Light weight 3 point offset mower

[bikerdib]

I'm in the process of having a pond put in at a property I purchased last year. Three of the inner banks will be pretty steep and I will need some way of maintaining the grass/brush other than my heavy duty handheld weed wacker or my walk behind weed wacker (bank will be too steep for good engine lubrication). I don't expect to have it lawn manicured but want to mainly keep the grass and tall weeds knocked down to 6" to 8" tall. A sickle bar mower would be good but they are quite costly. DR makes a 3 point offset string trimmer but unfortunately at 16° up or down, it doesn't pivot downward enough. Titan Attachments has a similar unit but I think it would have the same limitations.

I'm looking for ideas.

 

[Shaneard]

Round up :laughing:

 

[LD1]

Round up :laughing:

As much as I like Roundup for things I cannot mow conventionally, it's not good on things like this where erosion is a real concern.

I think a sickle is going to be the most effective. But make Sure you get a belt driven one. One with a pitman arm severely limits the angle in which it will operate

 

[ericm979]

If you'll be mowing brush you might want a ditch bank flail mower instead of a sickle bar.

 

[leonz]

Your looking at a lot of money for a side shifting orchard and vineyard flail mower. If you cannot afford a side shifting orchard and vineyard flail mower you should tell your contractor to lake the slopes of the pond less than 15 degrees as there is no way you will be able to mow them safely with a higher angle.

You want a less than fifteen degree slope as it will create a wide grassy area that you can mow with a lawn mower and you will not have any erosion if you lay down a grass seed mat right after you have it graded.

You should look at the smallest Del Morino Side shifting orchard and vineyard flail mowers at Everything Attachments and decide from them there.
If your tires are loaded with liquid ballast you should have no problems. If the TYM tractor is all your using for mowing a side shifting orchard and vineyard flailmower will do all your mowing.

If you only have about 400 feet of bank edge a buying wide rolls of weed barrier fabric from Farmtek it will be a less expensive option for you and it lasts for ever.
You will need to purchase a box of ground staples to secure the weed fabric and install them on three foot centers but they will last as long as the weed fabric.

When you purchase the wide rolls of weed barrier fabric you can take the top edge and bury it in a small trench and then cover it and it will aid in holding the fabric in place.
You still need the ground staples to properly install the fabric but you will be glad you did this. You can use a stone mulch or a brick mulch and eliminate weeds at the same time.

 

[bikerdib]

I would lean towards a sickle bar mower before a flail due to the weight hanging out. The flail is OK long as everything goes well but all it would take is an unseen erosion hole or bank cave in to tip things in a bad way.

The weed mat with crushed brick is something I hadn't considered but since I'll need it on 3 banks of a one acre pond it may add up to more cash than a sickle mower.

The sickle mowers from Everything Attachments look interesting. Any opinions?

 

[RSKY]

I use a bushhog with no top link attached or now with a chain and shackle so the length can be easily adjusted. As long as you don't lift it high enough for the PTO shaft to strike the mower body (why I usually have the chain) you can back up and the tail wheel of the mower will drop down the pond bank and do all the cutting you want. It is time consuming doing all that reversing, dropping the mower, driving forward, lifting the mower and reversing again BUT it is a lot cheaper if you already have a rotary cutter.

Just be careful getting the blade in the water, that really pulls the engine rpms down.

RSKY

 

[leonz]

Hello bikerdib,

The six foot wide rolls of high grade landscape fabric from farmtek come in very long lengths and you could cover the pond edges the first year with the weed fabric and landscape fabric staples and then cover the fabric with a broken brick or red granite mulch if you can buy it in bulk locally. Your going to spend less money doing it that way than buying a new mower.

You just have to make sure that the outer edge of the fabric is buried to prevent it from being pulled up with a rotary mower.


FarmTek - Hydroponic Fodder Systems, Farming & Growing Supplies, Hoop Barns, Poultry & Livestock Equipment, High Tunnels, Greenhouses & More

You just have to decide what width you want and the life span/fabric type you want as you can purchase it in 100-600 foot lengths 6 or 12 feet wide.

They have pond liner fabric as well if you want to look at that.

 

[bridge4]

I have a dr walk behind brush cutter, 20hp and 30 inches wide. Cuts down big stuff easy...not a tractor implement by any means, but might be an option if you can't find something.

 

[bikerdib]

I use a bushhog with no top link attached or now with a chain and shackle so the length can be easily adjusted. As long as you don't lift it high enough for the PTO shaft to strike the mower body (why I usually have the chain) you can back up and the tail wheel of the mower will drop down the pond bank and do all the cutting you want. It is time consuming doing all that reversing, dropping the mower, driving forward, lifting the mower and reversing again BUT it is a lot cheaper if you already have a rotary cutter.

Just be careful getting the blade in the water, that really pulls the engine rpms down.

RSKY

That's kind of the way I cut around my pond at my weekend place in the woods. I have a hydraulic toplink so I can easily adjust the cutter to follow the slope. Hydrostatic drive makes it easier but still time consuming. Just have to be very careful not to wash the tractor in the pond.

 

[bikerdib]

I'm leaning towards spending the money on a sickle bar mower, it is probably the easiest, fastest and safest method. The barrier fabric would most likely work OK but would make it harder to get to the water edge for fishing. Nothing like sliding into the water on a cold winter day...

I guess another option would be to buy push mowers at pawn shops and do it the hard way but that certainly doesn't sound fun. I used to have the 25 HP DR field and brush cutter. Bad jazz machine but it wouldn't like the slope.

 

[m5040]

Power Trac PT425 with boom mower - YouTube

 

[bikerdib]

Pretty cool machine but I won't need anywhere near that much reach. I'd be willing to bet that I can get a 6' or 7' sickle bar cutter for less too.

 

[cold1313]

I was in the same boat and not wanting to spend $20k on a setup to reach down that far, I stopped at the local supply house for ODOT. They sold me "high slope, low growth" grass seed.

It's what the state uses where the slope is too steep for their mowers. It has the roots for the slopes to hold the soil and grows slow enough to where it MIGHT need cut once a year...I haven't mowed it at all in 2+ years.

I spray Trimec on the area a few times a year, to kill the weeds etc. Otherwise the broad leaf weeds would over take everything.

 

[DieselBound]

As cold1313 suggests. Then get yourself some domestic geese (they're great grass-trimmers).

 

[bikerdib]

Cold1313, that sounds like a possible solution. Do you know what the grass is called?

Diesel bound, this pond is being dug on my place on the edge of my small town and the Coyote and Bobcat that move through the woods behind my new pond would appreciate an easy meal.

A few years back the land owner next to my weekend place in the woods put some in their pond. I remember thinking that the Coyote, Bobcats and even occasional Cougar are going to be happy. The next weekend I went back and found several piles of feathers on my property close to the neighbor's pond.

 

[DieselBound]

Yeah, without a dog/dogs it's hard to keep domestic fowl. I've had dogs that also chase off eagles. And it wasn't until a couple years ago that I managed to get in a fence (pond lies within the fence) to help discourage attacks from the wildlife: raccoons, when dogs weren't around, were wreaking havoc (we were also between dogs- our replacement dog is still a work in progress)- ended up stringing a hotwire at the top of our fence and gates and that activity stopped dead in its tracks.

 

[the old grind]

If it were me, 57" Standard Ditch Bank Flail Mower, FH-AGL145 | Betstco Sales, Parts, and Service:

I bought a different model, but this one should do slopes steeper that 15^. You only pay for something once. I have >2100' of shoreline (three-finger pond shape) and don't mow to the water. That said, maintaining buffer areas is a full time job here.

I suggest you plan for twice what you think you'll need to do, and put versatility as a top priority. (You only pay for something once.) Spot-spraying a few worst weeds will minimize chemicals in the water. I believe the mower I suggested above would demand the least other effort in dealing with clippings and chemicals. I'm new to flail and stunned at what I've been missing, esp to keep a wide access road to grub 'junk' growth along the the tree-lined far shores. 18th year pulling willows and poplar from banks. Trees growing near your pond will be regretted.

Waterfowl will surly hasten weed growth, likely assure overgrowth in < a decade. Good luck keeping fowl, even in pens with the local predator population.
Let me guess, you might want to shoot a few for the sake of all your animals.

 

[bikerdib]

Trees within or on top of a pond dam are a no-no. Even on the backside they will be removed. Outside the dam are OK.

I have ruled out a flail due to the amount of weight hanging out towards the water. I'd rather not have that much weight trying to dump me in the drink as they say. I think a sickle will cut at more angle too, some I've seen will do up to 75° down.

 

[the old grind]

Wow, yes, a sickle-bar mower, if a bit more $$ up front, very much the right idea from post #1. :thumbsup:

I suggest all attending this thread see Ted's EA video regarding what to expect IF things get too tall. (check in at ~4:00 to see what I mean about the cut.)

5 Foot Sickle Bar Mower For Subcompact Tractors - YouTube

IMO, it's pretty well proven that there's no "Plan B" to be imagined this time.

btw, OP, put out a corn feeder if you like pork. t o g

(and I only wish I could justify owning one. :confused3: find 'used'.)