Mowing between 100's of trees

[Overtaxed]

Nope, not pecans, red oak trees planted for privacy. They are about 25-30 ft tall, the branches are high enough up that I can get my cabbed tractor under them, so probably 8/9ft or so. I can easily move around the trees, problem is, I don't want to, running in and out of that many trees with a tractor or ZTM is a ton of work; I know, I've done both. It's an all day job where you do nothing but spin the wheel back and forth as fast as you can. Hence, the reason I continue to search for a better option.

 

[pmsmechanic]

So would not mowing under the trees at all be an option? That would be my first choice.

You say the ground is rough. Rent a Harley rake and smooth it off enough so that your present mower works. Build an offset attachment for between the three point arms and the attaching point on the mower deck to move the mower over enough to cover your wheel tracks. To run the pto shaft six inches or more offset isn't going to hurt it as it's probably already offset slightly. You might have to buy a longer pto shaft.

How handy are you at fabricating? Buy a good rear finish mower and develop your own string trimmer to attach to it. If it was me I wouldn't use the string trimmer idea. I would just attach a shielded mower blade to the deck in the same way the DR trimmer works.

 

[oosik]

Well - if you don't want to use your tractor or a ZTM then its - - chop down every other tree or get a commercial weed whacker. I have a big Stihl 450 weed whacker that I easily "whack" a clear circle around all my trees. Then I mow with my riding mower.

I see no solution that involves at attachment to your tractor. I think you will have to dismount and "hoof it" with some form of gas powered weed whacker.

 

[mark02tj]

Just curious - how often do you have to mow? I would think that the grass would grow pretty slowly with all of the shade that a fairly mature oak tree would produce. It's hard to come up with a solution without a clear picture of your conditions. I'm betting that the picture I have in my mind probably doesn't match what you are actually dealing with.

Have you considered letting sheep graze in that area?

 

[Z-Michigan]

Similar question - what's your goal for this? Manicured putting-green grass probably isn't realistic or worth the time. If it were mine I would probably mow N-S one week, then mow E-W at the next mowing, at least one week later if not several. It won't be a putting green but will keep the grass and weeds to an acceptable height.

Also, what about mulching around the base of each tree out for several feet, so you don't have to worry about mowing close to trunks or under branches?

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

Goats???

 

[Luke'sScreenName]

Goats???

Sheep

 

[3Lfarms]

What about an offset ditch/bank flail mower?
Ditch Bank Offset Flail Mowers

Your tractor is just big enough. You would need two sets of rear remotes, but you can hydraulically retract it when you come to a tree. It’s not going to be very fast depending on how far apart your trees are, but it would allow mowing up to 6’ to the right of your tractor, then slide it in behind the tractor as you approach a tree on the fly, or you can just tilt it up vertical to get by the tree.
I bought a used Berti flail for $500 from the county. I had to have new hoses made up for it, but Everything else in it worked great. New, those are like $7k.

 

[Luke'sScreenName]

I know nothing about them but this company makes a bunch of Orchard mowers. The link below is for one that, I think, mounts on to your brush hog and is hydraulically driven. Good luck.

SZA - Solo-Swing attachment - Perfect - Van Wamel B.V.

 

[bigtiller]

Nope, not pecans, red oak trees planted for privacy. They are about 25-30 ft tall, the branches are high enough up that I can get my cabbed tractor under them, so probably 8/9ft or so. I can easily move around the trees, problem is, I don't want to, running in and out of that many trees with a tractor or ZTM is a ton of work; I know, I've done both. It's an all day job where you do nothing but spin the wheel back and forth as fast as you can. Hence, the reason I continue to search for a better option.

I used to have the same problem. My windbreak is 600 feet long with 4 rows of spruce trees. When they were young I would mow around them, all 130 of them. I was dizzy enough it nearly made me sick. So I started weaving in & out from tree to tree, but as you said, that is a LOT of work.

I stopped mowing and started spraying for broadleaf weeds. When my grass got tall, it bent over and kept a fairly even height. If I kept the weeds out, it looked pretty good.

It took me an hour and 15 minutes to mow that area. No more of that for me.