Difficult lot - mower suggestions?

[KennyG]

One earlier suggestion that bears thought is planting something that doesn't need mowing. After I dredged my pond, I reseeded all around it with hard fescue. It's pretty amazing. It looks good (like a meadow) and grows about 6" high. I cut it to about 4" once a month or so when it's very dry, mainly to take care of any weeds (but you can let it go completely) and weed whack the edges of the pond to keep any weed down. The hard fescue is drought resistant, stays green and likes very poor soil (fertilizer is not recommended). Of course, ground covers are an option also.

 

[dstig1]

His mower is an X324 which has a K58(?) in it, so it is beefier than the K46, from my readings here and elsewhere. If it makes any unhappy sounds or struggles, it will be the end of the test right there.

I am considering other options for cover. Some of it is still going to need to be grass. But right now I need to keep this stuff hacked down at least some, and I need a way to do that... The weed whacker is too slow.

 

[drhjmacleod]

His mower is an X324 which has a K58(?) in it, so it is beefier than the K46, from my readings here and elsewhere. If it makes any unhappy sounds or struggles, it will be the end of the test right there.

I am considering other options for cover. Some of it is still going to need to be grass. But right now I need to keep this stuff hacked down at least some, and I need a way to do that... The weed whacker is too slow.

I had a K58 and it is just barely a step up from a K46 and does not compare in the slightest to a K72.

 

[Yellowfever440]

Get one of those Dr trimmer mowers maybe or something like that.

 

[DHD]

Here is a link to a thread from MyTractorForum, about different riding mower hydro transmissions.
I thought allot of good info was being discussed that might be helpful here.

http://www.mytractorforum.com/45-ba...pics/825130-lts-gts-transmissions-rookie.html

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

Here is a link to a thread from MyTractorForum, about different riding mower hydro transmissions.
I thought allot of good info was being discussed that might be helpful here.

http://www.mytractorforum.com/45-ba...pics/825130-lts-gts-transmissions-rookie.html

The annoying ads on my tractor forum keep me off of it. I was just reminded of it when I clicked on your link.

 

[DHD]

I hear ya about those ads...they are irritating.

 

[dstig1]

Well my friend came out today with his X320 48" deck and had a run at it. He was able to mow many areas OK. He did comment that the yard was extremely bumpy, so I will need to fix that somehow. He said it would beat a mower up in no time like that. He did lose traction in several spots. Sometimes he just spun and had to take another run at it, other times, the mower engine was definitely loaded pretty heavy. Given what i saw, and have read here, it looks like I either need an X500 series that has the diff lock or some other AWD/4wd model like the husky. At least he was able to knock it down a bit, so that helps for now. He was not able to get some of the steeper sections at all, but those also had some pretty high weeds, so that made it doubly hard. I'll hit that with the weed whacker here soon to knock it down a bit.

Basically it worked, but not great, and it would probably wear it out in the long run prematurely. Any more thoughts?

So what to do about smoothing out the rough stuff? I really am not planning to tear the whole yard up again, as i had major erosion issues before I got it to this stage. Don't want to repeat that....

Picture after the mowing:

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

Maybe a goat on a rope? I can't really tell how big the side of that hill is.

What about one of those walk behind self propelled cutters?

 

[jenkinsph]

A 4x4 riding mower should cut that steep slope without problems in your picture, my x749 could do it. You could add a retaining wall and smooth out the problem areas. You could fill in the slope between the driveways to get an even and more gradual taper. I suspect it is a choice between fixing the problem or spending enough for a mower that can handle the terrain. Neither are cheap.