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Many Questions - Crop Field to Lawn
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Industrial Toys
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I have oodles of acres of cut grass. Is it really that bad ecologically? I don't spray for weeds and there are tons of dandilions. I have planted grass from seed bed conditions and other areas just mowed wild grasses and weeds til it got better and better. In the end, the seeded areas are pretty much the same as the other. Not a golf course nor plush Scotts Lawn, , but pretty park like and that's good enough for me.
bigtiller
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If you have a smart-phone, there is a free app called "garden answers" that I use. Simply take a picture of the plant in question, and the app will identify the plant.
oosik
Epic Contributor
I have two acres of field grass that I mow ( an hours worth ). After 38 years of mowing - it's filled in nicely and looks like a lawn. It is extremely drought resistant, tougher than nails and looks just like a normal lawn.
I tried seeding a small patch with lawn seed. It grew and then died. Looked like it had been hit with RoundUp.
I really like my mowed field grass. It dies in the late summer and comes back with the fall rains.
BTW - the "weed" ( post #18 - et al ) appears to be some species of Cinquefoil. There are dozens of different species of this plant. Some may be able to ID simply by the foliage - it's a lot easier if you have the flower.
But there is a simple truth - - it IS a weed.
I tried seeding a small patch with lawn seed. It grew and then died. Looked like it had been hit with RoundUp.
I really like my mowed field grass. It dies in the late summer and comes back with the fall rains.
BTW - the "weed" ( post #18 - et al ) appears to be some species of Cinquefoil. There are dozens of different species of this plant. Some may be able to ID simply by the foliage - it's a lot easier if you have the flower.
But there is a simple truth - - it IS a weed.
Ken Kegris
Bronze Member
I would suggest that you get a local farmer to plant hay in the field. He gets the hay of course then pick the bigger stones out of the area roll it to push the smaller one down in. Mow it regular and it will turn into lawn, If you put lime on the soil it will sweeten the soil and will help with the weed growth. after about two years and it then should have filled in some then do a 24D on it and that will take care of buckhorn, most of all the broad leaf, including dandelion I mow 3 acres a week and do it in less than 2 hours and its done with a 5 ft mower. My fields do not have any weeds in them but it took time, but I started with hay fields.
somewhereinusa
New member
All of our "lawn" is just pasture that we started mowing after the live stock left. It doesn't look like a carpet but, it is green and, I think, very pretty. Our landscaping consists of letting trees grow when we see a new one. We have many black walnut and tulip trees. Used to be ash but, we are now cutting them down for fire wood. I had to laugh at the one hour thing, we mow about 15 acres and in the spring and early summer I mow about two hours a day, every day. If it can't be mowed with the 5 foot zero turn, it don't get mowed. We don't own a push mower.
LD1
Epic Contributor
For a nice lawn, it is certainly possible to do it with a tractor and a whole host of equipment. Disc, tiller, box blade, landscape rake, cultipacker, etc.
But at the end of the day, you are probably gonna be cussing yourself everytime you are on the mower and realize that your lawn is less than stellar and very rough.
If you want it done right, you need to spray EVERYTHING you want as "lawn". In a week or two when its brown, you need a skidloader and either a harley rake or rockhound. This will level, pick up debris, and prep seed bed all in one pass. Then all you have to do is seed. The result will be a nice (and very smooth) lawn.
Everything you dont want as lawn....I agree to just let nature take over. Maybe bushhog once a year in the fall. If preserving nature and having a wild area is the goal, fall is the best time to bushhog, because all the young and nesting critters are mature and able to move out of the way. No risk of running over a fawn that cannot move, or a turkey hen sitting on a nest, birds that cant fly yet, or a momma rabbit nursing young ones, etc.
But at the end of the day, you are probably gonna be cussing yourself everytime you are on the mower and realize that your lawn is less than stellar and very rough.
If you want it done right, you need to spray EVERYTHING you want as "lawn". In a week or two when its brown, you need a skidloader and either a harley rake or rockhound. This will level, pick up debris, and prep seed bed all in one pass. Then all you have to do is seed. The result will be a nice (and very smooth) lawn.
Everything you dont want as lawn....I agree to just let nature take over. Maybe bushhog once a year in the fall. If preserving nature and having a wild area is the goal, fall is the best time to bushhog, because all the young and nesting critters are mature and able to move out of the way. No risk of running over a fawn that cannot move, or a turkey hen sitting on a nest, birds that cant fly yet, or a momma rabbit nursing young ones, etc.
jjp8182
Platinum Member
Just my two cents, but instead of spraying for weeds, just mow them down before they go to seed. I've been doing that for a few years now, and I've noticed that between cutting the grass to 4"-5" high (pretty much the sweet spot for multiple types of grass) and mowing regularly the grass has choked out most of the weeds and is actually much healthier in appearance.
So at this point I see (pre-seed bearing) weeds as free organic mulching/compost material for my yard and pasture ... just have to mow them down to feed the underground herd of worms, and other organic material eating subsoil-dwelling critters. They in turn help improve the soil for the grass. As a result between the pressure of regular mowing and the natural competitive advantages of grass the grass naturally takes over. Then once it does the mowing will still help eliminate/prevent weeds, as well as prevent trees from getting a foothold ..and if the grass clippings are left they become a source of compost as well (a rear discharge mower helps keep it in an even spread).
It might be worth considering having it smoothed for an initially smoother ride on the mower, but if you're mowing faster than 3-5(-ish) the mower will eventually wear in it's own washboard pattern (it can even so in the 3-5mph range though it takes longer) ...which you may realize the first time you switch to a new mower (done it a few times now).
Really the equipment (and chemicals) are just a faster way of doing what nature will do on it's own over a longer period of time... and with either one, it eventually evolves into maintaining it the way you want it to look. Picture perfect lawns tend to take money to both establish and maintain, where as a really nice country yard may take more time, but cost a lot less (especially when you're working with nature rather than trying to rush it) --- and (in my opinion) look better than an expensive monocultured lawn.
So if it was me I think I'd just start mowing it with a goo rear-discharge mower (preferably using mulching blades) and over-seed it with an appropriate grass seed to help things along.
Again just my :2cents:
So at this point I see (pre-seed bearing) weeds as free organic mulching/compost material for my yard and pasture ... just have to mow them down to feed the underground herd of worms, and other organic material eating subsoil-dwelling critters. They in turn help improve the soil for the grass. As a result between the pressure of regular mowing and the natural competitive advantages of grass the grass naturally takes over. Then once it does the mowing will still help eliminate/prevent weeds, as well as prevent trees from getting a foothold ..and if the grass clippings are left they become a source of compost as well (a rear discharge mower helps keep it in an even spread).
It might be worth considering having it smoothed for an initially smoother ride on the mower, but if you're mowing faster than 3-5(-ish) the mower will eventually wear in it's own washboard pattern (it can even so in the 3-5mph range though it takes longer) ...which you may realize the first time you switch to a new mower (done it a few times now).
Really the equipment (and chemicals) are just a faster way of doing what nature will do on it's own over a longer period of time... and with either one, it eventually evolves into maintaining it the way you want it to look. Picture perfect lawns tend to take money to both establish and maintain, where as a really nice country yard may take more time, but cost a lot less (especially when you're working with nature rather than trying to rush it) --- and (in my opinion) look better than an expensive monocultured lawn.
So if it was me I think I'd just start mowing it with a goo rear-discharge mower (preferably using mulching blades) and over-seed it with an appropriate grass seed to help things along.
Again just my :2cents:
