I’m in Nova Scotia. It’s land that I’m not using but I want to keep it from growing back in. I don’t want a ride on because I don’t have a trailer and it’s far from my house (and I like the exercise too). I need a wider deck though obviously… so I looked into getting a 30” Timemaster but the dealer said they aren’t designed for tall grass and the mower would not last. Should I ignore that advice, and just try to get out early in the season when then vegetation is still quite low to the ground? Or should I buy something like a 24” Swisher? Or a 36 “ john deer? I dunno. I’m just a regular old woman who knows nothing about mowing. I just have a regular self propelled 21” for my house lawn and I’m good with that machine for that area.
by Creative-Olive9615
31 Comments
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Ask a nearby farmer to cut it and bale it up. Im sure he would do it for free. 1 round bale sells for around $100 US. He’ll be able to cut it down to about 4 inches.
A farmer might be interested in making hay bales with it.
Ok
Local fire department fire training. It will grow back a beautiful green and the deer will love it.
Noting this doesn’t offer advice on lawnmower brands, but after having an infestation of deer ticks attached on my legs, down in my socks even, and several crawling on my arms, after traipsing through some tall grasses, I am so very much avoidant of getting out into tall grasses, unless necessary, to avoid contracting Lyme. I’d second what another commenter suggested and see if a farmer would cut and bail it for their own profit. Short of that I’d pay someone to cut it. I wish I had better mower advice for you.
Get a few animals, they will be eating this all year
Just hire someone to brush hog it once a year in late summer or the weeds and scrub will take over. No farmers will do an acreage that small, it’s not worth the wear and tear/moving their machinery.
DR field and Brush walk behind is about 4K and will last you the rest of your life is you don’t mind a couple of days of mowing. I do 3.8 at my dad’s place with one, knocking out down mud August
Wait are you trying to adjust the mowing schedule bc it sounds good to me.
If you can’t find someone to hay it off for you, I’d only consider a bush hog level mower for this. It’s called rough cutting and it’s meant to keep the woody plants down. Your options are walk-behind (like the Swisher you mentioned), tow-behind a 4-wheeler, or tractor attachment. The answer depends on how much you want to spend, but they’ll all be thousands. Maybe you have a tool rental near you with a bush hog or someone in the area that bush hogs for hire.
These guys have some grass and wildflower mixes that are fairly low maintenance.
https://www.wildflowerfarm.com/nova-scotia.html?srsltid=AfmBOooQk2c7Q5-DS_lSiST67PKb1GQgHFyTgFmz0pjJhdh73eER3Pq-
I’ve used them to supply pollinator seeding projects associated with solar developments
Ok, here is what my family does. We have about 50 acres or so that’s clear like this too. We mow it once in the fall to make sure no trees grow etc. after the growing seasons ends. In the spring it’s short already but when it does grow we just mow in pathways or mow certain spots you need short for whatever reason and let the rest grow out the entire spring/summer
Let it rot back I guess? Takes a while but it’s the most sensible way to get it done.
Look at some walk behind scag commercial unit.
You probably need a tractor with a rotary cutter for that if you are going that long between mowings.
How big is the field? You could lease it out to a local farmer who will maintain it so that they can cut and bale quality hay.
Seems like only mowing once every other year is too long to lay fallow and you’ll lose the pasture to trees and shrubs which will make it a nightmare to mow. I’ve read the posts about having farmers bale it. As another option, could you arrange for farmers to pasture their animals there? Even if it’s a small plot, it’s free food for livestock.
My family uses a [Swisher Rough cut 44” pulled by an ATV](https://youtu.be/35DPo6WCQR4?si=DlyTSaBGg0xAh6zS). It’s a beast and you’ll also be able to offset it to either side so you don’t have to drive through the thick stuff the whole time. It’s a lot of fun to use and will take down saplings even like 2” in thickness.
You said you like the exercise; so get a Scythe
I had a 2 acre spot just like this and had someone come spray it with roundup in summer and fall then planted a prairie seed mix from Pheasants Forever. Paid someone to brush hog it twice the first year, and now I pay someone $150 to mow once every three years to knock out trees and shrubs. It’s beautiful with tons of flowers, butterflies and birds. Also way less ticks than a hay field.
You could also just have someone come brush hog it once a year. Much cheaper than buying and maintaining a machine you’ll only use once each year.
Does anyone have goats nearby?
Xerces Society has a pollinator seed mix for Nova Scotia. I’d try to restore the land. https://xerces.org/pollinator-conservation/pollinator-conservation-seed-mixes
Goats
Can you just mow a border around it and then call it a day? I live on 5 acres and I used to mow it all but now I just say fudge it and mow around the house and then some nice walking paths. If you have a border it becomes a garden
I’d recommend hiring someone with a small tractor.
If you want to do it yourself, I’d research a heavy duty walk behind like a DR Power.
Let someone cut it and bale it for free.
Then you don’t have to mess with it.
Honestly, I’d probably just take it slow and think about what you’re really trying to do before dropping a ton on a new mower. I mean, if you’re dealing with stuff that’s already tall and thick, a 30” Timemaster might struggle like the dealer said, and you don’t want to be buying something that’s just going to die on you after a season. Sometimes getting out early in the season when the grass and weeds are still low makes a huge difference and can save a lot of wear and tear. That said, a wider deck like a 36” John Deere would make the job go faster, but it’s heavier, more expensive, and might be overkill if it’s just for a patch you don’t visit all the time. Honestly, for me, I’d probably lean toward something reliable that can handle rougher stuff without breaking the bank, like maybe that 24” Swisher, and then just plan to do a couple passes when it’s manageable. At that point, you keep your exercise, don’t burn out your mower, and still keep the land under control.
A note as a former hay baler. We don’t like 2 year growth to bale. Stems are tough and long, it’ll plug up a baler fast. We like to cut hay that is just over a foot tall, and grass no taller than chore boots.
A tall grass field should be burned every 3-5 years to help maintain weeds and saplings, and treated more like a conservation contract.
You need a large tractor. Lease it to someone who will sell the hay.
72 inch Kabota mower with diesel engine.
Lots of folks where I live sell first and second cut hay ….