My neighbor mows his field once a year when it gets tall and lets it lay. The next year it's as tall and green as the year before. That is a lot of nitrogen you're laying down. I think he mows late June here in PA, so that gives him about 8-9 months for it to compost and feed the soil before things start popping up in March.
What brand and model is your mower, and if you don't mind my asking, how much did you pay? I looked for years to find a non-pitman SBM. Any cruddy SBM in semi-useable condition at auctions in my area were going for a fortune ($800 to $1300 for what looked like junk). I finally found a NH 456(?) in good condition nearby for $1000. It was regularly used and well maintained, and he threw in what extra blades and other hardware he had left.
I love mine and use it for spanning drainage ditches, keeping the fence row clear, knocking down weeds in the pasture when they get too high and mowing some swampy sections of lawn that won't tolerate the 3pt finish mower.
Mine will mow in any "angle of attack" including it's stowed position. I'm eventually going to drop it with the local Amish custom welder, who does great work for cheap, and have him fit it with a hydraulic cylinder to raise and lower it to any position. (He's also a sickle bar expert and carries all the parts I never thought I could even get anymore.) That will make maintaining a half mile long driveway through overhanging sticker bushes more like revenge than work!
If your cutting bar extends beyond the shoe at the end of the bar as it goes back n' forth, believe me, you don't want to hammer into any big rocks hidden in the weeds. I finally moved my bar to the maximum outward stroke position and cut it flush with the edge of the shoe so I can no longer whack any hidden objects.
Roy
