Cut 10ac with finish mower - Advice Requested

[OkieNotFromMuskogee]

Let me start by saying I'm grew up a city guy living the country life now. I don't know all these farm implement names, terms, etc. So please ignore my ignorance.

Anywho, I own 10 acre field a few miles from me. Nothing is there, it's just a field. I had local guy cut it for rough hay for his horses for a few years which kept it rough trimmed. He has since stopped over the past 2 years, so I was going to start cutting it myself once or twice a year just to keep it trimmed. I own a New Holland TC18 and a 4' finish mower rear discharge, and I unfortunately sold my brush hog a few years back. I was thinking I could use the finish mower at it's highest level to cut this field. It's not thick, just some weeds and growth could be like 3ft high or so.

Thoughts?

Thanks in advance..

 

[chinawall]

Should work, but go slow! Let it dry and then redo it.

 

[duffer]

The finish mower will work, but you'll have to mow it more than 1-2 times a season. Finish mowers aren't made to cut down huge amounts of grass/vegetation. they're made to cut 1-2" off at a time.

When I planted my 10 acres of grass, I over seeded with a pasture grass that quickly got over grown. Had to mow it 3 times with the finish mower at the highest setting to make it look as good as a bush hog would have done on the first pass.

Once you get the pasture down to the desired height, you'll probably have to "maintain" it there. And make sure you have some anti-scalp wheels on your mower to prevent burying it in the dirt if the pasture is uneven.

 

[OkieNotFromMuskogee]

Thanks for your response.
I guess my concern would be if the grass/weeds bends too much the mower may miss it. Similar to if I just went over it with a typical riding mower. Sometimes tall grass just gets bent and misses the blade. Just wondering if I'd get the same effect with a finish mower vs a zero turn or standard riding mower.

 

[duffer]

mowing 10 acres with a 4' mower will take days....I mow my 10 acres with a 7' PTO mower and still takes me 6 hours. If you're going to keep the land, find a used bush hog and get that.

 

[Hay Dude]

You’ll smoke your belts (assuming belt drive) if it’s 3 feet tall

 

[Midniteoyl]

It'll work. Just gotta go a bit slow and will probably take 2 days as said. The belts should be just fine. I've mowed higher with my ZTR many times (the g'kid did here) with no problems at all..

And being rear discharge, you wont have to worry about doing half passes.. Get yourself a bushhog in the off season for next year.

 

[workinonit]

Or a flail. I love a flail for that type of growth.

 

[OkieNotFromMuskogee]

I figured it'll take a good day or so and a few PB&J sandwiches later.. Hmm, nice photo @Midniteoyl it gives me some perspective.

 

[Peace]

Or a flail. I love a flail for that type of growth.

I agree! A flail will pick up the grass that the tractor tires run over and cut it. Also less damage if you hit a large rock. I’ll post a link to my favorite one with a grass catcher on the back. If you scroll down you can see several different styles. The prices don’t seem very reasonable though. Flail Mower with Collector Hopper: Cut & Collect Clippings!