How do you mow waist high grass?

[Iplayfarmer]

I'm with Bird...

Mow it with a swather and then bale it. "Waist high grass" is fetching $80 to $100 or more per ton around here.

 

[Egon]

waist high grass with a finish mower? .. Boy.. that mower is going to be a POS when it is returned

Why? I've done it more than once or twice with no problems. Really cleaned up the underside of my MM Mower

Think Tall Grass prairie is about six feet tall. Thats what was growing in many areas.

 

[Soundguy]

Yep.. I love that 'garden tractor' terminology, AKA riding lawnmower...

Soundguy

Hi All,

Been sitting and kind of chuckling about some of the responses so finally decided to jump in.
How do you cut a field of 6' high grass\weeds ? On a garden. What else.

Moved from the city ( 25' x 127' lot ) to the country. Now here I am, and new country boy with 2.5 acres. From part around the house\front grass and about 100' behind the house had been kept but the rest was let to go wild.
After trying to cut the front with a push lawn mower, decided to get a "tractor". Now, being a city boy, these lawn and garden guys really suck you in as doesn't matter how big it is, as long as you call it tractor, you can fish the city boys in. Not alot of money after buying house. Bout 3/4 mile up the road is a dealer what has used lawn " tractors " so away you go. Bought myself used 11.5 hp for $900. Now, I am a country boy, Got myself a tractor. So, got a tractor but how do you get it home. No truck\no trailer and dealer didn't even talk about delivery. So, what else, drive it home. It's a tractor.


Tom

 

[neverenough]

Well, a friend of mine who sadly suffers mental problems had managed to grow 6 foot high grass. She figured that since she had ag zoning no one could do anything about it. Of course several people called the health department. She called me and asked how I got rid of it here. I said, well, I have never had grass get to 6 feet tall! In my horse pasture it has gotten to about 2 feet maybe twice in years with a lot of rain. That was mowable as long as I went slow. I figured the only way she was getting rid of grass that tall was with a rotary cutter. I told her I didn't have one yet, that she should rent a tractor with one or see if she could pay a neighbor (had to figure they would be more than happy to get rid of it). Another friend came over with his tractor and cutter and it is down now. So I recently learned it is possible to grow a "lawn" 6 feet high in Ohio. We have had excessive rain this summer! I never actually saw it with my own eyes because I didn't want to, but she is 5'10" and said it was taller than her.

I got 6 ft grass in my back yard where I'm letting it grow. I have quite a few nice trees coming in via nature (that was my goal to get trees to grow naturally). The actual grass blades go up about 4 ft, but the seed chutes go up over 6ft. I'll see if I can get a pic up tonight.

 

[jeffinsgf]

Yep.. I love that 'garden tractor' terminology, AKA riding lawnmower...

Soundguy

No, a Lawn Tractor is a lawnmower. A Garden Tractor has the capacity to pull ground engaging equipment and has PTO either standard or available.

The guys at www.weekendfreedommachines.org will set you straight on that.

 

[Soundguy]

TSC has advertised plenty of 'garden' tractors that are just rider lawnmowers.

Sears has advertised plenty of 'estate' tractors that are just rider lawnmowers.

for a modern unit to be a 'real' -tractor- to me.. it needs at least a cat 0 lift, and a 540 pto. That's my definition for a modern unit anyway. I realize that there are many antiques that did not have a lift, or a pto, ( but did perhaps have a belt pulley ).

I have seen some hybred units that are lawnmower based that had a lift for attachments.. and even a non standard pto arangement.... These fall into a grey area in my classification...

Hit:

http://www.mtdproducts.com/

There web page advertises 'garden tractors'.. aka a rider lawn mower.. etc..

Soundguy

 

[jbrumberg]

soundguy:

Years ago I tried to get my little Ford 1100 classified as a rider mower for tax reasons to no avail. I believe the town assessors used criteria similar to yours. Jay

 

[JimR]

Your neighbor is a moron. Ruining a piece of equipment smashing rocks and leveling high spots with a mower is pure stupidity. Make sure you never lend that guy any tools or your tractor. They probably will be broken when returned. I hope the rental company gets him good for damages. It's one thing to hit a few rocks by accident. It's another to do it intentionally. I bet the rental company has a stipulation for additional charges for abused or damaged equipment.

 

[RegL]

Well, a friend of mine who sadly suffers mental problems had managed to grow 6 foot high grass. She figured that since she had ag zoning no one could do anything about it. Of course several people called the health department. She called me and asked how I got rid of it here. I said, well, I have never had grass get to 6 feet tall! In my horse pasture it has gotten to about 2 feet maybe twice in years with a lot of rain. That was mowable as long as I went slow. I figured the only way she was getting rid of grass that tall was with a rotary cutter. I told her I didn't have one yet, that she should rent a tractor with one or see if she could pay a neighbor (had to figure they would be more than happy to get rid of it). Another friend came over with his tractor and cutter and it is down now. So I recently learned it is possible to grow a "lawn" 6 feet high in Ohio. We have had excessive rain this summer! I never actually saw it with my own eyes because I didn't want to, but she is 5'10" and said it was taller than her.

Man! Things are getting bad when the health police can tell you how long your grass should be on your own property. Are big trees a threat also?

 

[Farwell]

In areas of California, the "Health Police" or what ever name they go by in California, dictate that you can not own a cat in their community that is not fixed.
In some areas of Michigan tall grass or weeds are mowed by the community and the bill is added to the owners property tax.
There is a small area on my property that neighbors complain about my not keeping mowed and neat. It borders on a dirt road that has a steep embankment. A few of the neighbors think that this area is where cement trucks can clean out after pouring a driveway and it is a great place for them to dump their brush, lawn clippings and garden trash. I clean it up once a season with weed whacker and riding lawn mower. Almost every time I clean it up I end up with a flat tire or a dull mower blade. Eventually I am going to change the grade on the embankment, plant grass and make it look nice. Maybe this will discourage the neighbors from using the area as a dumping ground.
Farwell