What to do? 3ac to mow and life is short!

[KJ115]

His forum was a HUGE help in educating and schooling me on the purchase of an older Ford 1710 last July. In the past 9mos I've but about 70hrs on that machine and it has given nothing but great service.

On the other hand, I have an older JD 175 Hydro that is a nightmare, The Mrs has given the ok to seek a replacement, so I'm looking for input...

We have a little under 4ac, and sadly mostly it is lawn. There is much to navigate. four buildings, many ornamental trees, a couple of vegetable plots, patios, ect. i HATE trimming and eventually everything will be edged so that i need not start the trimmer or use the joke mower. Until then, i have a log of edges and trees to work around.

I bag the entire property about half the time. Mostly it is for mulching in the vegetable plots, which require a lot of grass early in the season. i've rigged up a catcher system from the factory installed powerflow unit some pvc and duct tape and it dumps the clippings in a tow behind trailer. The process is great, clogs infrequently and I only need to empty the trailer 3-4x a mow. Doesn't look pretty, but it works.

The problem is two fold...first the jd is old and I spend an hour or two ever time dealing some equipment issue...spring here, screw there. Second with the relatively small deck, with trimming, (and screwing with the tractor) this is usually a six hour event so something needs to change.

i've considered pto finish mower, but with All the trees and not being able to collect, I'm not sure thats the best. Maybe a large two behind reel mower than i make another pass with a catcher? I have this fantasy of cutting the entire lawn in two passes! A reliable belly mount 60" with a tow behind catcher? We have the 1710 and FEL for larger work, so I don't really need another loader, although a (very) small tractor with a pto would be helpful in the garden. I practice no/minimal till, so rarely does the big guy find its way in the plots,

I really dont want another piece of equipment to maintain, and cost is a factor. I just dont want to spend the rest of my life mowing quite so much (I'd rather be growing veggies).

Any and all help is greatly appreciated.

 

[Oldtractorfixer]

How about a belly mower on the 1710? You could use your current "bagging" system and no additional engines to maintain.

 

[smstonypoint]

I really dont want another piece of equipment to maintain, and cost is a factor. I just dont want to spend the rest of my life mowing quite so much (I'd rather be growing veggies).

Multiple conflicting objectives. A ZTR with its own collection system would minimize your mowing time -- you should be able to reduce it by at least 50%.

Steve

 

[bcp]

...
We have a little under 4ac, and sadly mostly it is lawn.
...
I just dont want to spend the rest of my life mowing quite so much (I'd rather be growing veggies).

You don't need a larger lawnmower. You need a larger garden.

Garden gets enlarged by 3.5 acres and arranged for tractor cultivating, etc.

Bruce

 

[KJ115]

Thanks for the thoughtful responses. I'm not sure I would call them conflicting objectives, but they are competing, indeed. Obviously, everything is a tradeoff, but figured there may be an approach I haven't considered that gets me as close to the ideal as possible.

YES! I am on a lawn reduction program. The garden grew by 30% this year, and up comes some lawn this summer to prep for a fruit orchard and berry bushes. I built a bocce court this spring, and that certainly helped.

The more I think about it, a ZT is probably my best bet, despite being a dedicated piece of equipment. THat or maybe a smaller sibling to the 1710. a 1210 with a belly mower would likely work too. I've considered a belly mower on the 1710, but it sits a little high an getting under the tree branches that edge the property would be a problem.

Thanks again, folks.

 

[phiferpharm]

I have both a ZTR and a great tractor and Bush Hog. I guess my property would be broken down into 4-5 acres "yard", 10 acres "field" and the rest forest. The DK with Bush Hog is still no match for the yard to the ZTR and/or Craftsmen with the chipper/vac during the time the leaves are hitting the ground in terms of time or results.

 

[TedBell]

With all the obstacles on your 3 to 4 acres lawn, I recommend a 60" ZTR. I mow 4.5 acres with many trees and nothing else would come close to efficiency.They are a bit pricey but you can find a gently used one with low hours if you are patient.