The high cost of cutting grass

[BnRidge]

Just curious, how long does it take to cut 700 acres?

.12 x mph x width (ft) = ac/hr

 

[MossRoad]

Where I live, they get particularly nasty during late summer/early fall.

Ours get drunk on the rotting pears and become kinda docile.

 

[MossRoad]

Slightly OT…..
FIL has a place in Cassopolis…wonder if I should tell him about the snakes…..

Michiana property holds one of largest rattlesnake concentrations in Midwest

More than 800 venomous rattlers make home at Ed Lowe Foundation property east of Cassopolis

www.southbendtribune.com

Was just past that place on Sunday. Went fishing near Vandalia.

 

[Torvy]

The rattler map is kinda vague...no rattlers east of the Missouri in SD (no other wild venomous either)...basically cuts the state in half...If a rattler shows up East River, it makes the state news. Always track it back to hitching a ride on a hay wagon or similar from West River. Not sure why they don't survive East River.

 

[jyoutz]

The rattler map is kinda vague...no rattlers east of the Missouri in SD (no other wild venomous either)...basically cuts the state in half...If a rattler shows up East River, it makes the state news. Always track it back to hitching a ride on a hay wagon or similar from West River. Not sure why they don't survive East River.

I do also question the map in places. I’m sure that the blank area in western Colorado showing no prairie rattlers is wrong. But I posted the map to illustrate that rattlesnakes are widespread in the US.

 

[ruffdog]

The map looks good for our area as the rattlers are mostly in the driftless area (SW WI).

 

[Cougsfan]

Seems like her in Eastern Washington, wherever there are rocks for the snakes to sun on, there are snakes. No rocks, no snakes. (Not totally true but mostly true). We only have rattle snakes, garter snakes and bull snakes. Snakes don't bother me much. I respect them and just leave them alone if I see one. I don't feel compelled to kill them like some people. The last thing they really want to do is bite you and waste their venom on something they can't eat.

 

[Cougsfan]

Sometimes I think that lawns, especially large lawns are a rather senseless luxury. The labor, the equipment, the fuel, the water it takes to maintain them is rather intense. My guess is that lawns are going to start falling more out of favor as the world moves on. In places like New Mexico and Arizona they are a rare sight for obvious reasons.

 

[mikester]

Well heck, just trade your tractor/mower for an electric!

Great idea! Need to plug in for 8 hours after 1 hour use. 3 days to mow the lawn.

 

[ddbackhoe]

Can you guess what it is going to cost to cut grass this year...... when you need to cut twice a week .... My 4500P takes 3 hours to cut without trimming so at 5.00 @ gal. thats 15.00 twice a week. I may have to change how much I cut and how often...
The war will and did raise the prices here all ready and now a refinery blows up down south, that should send it through the roof..... Jim

Why panic and say 5.00 per gallon, why not 8, 10, 12?

 

[BnRidge]

It's fun cherry picking numbers. Kind of looks like a hockey schtick. Makes for great news - the end of life as we know it.

Or, maybe not. Fuel is still relatively cheap.
Or go back to a hand mower like my parents had. This summer I ran out of gas while mowing. After a couple hours riding around, it was kind of a shock to actually have to "put the beer down get off and walk" back to the shed for more fuel. Cruising along on a mower can be too easy.

 

[npalen]

Great idea! Need to plug in for 8 hours after 1 hour use. 3 days to mow the lawn.

Oh, but the energy is free, right?

 

[bdhsfz6]

Can you guess what it is going to cost to cut grass this year...... when you need to cut twice a week .... My 4500P takes 3 hours to cut without trimming so at 5.00 @ gal. thats 15.00 twice a week. I may have to change how much I cut and how often...
The war will and did raise the prices here all ready and now a refinery blows up down south, that should send it through the roof..... Jim

It takes 3.5 hours to cut the 6 acres surrounding the house. I mow once per week during the height of the growing season here, and less during spring & fall. It's far from a groomed lawn but I do it more to keep critters and the invasives away from the house. Sure, I could cut less acreage and may do so if the cost gets out of hand.

My Kubota L6060 with 84" rear mount mower uses around 6 gallons of fuel per mowing. I use heating oil from my 1000 gal tank and last summer, paid $2.89/gal. I mowed 14 times, used approximately 84 gal. which cost around $243. I also plow 2 miles of private road and driveway with the tractor which costs another $150 or so. This of course depends on the seasonal snowfall.

To me, it's part of the cost of country living and is still less than the city living expenses I had previously. I'll do and pay what ever it takes because there is no way I would ever go back.

 

[jdmeth]

Just curious, how long does it take to cut 700 acres?

I would guess a week or less.

16ft Groundsmaster® 5900 Series Mower​

16 ft (4.88m) Cutting Width; up to 20.8 acres/hr (8.4 hectares/hr)

700/20=35 hours

 

[Bobrown14]

Grow meadows, cut around the edges weekly - brush hog the meadow 2x a year.

 

[STAYSAFE]

I think mine is broken. He sees coyotes and he just watches them. He would rather chase his frisbee. Now the corgi, I have seen chase a mama moose with her calf. He backs down from nothing.

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A corgi’s skull matches a stomping moose’s hoof to a “T”. 1750 lbs vs 40?

 

[tedfarkas]

Wow!! Grass must really grow fast in western PA; you said you cut twice a week. Here in the eastern part we cut every other week.

 

[MossRoad]

Maybe make a distinction between grass and lawn.

I mow our grass when it needs it.
I mow our lawn about twice a week.

 

[BobInSD]

Why on earth do you need to spend 3 hrs to cut that much grass 2 times a week? What a waste! Need to find something better to do with that land.

Any suggestions on good use for 8-10 acres of prairie grass that doesn't involve winter chores? I normally just let a neighbor graze his sheep here in the summer, since I don't want to deal with them in the winter. Not much can fend for itself in our winters and I'm not a fan of chopping ice, filling water buckets, and dropping feed in the bitter cold before heading to town for the day job. The evenings are even that bad, but the mornings drag on me. I agree that it's wasteful to just let it rot.

 

[Mtsoxfan]

Grow meadows, cut around the edges weekly - brush hog the meadow 2x a year.

Yeah, tired of having a lawn... Moved and built new home, used a lawn tractor to cut about 2 acres of rolling terrane with apple trees to go around. 2 1/2 hours of bouncing not good on back. Bought a used NH with mid mount. See what time it takes me this year. I know the ride will be better. I am planting wild flowers in several locations to add beauty and cut down on mowing. Nobody is cutting 700 acres on their own...