Mid mount mowers

[buckeyefarmer]

When you dont mow, and let it grow up, weeds take over and it looks like crap.

 

[GirlWhoWantsTractor]

When you dont mow, and let it grow up, weeds take over and it looks like crap.

In fields that are close-cropped by stock, that of course allows large weeds to thrive. Agree that is ugly. Mowing is bad for native grasses. You cut off the heads so it can't seed, and it's the flowers and seed heads that look pretty. Unmowed native grasses will grow tall and outcompete most weeds. Like this:

 

[Creamer]

In fields that are close-cropped by stock, that of course allows large weeds to thrive. Agree that is ugly. Mowing is bad for native grasses. You cut off the heads so it can't seed, and it's the flowers and seed heads that look pretty. Unmowed native grasses will grow tall and outcompete most weeds. Like this:
View attachment 561018
View attachment 561019

Around here unmowed grass areas usually grow trees. If you are not mowing at least every other year you will have a lot of trees.

 

[GirlWhoWantsTractor]

Around here unmowed grass areas usually grow trees. If you are not mowing at least every other year you will have a lot of trees.

Of course you can mow once a year, during the dormant season.

 

[majorwager]

Subscribe to the Buckeye Farmer premise, unmowed fields look ragity. Please define native grasses? My fields are hayed, (mostly timothy, some clover and alfalfa) so they are mowed twice for collection and if necessary, a third for appearance.(cut and chopped for silage). If mowing damages the plant, why do my hayfields rebound so well? Argument is illogical.

We all have opinions, See no one in this area letting fields of substantial acreage lay dorment. Occasionly a farmer will skip a season as part of crop rotation management, then plant winter wheat in early September.

Deere Do lay in thie tall grass, but that grass also is generally infested w/ horse and deere flies. Biologists have determined wildlife prefer the sborter grass for grazing, closer to the sugar core of the plant. Can count 30-40 deere in my cut hay fields on any given evening, haven't received a single complaint.

Again, we all have an opinion, yet speculation is NOT synonymous w/ fact.

EDIT: Shorter grass exposes field mice population, supports birds of prey and fox and other carnivores.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

I had lots of weeds in my field until i started regular mowing. Now its much more grass, clover.

 

[GirlWhoWantsTractor]

Subscribe to the Buckeye Farmer premise, unmowed fields look ragity. Please define native grasses? My fields are hayed, (mostly timothy, some clover and alfalfa) so they are mowed twice for collection and if necessary, a third for appearance.(cut and chopped for silage). If mowing damages the plant, why do my hayfields rebound so well? Argument is illogical.

We all have opinions, See no one in this area letting fields of substantial acreage lay dorment. Occasionly a farmer will skip a season as part of crop rotation management, then plant winter wheat in early September.

Deere Do lay in thie tall grass, but that grass also is generally infested w/ horse and deere flies. Biologists have determined wildlife prefer the sborter grass for grazing, closer to the sugar core of the plant. Can count 30-40 deere in my cut hay fields on any given evening, haven't received a single complaint.

Again, we all have an opinion, yet speculation is NOT synonymous w/ fact.

EDIT: Shorter grass exposes field mice population, supports birds of prey and fox and other carnivores.

I wasn't talking about hayfields, or about fields that are grazed by stock, or about allowing land that could be earning $$ to lay fallow, but about allowing lawn or other unproductive land to turn into *meadow* to reduce mowing and increase wildlife habitat. Not deer--we have plenty of those--but less common or endangered species, like for example the bobwhite or Virginia quail.

Native grasses will differ in each area. Virginia has a very good website encouraging landowners to plant native plants, why it's a good idea, and lists of native plants, grasses, trees, and shrubs for each region of the state. Native Plants for Conservation, Restoration and Landscaping

That is where I got my information, plus a long visit from a state biologist who gave me a lot of information on how to do this, including how to care for it. Virginia will even pay you money to do it. Your state may have similar information.

 

[majorwager]

In essence you describe an expanded garden. This " meadow" will not manage itself. Invasive species will infiltrate and flourish. Weeds will compete with grass vegetation for nourishment. My experience has NOT produced the result you imagine, but rather a thorny entanglement of red thistle and junk trees/bushes.

Perhaps there is some wildlife value but the unsightly blight on the landscape is a price too high and not willing to pay.

To subscribe to the
Required result you describe, would necessitate intensive weeding and management. Tried it, results were dismal .

If results differ in your state, you must then possess a secret formula that seems unworkable in this corner of the planet.

I have witnessed these flowing perfect meadows you describe but they only existed for two hours, till the movie concluded.

I do believe in conservation, however it is a program where mowing and appearance coincides harmoniously w/ nature.

EDIT: NYS ownes 4 million acres of land/forests, all wild except for trails, manages an additional million acres of conservation easements. 2 sizeable lakes near me are municipality owned, no housing, residents whatsoever. When is enough just that.

Thread is MMM. To maintain the theme, Recently converted a gear box mmm to hydraulically driven FEL mount, front mower.

 

[Ortimber]

I guess you need a real ZTR with the right tires. I take my ZTR on slopes there is no way I would have my tractor on and it doesn't slide down. I hear this comment all the time and I get tired of the ignorance. A ZTR has a wider stance, lower CG, and is much more maneuverable - all characteristics that help you hold a slope - of course there are differences between ZTRs in these characteristics.

Yes, I agree with this. I have steep areas to mow and my ZTR is fantastic as well.

I recently sold my BX with MMM. While they are a nice little machine, dealing with the low ground clearance that is present while the mower deck was on just didn’t work for me.

Also, I leave my loader on when brush hogging. At times it might get in the way, but it’s also very handy in fixing rough areas as you find them while mowing.

After a few years of getting a stable of equipment, I think I have the perfect combination to mow everything on my place.

1- large tractor with 8 ft flail
1- small tractor with 5 ft brush hog
1- commercial ZTR

Yes, like mowing. I usually mow 2-10 acres per week in the spring/early summer.

 

[GirlWhoWantsTractor]

Majorwager, the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation website I linked earlier would address many of your concerns.

 

[hawkeye08]

We either need to mow the "pastures" or spray the weeds. Some of you indicate that letting grasses grow will choke out the weeds. It seems we are downwind from neighbors that don't take care of the weeds like we do and when the Canadian Thistle lets loose with the many seeds floating the wind, it eventually comes down and make take hold or it may be 10 years when it takes hold. I spray some in the "pastures", but mostly just mow. I did it for years with Gravely rider and MMM and it was a pain with the tall stuff.

Got the Kubota now with rear finish mower, I like mowing with it, but have had to wait until July the last several years for the draw to get dry enough to get in with tractor..

I work a high stress job and mowing is my relaxation, whether on the zero turn or Kubota.

regardless of your viewpoint, stay safe.

 

[Creamer]

In essence you describe an expanded garden. This " meadow" will not manage itself. Invasive species will infiltrate and flourish. Weeds will compete with grass vegetation for nourishment. My experience has NOT produced the result you imagine, but rather a thorny entanglement of red thistle and junk trees/bushes.
.

That has been my experience also. Now that I have been mowing it regularly it is almost all grass and clover - timothy, brome, orchard, and tall fescue. Where I mow it more often the fescue is taking over, where I mow it 2-3 times a year the courser grasses reign. the deer seem to prefer the new growth after mowing, the geese prefer the fescue over the courser grasses. There are lot so field mice and snakes in it as well along with the bunnies. This three or so acres hatches about 15 broods of goslings, 10 of mallards, and fawns are very common so I wait to mow until they are big enough to get up and move.

The only spray that has been on this land is the Canadien thistle patch that got started when I let it go and mowing will not kill that off. Those Canucks can keep their thistle.

 

[GirlWhoWantsTractor]

This thread got off track when another poster asked why anyone was mowing 5 acres of (unproductive) grass/field, and we were discussing alternatives to all that mowing.

Just to clarify a bit, a pasture for stock, vs a field for haying, vs a lawn, vs a natural meadow, are different goals and require different methods to create and to maintain. And even a "natural" meadow would require controlling invasive weeds like Canadian Thistle. And of course if you want it to stay a meadow, cutting down saplings and brush.

Also, whatever your goal, what you are starting out with is important. For example, if you have a field with a mix of grass and weeds, simply mowing regularly should eventually result in more grass and fewer weeds, as other posters have experienced. OTOH, if you have a field with mostly weeds, close mowing, scarifying and overseeding, or even a completely fresh start may be needed. If you have a field of fescue and alfalfa and want a natural meadow instead, that's yet another case. IOW there is no one method ("just mow" or "just leave it be") that will automatically give you the result you want for every existing condition.

In any case, sorry for contributing to the OT.

 

[majorwager]

Girl,

It is common for OT subjects to occur w/in a thread, my humble experience, if said thread is to be extended. The OP initiated a mowing equipment topic and the posts have remained relative.

If the OP is offended in some manner, they may interject at any time.

Discussion, the healthy informative type, is the basis for this forum concept. It appears that the maintenance aspect of a "natural" meadow is the thorn in the orchard, so many folks prefer to mow as as simplified solution.

Per the thread topic, a mmm can be suitable for the task if the soil surface is free of obsticles, as well as ruts, or very uneven terrain. However, tall grass would require multiple passes for this type of mower, yet the final result would still be more aesthetic than a rotary cut.

Poster mentioned rabbilts, and geese. My mowed hay fields discourage niether, however the ducks prefer the pond. Woodchucks (groundhogs), although less encouraged, do to the dirt mounds created, are not dissuaded by the mowed vegetation. Farming and nature have coexisted for centuries, nature often sharing in the crop harvest. Why I no longer grow soybeans.

Ralph VA, yes some folks just like to mow. For some, it is relaxation therapy. Look at the jobs created, and sustained in producing equipment and accessories. However, consuming less beer in the process might contribute to a safer result. Just saying,,,,,without a broad brush.....

 

[JFoy]

When I bought my BX25, I knew I would be mowing 90% of the time so I opted for the MMM. Versus a traditional riding mower, it cut my mowing time by 1/3.

I have two neighbors with fields that they bushhogged once a year and since the family Farmall was wearing out, I got a bushhog as well and started maintaining those fields. I started bushhogging those fields 3 to 4 times a year and eventually started mowing them with my MMM. The fields are about a 1/2 acre each so no big deal.

In my case, I never take off my MMM, even when using my box blade, discs, FEL, etc. It's been fine leaving it on the tractor. Plus, I don't have to have a storage place for the MMM.

And while the BX25 is not a super powerful tractor, I can mow 12in tall thick grass with no problem unless it's wet. But in my case, our land around here has gradual slopes.

JFoy

 

[majorwager]

JFoy,

Believe the knock on the mmm, is that the tractor can become "hung up" in straddling a ditch or doing woods type chores. Mine had narrow casters that marked the lawn during wet spring mowing. The side discharge tended to windrow the clippings.

If you were in a snow accumulation area, seasonal removal is inevitable.

The world revolves because everyone enjoys their own particular type of maintenance equipment.

 

[PhysAssist]

JFoy,

Believe the knock on the mmm, is that the tractor can become "hung up" in straddling a ditch or doing woods type chores. Mine had narrow casters that marked the lawn during wet spring mowing. The side discharge tended to windrow the clippings.

If you were in a snow accumulation area, seasonal removal is inevitable.

The world revolves because everyone enjoys their own particular type of maintenance equipment.

I agree on all counts-

The first summer we had our tractor, one of the anti-scalp wheel-mounts got partially torn off mowing the side-bank of a ditch out by the road- uneven ground is truly a problem for them.

Snow and firewood-related activities are the major reasons we ever take ours off, along with the [hopefully 1-time] ditching/drainage work we are doing to improve the land's water handling characteristics- wherein if we left the MMM on, we'd never have gotten it out of the mud it sometimes got high-centered in.