Rotary Cutter Got the Rotary Cutter & Mower!

[DaveM]

Hey Gang- The Bush Hog SQ600 and the Land Pride FDR2560 was delivered on Friday. It's still too soon to use the mower but I finally got to do some real tractor work with the cutter. I'm totally amazed at the ability of the tractor/cutter combo to annihilate about 1.5 acres of brush!! It took about 5 hours as I took it slow and learned it's cababilities while also triming around aprx. 60 spruce trees. I cut lots of huge multi-flora rose bushes (some of these had their own zip codes /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif) and many wild apple saplings with trunk diameters up to aprx. 1.5". The delivery guy gave me a good tip for cutting the rose bushes. For the really big ones I'd back up to them with the cutter raised and slowly lower it on top. Did I say I was totally amazed?! I did discover a few large stones though and these did not do the blades any favors. Both blades now have some major "ripples" in the cutting edge. I suspect that this season will be toughest on these blades as I cut brush for the first time. Future cuttings will be mostly grasses and thin shoots from the roses and saplings I cut now. If I removed the blades, could I hammer them back, more or less, to their original shape? Should I not worry about it and continue to use them this way for the rest of the season? Maybe get new blades next year and save these blades for future rough stuff?

A related multi-flora rose question too. Am I fooling myself by thinking I can eventually kill these roses if I keep this area cut? Is it worth trying to pull or dig out the roots?

Did I say I was totally amazed?! /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Thanks- Dave

 

[cowboydoc]

Dave,
No you won't control them just by cutting them. You also will have to spray them as well. You can keep them knocked down but they will spread out over the ground if you don't spray them.

 

[DaveM]

Richard- Thanks for that info. I kinda thought that just cutting them wouldn't really eliminate them. At least by cutting them I can now get to the trunks and roots. Do you or anyone else know the name of the chemical one should use? Could I walk around with a spray bottle of this stuff and just spray the trunks to minimize contact with other plants?

Thanks Again- Dave

 

[cowboydoc]

Dave,
I use crossbow and it works extremely well!!!! Farm and Fleet has what they call a brush killer that works so so but nothing compared to the crossbow. Yes you can just walk around and spot spray them. Make sure though that you cover the whole plant. With the crossbow and other stuff it's safe to spray on pastures and some other plants. Just read the label to make sure it's safe for where you're spraying it.

 

[DaveM]

Thanks again Richard! I really dislike these things and would like to maintain SOME pasture free of them. I should have asked this at the same time but I'm guessing Crossbow is a brand name? Do you get it only at Ag equipment stores, nursery supply places, garden sections of dept. stores or... just where?

Thanks- Dave

 

[DaveM]

For those of you that were also wondering about this product I finally found some Crossbow, by Dow AgroSciences. It was a bit of a challenge... but not too bad. I first looked in a large hardware/ homecenter type business. Funny how one can go to a place like this and the help you're likely to get is like, "ah yep, this stuff'll kill weeds" as they proceed to read the label in front of you. Fortunately someone here had HEARD of Crossbow and suggested I check with AGWAY. For those of you unfamiliar with AGWAY, they're a do-it-all hardware, garden center, feed store, Ag supply business that is very common in NY and PA. I really like doing business with them. Sure enough, after checking their computer they discovered they had a few gallons in their "chemical room". I was intrigued and a little nervous. A knowledgable guy there pulled out a reference book and confirmed Richard's recommendation. This book gave it an "Excellent" rating for killing multi-flora rose. It also gave "Round Up" by ? an "Excellent" rating but the application requirements were not as flexable as Crossbow. Round Up was MUCH easier to find around here though. Sounds as though the Crossbow will work better when applied to just the stumps of the cut plant. I'll write again someday with a progress report. Oh yeah, cost $58/gal., but 6 oz. in 3 gal. water should do the job and this stuff can be stored and used for a long time.

Dave

 

[scruffy]

Do yourself a favor and save enough for a final spraying in the fall. Give it a final cut to clean the tops and spray when the folage starts to wane, showing you that the sap is running back into the root system. This will insure the best results for killing the root system. Of course, this is totally my own opinion. But it was the only sure way I found to kill blackberry briars and poisen oak.

 

[john_bud]

Scruffy,

How does that work compared to using Roundup in the spring when growth is greatest?
It would be nice to have a spring and fall killing program that work equally well.

Also, how long do you have to wait after using Crossbow to replant?

John Bud

 

[scruffy]

John, what I have done is to make a final cutting right at the end of the season as the plants are starting to go dormant. This gives a fresh cut to make a direct application on the cut.
The action of the sap being drawn back into the root system will draw the chemical into the root system, and ultimately kill the roots. It does not affect the soil, and will allow replanting in the spring. Blackberry briars will actually (in my experience) take a couple of seasons to irradicate, as they are very pervasive critters! The second season is not nearly as bad by any means, but there will be some survivors after the first years run.
When using the roundup in the spring, you are killing the new growth, but leaving the root system intact, and it will sprout again, and again, and again....you get the picture. That is the time the growth is the fastest and heaviest.
Hope my ramblings have been of some help.

 

[cowboydoc]

The nice thing about crossbow compared to roundup is that you can use it on pasture, or any other grass for that matter, and it doesn't hurt it, so there's no need for replanting in the spring.