Max.
I recently bought a platform thing to raise Fifi's food bowl because I've heard it's bad for a taller dog to eat with their bowl on the floor. I add a sliced string cheese to their dog food to make it more appealing to them.
Today, Fifi didn't immediately eat hers. Max mostly picks through the dog food pellets to eat the string cheese first then eats however much of the dog food he wants; typically about half. He's too short to reach Fifi's bowl but I watched today as he reared up and tilted the bowl so the cheese slices fell toward him and he stole it. The interesting part (to me) is he intentionally picked out the dog food pellets, then put them on the floor so he could exclusively eat the string cheese. He's little but his brain is big!
I recently bought a platform thing to raise Fifi's food bowl because I've heard it's bad for a taller dog to eat with their bowl on the floor. I add a sliced string cheese to their dog food to make it more appealing to them.
Today, Fifi didn't immediately eat hers. Max mostly picks through the dog food pellets to eat the string cheese first then eats however much of the dog food he wants; typically about half. He's too short to reach Fifi's bowl but I watched today as he reared up and tilted the bowl so the cheese slices fell toward him and he stole it. The interesting part (to me) is he intentionally picked out the dog food pellets, then put them on the floor so he could exclusively eat the string cheese. He's little but his brain is big!
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Dan in Pasadena
Well-known member
The "Milwaukee" (-ish) electric pruner arrived today. Nicely packaged in its own case. Spare blade, wrench and lube came with it. SEEMS like a decent power tool for 50 bucks.
It's raining cats & dogs so I didn't test it other than put in a battery to see it fits and make sure it opens/closes. Seems to work fine. Looks like it would VERY easily cut off a finger so I will be hyper careful when I finally use it in a few days.
Thanks again Kay and Bob for the recommendation. I'm actually looking forward to taking out the remaining bushes now!
It's raining cats & dogs so I didn't test it other than put in a battery to see it fits and make sure it opens/closes. Seems to work fine. Looks like it would VERY easily cut off a finger so I will be hyper careful when I finally use it in a few days. Thanks again Kay and Bob for the recommendation. I'm actually looking forward to taking out the remaining bushes now!
kaymccampbell
Well-known member
Remember to hold your off hand behind your back while you're holding that thing. If it jams, pull the battery before fiddling with it. If it's half what mine is, it's effing deadly.The "Milwaukee" (-ish) electric pruner arrived today. Nicely packaged in its own case. Spare blade, wrench and lube came with it. SEEMS like a decent power tool for 50 bucks.
Thanks again Kay and Bob for the recommendation. I'm actually looking forward to taking out the remaining bushes now!
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Dan in Pasadena
Well-known member
Totally agree. When I was cutting off all the green on the rosemary bushes the Quik-Lok hedger it would sometimes jam on a large (for it) dry branch. Even though it theoretically couldn't move I would only remove the little piece of wood jamming it with needle nose pliers. Would NOT put my fingers anywhere close to it.
This thing would cut off a finger like cutting a stick of string cheese! Scary to even think of it. I have those gloves to keep me from cutting myself with a knife. These would cut right through those.
Bob Heine
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Dan, I used a 18v Milwaukee chain pole saw to take down a branch from our Florida Mahogany. Once on the ground I cut the biggest branches with the M12 Hatchet chainsaw. The 12v pruner did the rest. I turned this:
Into this in 40 minutes without rushing. When the powered pole saw didn't reach, rather than getting out the stepladder I got out one of my Corona pole saws. The blade on those go through even the hard mahogany like butter (slower but still effective). The green thing on the left is the Corona, the big red tool next to it is the 18v powered pole saw with two extensions (may soon order a third). The tiny thing next to the pole saws is the 12v pruner and the red thing in the foreground cart is the 12v 6" chainsaw (another stump behind the back tool).
As Kay said, I keep my left arm behind my back because even my under-powered pruner will easily trim the end of my stump right off before I can get my finger off the trigger. Not going to explain that away when Liane sees it. It laughs at gloves, even my stainless chain mail one.
Into this in 40 minutes without rushing. When the powered pole saw didn't reach, rather than getting out the stepladder I got out one of my Corona pole saws. The blade on those go through even the hard mahogany like butter (slower but still effective). The green thing on the left is the Corona, the big red tool next to it is the 18v powered pole saw with two extensions (may soon order a third). The tiny thing next to the pole saws is the 12v pruner and the red thing in the foreground cart is the 12v 6" chainsaw (another stump behind the back tool).
As Kay said, I keep my left arm behind my back because even my under-powered pruner will easily trim the end of my stump right off before I can get my finger off the trigger. Not going to explain that away when Liane sees it. It laughs at gloves, even my stainless chain mail one.
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Dan in Pasadena
Well-known member
Almost finished planting & transplanting today. My know-it-all brother in law is staying with us for awhile and he helped. His know-it-all-ness really gets in the way of MY know-it-all-ness!! Ha ha
The plants had to go in where I DIDN’T run into Glendora rocks or big tree roots so they aren’t as nicely spaced as SWMBO wanted.
Next job is a big Camelia bush espalier on each side of the garage window. I expect it to be a PITA to dig holes for the wood poles I’’ll tie the plants to.
The plants had to go in where I DIDN’T run into Glendora rocks or big tree roots so they aren’t as nicely spaced as SWMBO wanted.
Next job is a big Camelia bush espalier on each side of the garage window. I expect it to be a PITA to dig holes for the wood poles I’’ll tie the plants to.
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Dan in Pasadena
Well-known member
FYI: There was a huge rock to the left of the tree trunk in the above picture. I tried to breaking with a single jack, a stone chisel and a long crow bar, no luck. In hindsight I think it MAY be giant chunk of concrete washout from when the house was redone extensively in about 2015. In another place near the driveway there was another gigantic rock I had to play around too. That one was 4-5 ft long, maybe 18" to 2 ft wide.
I'm wondering if I should rent a small electric jackhammer or if I should try the demolition grout sold on Amazon? Anyone have any experience using that stuff? Seems like a lot of labor either way: manhandling the jack hammer or drilling a series of holes in rock/concrete. Either way I'll be lifting a bunch of chunks.
I'm wondering if I should rent a small electric jackhammer or if I should try the demolition grout sold on Amazon? Anyone have any experience using that stuff? Seems like a lot of labor either way: manhandling the jack hammer or drilling a series of holes in rock/concrete. Either way I'll be lifting a bunch of chunks.
kaymccampbell
Well-known member
The expansive grout works fine, just like the directions say.
larry4406
Well-known member
I’ve no experience with this. Thanks for the validation. Stored for hopefully no future use.
kaymccampbell
Well-known member
If you've ever set replacement pool stanchions or railings in precast stairs or squished hydraulic cement to seal foundation perforations, then you've used a milder form.
PugetDude
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Used Dexpan on a huge boulder we encountered digging the foundation on a lake cabin when I lived in Washington State. Cracked it into manageable pieces overnight so we could get it out of the excavation.
larry4406
Well-known member
FYI: There was a huge rock to the left of the tree trunk in the above picture. I tried to breaking with a single jack, a stone chisel and a long crow bar, no luck. In hindsight I think it MAY be giant chunk of concrete washout from when the house was redone extensively in about 2015. In another place near the driveway there was another gigantic rock I had to play around too. That one was 4-5 ft long, maybe 18" to 2 ft wide.
I'm wondering if I should rent a small electric jackhammer or if I should try the demolition grout sold on Amazon? Anyone have any experience using that stuff? Seems like a lot of labor either way: manhandling the jack hammer or drilling a series of holes in rock/concrete. Either way I'll be lifting a bunch of chunks.
Sadly Dexpan says "Made in China"....
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Dan in Pasadena
Well-known member
I should read the label but I haven’t bought any yet. What drill size is required and how deep must the holes be? Hopefully not all the way through the rock!
kaymccampbell
Well-known member
Read the label. It's what I do.
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Dan in Pasadena
Well-known member
"I haven't bought any yet"
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Dan in Pasadena
Well-known member
The transplanting continued today. We had three very nice, large hydrangeas that bloomed beautifully on the side yard BUT....property insurance made us cut down the neighbor's bush/trees that arched over them so the sun burnt them to nearly nothing. I had cleaned up around them, pruned them down to new buds that were emerging and fed them hoping they might recover. But the sun is relentless in that location.
So this is a last ditch effort to save them by moving them to shade and using Vitamin B1 to prevent shock and help them build replacement roots faster. Fingers crossed!
So this is a last ditch effort to save them by moving them to shade and using Vitamin B1 to prevent shock and help them build replacement roots faster. Fingers crossed!
kaymccampbell
Well-known member
PugetDude
ALLIANCE MEMBER
We only had a 1" diameter drill, so we used that and then pounded a dowel in the hole after filling the holes with Dexpan. We weren't trying to turn it into gravel, just manageable chunks.
kaymccampbell
Well-known member
Your insurance ***** big red rocks in hell.
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Dan in Pasadena
Well-known member
I don't think I even have a 1" drill bit for masonry. Maybe 3/4" max with a reduced shank so it'll fit in my very old corded Porter Cable 1/2" hammer drill. I'm kinda doubting it'll even work for me with that small a hole. I'll shop a 1-1/2" hole with a 1/2" shank but I kinda doubt they're out there.
They do! That was Mercury insurance. I had my car, truck, boat & RV insurance with them too for many years.
After cutting those neighbor's bushes/trees down to bare twigs they wanted us to cut down the 18-20 ft. tall ficus tree hedge around the perimeter of our backyard. We said no and had to move all our insurances to the only other homeowners insurance that seemed to be writing ew policies last year; AAA.
kaymccampbell
Well-known member
You're going to get old using a half inch hammer drill. I've got one of the cheap HF rotary hammers for that. One with an SDS drive.
PugetDude
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Buy or rent a roto hammer with an SDS bit. Your hammer drill with a carbide masonry twist bit will only piss you off.