I’ve got a Kubota compact tractor L4400-45 hp. Occasionally I mow My 10 acre prairie to help keep down invasives. I use a LandPride 6’ brush hog. I would like to have something to rake up what I mow and use it in my large country garden for mulch to keep weeds down. Probably only use 2-3 acres of hay. I tried putting a landscape rake on the back of my tractor to try to gather up the cut hay but that is too rough and tears up the prairie. I thought about a pine needle rake but not sure about that. I’ve been looking for a very small hay rake that could rake it into rows and then I would use my grapple to grab piles of it and take it to my garden. What do you think would be the best solution and still keep it affordable <$650? Thanks for your help!
Hoping for an affordable solution….
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Roadworthy
Elite Member
I had the same question as Dusty. I put a layer of hay and horse droppings onto the garden and can now harvest many kinds of weeds. Mulch may act as a good ground cover but if you're mowing to reduce weed content on your pasture you'll be moving the seeds to your garden.
Compost the cuttings before you put it on the garden. This will reduce the seed transfer. Also cut the weeds before they go to seed. It is amazing how many people do not time the mowing of the pastures correctly.
We time any mowing and prescribed burns to coincide with the needs of the prairie. If we want more tall grass prairie i.e. Indian Grass and Big Bluestem, we burn or mow in the spring. If we want more forbs in our prairie, we have a fall burn or late season mowing. Our prairie is a prairie remnant that has never been tilled. Less than 1/10th of 1% of original prairie is all that still exists in Iowa. Ours is part of a landform in the Loess Hills that formed approximately 12,000-18,000 years ago when the last glacier receeded and winds swept the loess particles up and deposited them in what is called the Loess Hills.
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18” of mulch in the garden using the Ruth Stout method of gardening. We never have weeds in the garden. Look it up on YouTube if the spirit moves you.
Ruth Stout Gardening Method - An Easy, Labor Saving Method That Really Works
This gardening method has slowly grown in popularity because of its simplicity. Growing vegetables and food for your family shouldn’t be difficult, and she firmly believed her method works for any soil type and gardener.
www.gardeningchannel.com
The Lazy Gardener’s Dream: Ruth Stout’s No-Dig Method
If you're looking for an easier way to garden, you need to learn about the Ruth Stout gardening method. It seems almost unbelievable, but I promise you it gets results.
www.backyardgardenlover.com
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herm0016
Platinum Member
we found that using good alfalfa as mulch in the garden worked very well. i would not use field grass mowing's, no way.
