elicia
New member
Hello,
Thanks in advance for considering my request for advice!
I recently bought 35 acres in the mountains of North Carolina. We plan to keep about 7 acres for now (and maybe as many as 13 in the future) as pasture instead of forest.
We are entirely new to tractors, and not mechanically inclined, so intimidated by them. But mowing is the only reasonable way, so we gotta get one. We'd prefer something small so its more manageable since we have very little barn space. Of the 7 acres, about 5 are gently rolling and the other two have approx. the slope in the picture I posted. Sorry, I am not sure what percent slope that is. We just want to keep the weeds down and have it be walkable in normal clothing. I have no interest in it looking like a golf course.
My partner wants to get a "garden tractor" because they seem easier to use, smaller to store, more comfortable, with better turning radius, and won't require fussing with attachments. My feeling is that in the long run, a garden tractor won't cut it. It will take forever to mow with a small mowing deck and may burn itself out sooner. I am thinking a used (can't afford a new one) compact 4wd tractor such as a kubota b6100, with a bush hog or a belly mower.
But if folks think we could get away with something smaller, I would sure prefer that. Of course a real tractor would come in handy in other ways -- but only if we could afford to get other attachments and find a place to store them. Which we may not But it would be nice to know that if we neglect the mowing for a little bit, we can still do it instead of hiring a neighbor to bush hog again.
Thanks so much!
Thanks in advance for considering my request for advice!
I recently bought 35 acres in the mountains of North Carolina. We plan to keep about 7 acres for now (and maybe as many as 13 in the future) as pasture instead of forest.
We are entirely new to tractors, and not mechanically inclined, so intimidated by them. But mowing is the only reasonable way, so we gotta get one. We'd prefer something small so its more manageable since we have very little barn space. Of the 7 acres, about 5 are gently rolling and the other two have approx. the slope in the picture I posted. Sorry, I am not sure what percent slope that is. We just want to keep the weeds down and have it be walkable in normal clothing. I have no interest in it looking like a golf course.
My partner wants to get a "garden tractor" because they seem easier to use, smaller to store, more comfortable, with better turning radius, and won't require fussing with attachments. My feeling is that in the long run, a garden tractor won't cut it. It will take forever to mow with a small mowing deck and may burn itself out sooner. I am thinking a used (can't afford a new one) compact 4wd tractor such as a kubota b6100, with a bush hog or a belly mower.
But if folks think we could get away with something smaller, I would sure prefer that. Of course a real tractor would come in handy in other ways -- but only if we could afford to get other attachments and find a place to store them. Which we may not But it would be nice to know that if we neglect the mowing for a little bit, we can still do it instead of hiring a neighbor to bush hog again.
Thanks so much!