Mighty tall weeds

[Slamfire]

HECK i have trees that aint that tall

I've got tomatoes that are!

 

[tnau664]

You go slow
the radiator gets filled up (so does the air filter) I just cleaned them out, now instead of them being on the tractor, they are on me.
The biggest fear is just not knowing what is there, you just go forward slow and hope you can catch it before you slide into some huge hole.
Fingers crossed.QUOTE]


You are oh so right about the holes. My family has owned our farm since 1947 and while bushhogging on July 3 we found a huge hole had formed in an area where we always grew cotton. Thank goodness it wasn't as overgrown as what you were in or we'd have planted the tractor. Very lucky to have spotted it in time.

This drought is doing strange things to the earth around us.
Terry

 

[MossRoad]

With that tall stuff, is there anything extra you do...or tricks of the trade to keep the weed seeds and junk out of your radiator and such? I noticed LoneCowboy did not have a bucket attached to push the weeds over...

Well, you could get a front mounted brush hog like on my Power Trac PT425 with a rear mounted air cooled engine. That pretty much solves those problems, as everything is destroyed before the rear mounted engine gets anywhere near the weeds and there is no radiator to plug up. Watch a video of it here... http://www.mossroad.com/PT425Videos/PT425DeepWeeds1.WMV

 

[MossRoad]

Two more videos.

http://www.mossroad.com/PT425Videos/PT425DeepWeeds2.WMV

http://www.mossroad.com/PT425Videos/PT425FieldClearing.WMV

Of course, these are only 6' weeds and less, but that is only a 5' high 25HP 1500 pound tractor. Nothing like the big guys, but still fun.

 

[Ford850]

Last week I had my guys mowing 155 acres of Canadian Thistle and Bull Thistle that were mostly eye level and taller.(while sitting on the tractor) Thistle draws birds and snakes (after the birds). Snakes keep me away. Funny part is (Well, not really all that funny) we're in the grips of a drought with 100+ degree weather. Grass has all but quit growing. Weeds seem to be thriving.

Farmwithjunk,
I learned about thistle the hard way, a few years back. Most of my new property was covered with canada thistle, and some bull thistle mixed in to spice things a little I guess. I foolishly waited until it went to seed before mowing the first time, thinking I would fully deplete the root strength. I had to clear my radiator screen on every pass with my old Ford 850. I added an extra pre-screen but still had to peel off the thick felt layer often. I was covered in the fluff from head to toe, and it was in my ears, nose and mouth. I'll bet it easily quadrupled my mowing time. Now I start cutting as soon as I see those purple buds, and most of the thistle has been eliminated. Maybe someday I'll be able to look back and laugh about that first year, but not yet!

 

[sandman2234]

We all use what we have available and going out and buying a new machine just because the weeds are a little high doesn't make sense when something you have will work.
If I was going to do it, I could clear enough for my tractor from the street and then drive over cleared property without having to worry about the stuff getting into my radiator, because with that slope mower I can cut a path in excess of 20 feet away from the tractor. I can't do that with the JDeere/bush hog, which is the type of arrangement he is working with.
A pyramid or triangle shaped contraption mounted on your front bumper, resembling a tow bar might spread the weeds enough to allow a better sight path. A cylinder to raise and lower it would also be good so you wouldn't loose turning space when you got near to something. The lower it was mounted the better it would allow you to see in front.
Just a thought,
David from jax

 

[3RRL]

Moss,
Those are great videos. Between you and lonecowboy, that's some tall stuff. I thought mine was bad enough being about 5' high, but it's nothing compared to what I seen here.

 

[Redbug]

Rob...That's too pretty to bush hog! I would enjoy the scenery Mother Nature gave you for awhile!

 

[3RRL]

Rob...That's too pretty to bush hog! I would enjoy the scenery Mother Nature gave you for awhile!

I hear ya, but in about one month it all turns brown, dies as it gets hotter than Hades and dry as a bone out here. I mow it just before it gets real dry for a couple reasons.
First, there's a tremendous risk of a wildfire from a spark ... my property is in the wilderness and I have no water other than a faucet at my camp site.
Second, it's so hot when it's dry the tractor's radiator gets clogged real easy and my allergies go nuts from all the dust and debris I breathe.
Not the giant weeds like in the other photos, but I just love this picture.
I have a great time mowing when it's like this.

 

[MossRoad]

I hear ya, but in about one month it all turns brown, dies as it gets hotter than Hades and dry as a bone out here. I mow it just before it gets real dry for a couple reasons.
First, there's a tremendous risk of a wildfire from a spark ... my property is in the wilderness and I have no water other than a faucet at my camp site.
Second, it's so hot when it's dry the tractor's radiator gets clogged real easy and my allergies go nuts from all the dust and debris I breathe.
Not the giant weeds like in the other photos, but I just love this picture.
I have a great time mowing when it's like this.

I had to wait most of the summer to brush hog our property due to lack of rain. I don't like going out there when it is so dry due to the dust and the greater possibility of a fire starting. We had over 5" of rain in the last few weeks so I went out Saturday to nice green, wet weeds, some of which were over 8' tall. Had lots of fun and very little dust.