[AT] Flail mowers

[Mike]

Spencer, this is land that we are desperately trying to turn into 
pasture, it's always been wet, and making water go where you want it to 
go is tough when you have the slope of a pool table. The previous owner 
tried to make it work by deepening the ditch that runs through the 
property, thinking that would make it flow. Unfortunately, all that did 
was make it hold more water that now grows algae by the ton and takes 
forever to dry out. My next attempt will be to fill in the ditch and 
only leave a 2" or 3" deep channel for the water to flow through. When I 
walk down the ditch to my neighbors property that's all it is; a little 
trickle. It doesn't need to move large quantities of water.  I know 
there are a lot of guys on the list who have experience with this type 
of thing, so if you're reading this, I'm all ears.

Thanks,
Mike M


On 5/15/2015 2:20 PM, Spencer Yost wrote:
> If it's that bad what about a sickle bar mower?   At least it will lay flat and not windrow on you.   By pastures do you mean literally, or are they fallow,  fenced-in fields?   If these are pastures you need more animals!
>
> Seriously though, you might want to see if a neighbor has a sickle bar mower you can test and see if you like it.
>
> Spencer
>
>> On May 15, 2015, at 11:34, Mike <meulenms at gmx.com> wrote:
>>
>> Mowing infrequently is a huge part of the problem Charlie, and it's not
>> because of not wanting to. The land is wet until around June, and I
>> can't get on it to mow. I am working on solutions to get it to drain
>> better, but it's a slow, trial and error process. Now that I have a 4
>> wheel drive tractor, I could probably mow it sooner, but would make a
>> mess in the process. Last year I couldn't mow until the grass was 6 feet
>> high. I think I would have been better off leaving it alone and burning
>> it off in the Spring.
>>
>> Mike M
>>
>>
>>> On 5/15/2015 4:00 AM, charlie hill wrote:
>>> Mike, if you are cutting it infrequently enough that you have a problem with
>>> large windrows of grass then a finish mower is NOT going to stand up to the
>>> task.
>>> Or at least the ones I've been around will not.   A good bush hog with good,
>>> sharp
>>> blades on it will mow a pasture to look almost as good as a finish mower but
>>> you
>>> can't let it get so high or mow in wet conditions.  Also some bush hogs have
>>> removable
>>> discharge panels so that the grass can blow out the rear or to one side.
>>>
>>> I always try to mow pastures in a pattern such that I'm cutting back over
>>> any windrow
>>> I leave with the next pass of the mower.  In other words, if my bush hog is
>>> leaving
>>> the windrow on the right side I work around the pasture so that the right
>>> side of the
>>> bush hog is always toward the uncut grass.  On the next pass I'm re-cutting
>>> the windrow
>>> along with the next portion of grass.  If you are getting a lot of windrow
>>> it's because
>>> you are cutting more grass than the bush hog is able to disperse, just the
>>> same as with
>>> your lawn mower.
>>>
>>> I've never used a flail mower but a friend of mine used to use one to mow
>>> his mobile home park.
>>> It does a fine job.  However, they are a bit more of a maintenance challenge
>>> than a bush hog or
>>> finish mower.  Still even with a flail, if the grass is too high and thick
>>> it has to go somewhere and
>>> it will pile up.   The key is to keep the pasture mowed more often.
>>>
>>> My two cents worth.
>>>
>>> Charlie
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: Mike
>>> Sent: Thursday, May 14, 2015 10:11 PM
>>> To: Antique tractor email discussion group
>>> Subject: Re: [AT] Flail mowers
>>>
>>> ?? so yes on the flail or keep the hog, or go with a finish mower?
>>>
>>> Mike M
>>>
>>>
>>>> On 5/14/2015 8:54 PM, Spencer Yost wrote:
>>>> A tough finish mower used a few more times a year than I would a bush hog
>>>> does great in my 4 acres.
>>>>
>>>> Spencer
>>>>
>>>>> On May 14, 2015, at 20:11, Mike <meulenms at gmx.com> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>> I have about 5-7 acres of horse pasture that i mow, and have been using
>>>>> a brush hog, John Deere 513? What I don't care for is how it leaves
>>>>> windrows and clumps of the taller grass. I would be interested in
>>>>> getting some opinions on flail mowers.
>>>>>
>>>>> Thanks,
>>>>> Mike M
>>>>>
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