Pond Edge Maintainence

[JoeBuyer]

I have a pond approx 2acre and this is what i did. It's probably not the safest idea out there, but it works great, and it doesnt blow the trimmings into the water.<img src="http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=271410"/>

Very clever and within budget. This is a crazy good idea, you could even put a few bolt holes in at a higher elevation on the far side of that tube steel to go down a slope. I also would point the chute backwards instead of at the driver. Is that 2" tube?

Unfortunately with about 4000' of creek edge taken over partially by brush I am looking at finding a used boom flail mower with about a 15' reach.

Picture from GreyRider attached below (didn't link in right for some reason)

 

[Heavyduty]

Very clever and within budget. This is a crazy good idea, you could even put a few bolt holes in at a higher elevation on the far side of that tube steel to go down a slope. I also would point the chute backwards instead of at the driver. Is that 2" tube?

Unfortunately with about 4000' of creek edge taken over partially by brush I am looking at finding a used boom flail mower with about a 15' reach.

Picture from GreyRider attached below (didn't link in right for some reason)

You say boommower?

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

I guess it all depends on how much waterline you have, how good your back is, and as always whether you have more time than money.

My pond is 2 acres or more. Long and narrow, it is over 700 foot long and averages about 150' wide. There are 2 tributaries and is has about 3200' total of waterline (including tributaries).

I used to do the neck craning with my bush hog on my hydrostatic 4310. Backing down and lowering the cutter down to the surface of the water, pulling up and scooting over about 4 or 5 feet and back down again. If you do the math, well lets just say I had to take Ibuprofen every time I did it and had a neck ache for a week.

Count me in with the crew who likes their pond trimmed all the way around. I have small kids who like to fish and my wife doesn't like snakes. Also, with it clear I can observe the wildlife from afar which is awesome by the way. Overgrown ponds around here get infested with wild hogs, nutria and other bad critters.

My solution was a Deere 350 sickle bar cutter 9 foot long. These are belt driven and don't consume much HP. Mine can swivel down about 45 degress or more to conform to the bank. This is due to the belt on a pulley design. You can't do this with an old pitman arm cutter. I had to buy a manual and "went to school" self learning how to work on the contraption. WATCH YOUR FINGERS, NEVER PUT THEM BETWEEN THE KNIVES. I really recommend the 9' model since this keeps your tractor as far away from the soft edge of the water as can be. The cutter can go into the water fine, it does not hurt it at all. It can cut thru 1" cinda trees easily. If I was rich, I'd like to have a model 450 which has a caddy. These things are cantankerous to get onto the 3 point hitch.

 

[TheGreyRider]

2 inch 1/4 square tube, i point the chute out to keep all the clippings out of the water. The only issue so far is that the grill on the tractor gets covered pretty quick.

 

[warvalley]

what about doing a prescribed burn periodically? Or doing a burn and then planting some low-growing ground cover (not Kudzu!) that will hold the soil. Grass still needs mowing. What about crown vetch?

 

[SPYDERLK]

Our pond is located in the pasture, which we generally try to cut every two weeks, something I have done at the banks edge, is to cut the grass, then when almost time to cut again, spray a contact killer, i.e. Roundup, but in a weakened solution, like 1/2 the normal "kill dosage". Puts most of the vegetation into shock; no growth, but no kill. Try a weak solution, not to kill the vegetation, then adjust the strength if needed. Usually get about three - four weeks of no growth.

I think zoysia grass would work well near the lake. Good groundcover. Likes sun. Crowds out other grasses. Doesnt grow fast.
larry

 

[Creamer]

I have to ask about the tipping factor on your JD 350 with a 9' bar. it would seem to me that this would provide a lot hanging out one side. I have only ever used pull-type sickle bar mowers so i am wondering if there would be a difference on the tipping factor between a mounted, semi-mounted, or pull-type. I am thinking the pull-type would be the best but cannot really see a difference between the other two. Thoughts?
How steep of bank do you have because a 4310 is about eh same size as my Ford 1710?

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

I have to ask about the tipping factor on your JD 350 with a 9' bar. it would seem to me that this would provide a lot hanging out one side. I have only ever used pull-type sickle bar mowers so i am wondering if there would be a difference on the tipping factor between a mounted, semi-mounted, or pull-type. I am thinking the pull-type would be the best but cannot really see a difference between the other two. Thoughts?
How steep of bank do you have because a 4310 is about eh same size as my Ford 1710?

I have to apologize, I can't run the 350 sickle mower behind the 4310 because the cage frame for the 350 is too wide. It might be possible to mount it if I were put the 3 point mounts on the inside of the frame. As an attachment, it really doesn't weigh that much. Maybe 400 lbs. I use mine on my in laws 5420 tractor. It doesn't even know its back there. When you are on slopes, you can keep the cutter laying on the ground so it doesn't really try to pull over the tractor.