Mid mount mowers

[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.