Anybody else gotta weedeat the whole yard before ya mow??

[bigun]

Small tractor and finishing mower on the back is my answer for 2 ac.

[Wingshooter]

2 hours ago, Ronald_55 said:

I wanted a bigger mower for my last one, but the insurance was replacing it and would pay 100% of a similar one or 0% of a zero turn. 

Maybe buy, get the receipt, get it paid for, return it and add to the credit for something larger

 

[Ronald_55]

Just now, Wingshooter said:

Maybe buy, get the receipt, get it paid for, return it and add to the credit for something larger

 

If I had been smarter back when it happened, I would have. Oh well, I make do. 

If I can get someone to grind out the stumps I have soon, then maybe that will ease it too. I give up trying to burn them out. 2.5ft - 3ft stumps take forever to burn out. 

[peejman]

4 hours ago, Ray Z said:

When y'all get done with your one acre, come on out here to Tellico Plains. I got 25 acres that got away from me while I was in the hospital getting my gull bladder taken out. My other half has volunteered to cut it for me. Only thing is when she came out of the bedroom in shorts, for the first time this year, I thought she was dead.

25 acres?!  Find someone with cattle and make a deal for them to cut the hay. 

[Wingshooter]

8 minutes ago, Ronald_55 said:

If I had been smarter back when it happened, I would have. Oh well, I make do. 

If I can get someone to grind out the stumps I have soon, then maybe that will ease it too. I give up trying to burn them out. 2.5ft - 3ft stumps take forever to burn out. 

We've lost mowers and other equipment over the last few years to tornados and hail. I learned the hard way 

 

[Ronald_55]

45 minutes ago, Wingshooter said:

We've lost mowers and other equipment over the last few years to tornados and hail. I learned the hard way 

 

Yeah mine got killed by a branch off onedof the trees landing on it. Tore the hood up bad. Actually ran still, but if they wanted me to have as new one, who was I to argue.

[Grand Torino]

7 hours ago, Steelharp said:

Yes. Doesn't help. It clumps up awful.

You need a better mower mate.

[Grand Torino]

2 hours ago, Steelharp said:

My stepper says I've walked 11,704 today.

That mulching mower is really paying you dividends isn't it?

[gregintenn]

2 hours ago, bigun said:

Small tractor and finishing mower on the back is my answer for 2 ac.

That was my answer until I tried a ztr. Cut my mowing time in half.

[Wingshooter]

@Steelharp you inspired me to get out and go mow my grass this evening 

 

I just finished up right before dark. I just mowed it Friday, but riding the JD around the backyard isn't so bad. If I were you, I would rather ride and mow it 2 (or even 3) times a week than weedeat an acre.

[Steelharp]

1 hour ago, Grand Torino said:

You need a better mower mate.

I have a great mower, I have lousy grass, lol. I had a Gallatin PD that used to have a lawn biz before he got on that the secret is to spray under the deck with PAM. He said that's what the pros do to keep it from sticking and clumping. I just don't have any way of getting my mower in the air high enough to clean it out and spray it.

[Ronald_55]

7 minutes ago, Steelharp said:

I have a great mower, I have lousy grass, lol. I had a Gallatin PD that used to have a lawn biz before he got on that the secret is to spray under the deck with PAM. He said that's what the pros do to keep it from sticking and clumping. I just don't have any way of getting my mower in the air high enough to clean it out and spray it.

Avoid ramps. Had a buddy have a rider land on his head when the ramps slipped. He was not so good for a while. 

I have thought of using a come-along hooked to my garage rafters to raise mine. I want to drive a piece of rebar through 2 rafters and hook to it. 

[Omega]

I have a JD, but it has been sitting iddle for some time due to my Kubota tractor, that 60" deck cuts down my mowing time considerably. It does leave some areas that need a weed eater, but that only happens every other week or so, I hate it.  I have to cut weekly, on the same day or else I have to make several passes over the clumps to disperse them. 

[Ugly]

I have to weed wack entirely too much but not because the mower can't handle it. Some areas are too steep to safely now. I have had to cut grass higher than the tractor before. 25hp Craftsman with a 50" deck. No mulching blades and had to go slow and double cut. 1st pass as high as the deck will go, Makes the field look like a yard. 

 I have since added a zero turn with a 60" deck. Absolutely worth it's weight in gold! Well, close to it at least. I've put it through the same test and it works like a champ. They both have cup holders so going slow is easy

Start off with changing the blades and you might be good to go. 

 

[Sunfish]

First thing I learned is mow high, no sense in scalping it when you mow every week plus. Mulching blades are junk. Get high lift ones and tie the chute back as stated above. Never blow the grass the same direction it just piles it up. Its harder to turn around and come back with a tractor style than a zero turn but do it anyway. Get yourself a sprayer and some Cornerstone from the Co-op. I spray around my AC units, water diffusers, and all my trees and the chain link fence. Saves me a ton of weed eating.  

[jpx2rk]

14 hours ago, Steelharp said:

I never mow before 2. But if I didn't cut it down starting early, it wouldn't dry because it's so thick.

Just came in from mowing; now I get to do actual weedeating instead of general yard prep with it.

Yay.

I would try mowing at a higher height on the 1st cut over the entire yard, then start over at a lower height (~1/2" difference).  By the time you finish the 1st time, the area of the yard you mowed 1st should be dry enough to mow a bit lower.  Gas is alot cheaper than a heat stroke, etc.

I usually mow my front yard 2x's, I mow it first, then the rest of the yard.  This allows the front grass to dry out any more (~1 hr or so) if needed, allows the shorter grass to "spring" back up straighter/taller due to it being taller (heavier) causing it to lay over, before being cut the 1st time.  On the second cut, I mow in a different direction but at the same height (I have a commercial grade ZTR) so it's alot easier to change directions, etc.

[Sam1]

21 hours ago, Ronald_55 said:

If I had been smarter back when it happened, I would have. Oh well, I make do. 

If I can get someone to grind out the stumps I have soon, then maybe that will ease it too. I give up trying to burn them out. 2.5ft - 3ft stumps take forever to burn out. 

Rent a stump grinder, I got one the last two years and done a total at 30~ stumps for $200 total rental cost

[Ronald_55]

6 minutes ago, Sam1 said:

Rent a stump grinder, I got one the last two years and done a total at 30~ stumps for $200 total rental cost

Yeah, but how long did it take you?

I have 4 that are around 3 ft each plus top roots. All are seasoned.

[Sam1]

1 hour ago, Ronald_55 said:

Yeah, but how long did it take you?

I have 4 that are around 3 ft each plus top roots. All are seasoned.

Depends, the first one was a huge hydraulic grinder, it took about 15 minutes per 3' stump, probably 1-1.5' tall.  The second grinder was 1/4 the size so it took maybe 30 minutes for a 2-2.5' stump

[peejman]

2 hours ago, Ronald_55 said:

Yeah, but how long did it take you?

I have 4 that are around 3 ft each plus top roots. All are seasoned.

As Sam says, easily done in a day with one of the hydraulic grinders.  

[Ronald_55]

1 hour ago, Sam1 said:

Depends, the first one was a huge hydraulic grinder, it took about 15 minutes per 3' stump, probably 1-1.5' tall.  The second grinder was 1/4 the size so it took maybe 30 minutes for a 2-2.5' stump

Well it seems I greatly over estimated the time needed. 

How did yours work, was it self propelled? 

[Sam1]

7 minutes ago, Ronald_55 said:

Well it seems I greatly over estimated the time needed. 

How did yours work, was it self propelled? 

This is the first one I got, it was overkill but they rented the one I had reserved out to someone else & gave it to me for the same price ($135 for 8 hours on the engine - only ran it for 4-5 hours though) so I just went with it.  It was probably 2500-3000 pounds

http://www.brentwoodrental.net/equipment.asp?action=category&category=80&key=080-4326

This is the smaller one I got back in April ($75) http://www.brentwoodrental.net/equipment.asp?action=category&category=80&key=080-4331

The second one was all manual and it really wasn't much work even for me with my physical limitations.  A normal guy would have no problem running it, if I was able to.  However, I would prefer a self-propelled one so I didn't have to drag it in between stumps (neighbor had no issue moving it a few houses down, I just got leg problems lol)

<edit> both of those things chew through stumps pretty quick, fast enough that I can see how people make mass $ by renting one for a day, driving around and charging people $50 a pop to remove stumps.

Edited July 12, 2017 by Sam1

[Pain103]

22 hours ago, Steelharp said:

I have a great mower, I have lousy grass, lol. I had a Gallatin PD that used to have a lawn biz before he got on that the secret is to spray under the deck with PAM. He said that's what the pros do to keep it from sticking and clumping. I just don't have any way of getting my mower in the air high enough to clean it out and spray it.

 I got a lawn mower jack you can borrow if you got a vehicle it will fit in. Rated 500lbs. 

[Steelharp]

I appreciate the offer, Pain103, but I have no method of getting it. I'll get under there somehow, eventually.

[gregintenn]

Hot, wet weather just makes grass grow fast. I'm mowing mine every 4-5 days now, and it still piles up in places.