Huge lawn problem

Paul Downes

Member
Messages
959
Location
Westphalia, Michigan
I am working with a religious order that is going to build a monastery. They have a problem taking care of the huge lawn on their place and so I have been trying to find a grass collecting machine with a large capacity. They are only able to mow the acres of lawn a few times a year and end up dragging a tarp around and raking the grass onto the tarp to move it.

They tried a vacuum bagger but it is way to small for the volume they have to move. So I am wondering if there is something like a haylage chopper made for grass. Short of designing and building a large sweeper/blower I am wondering if anyone knows of some machine that might work. Once the monastery is built there will only be more lawn, so the problem will get worse. I think they are mowing somewhere around 20 acres right now.
 
I had a job right out of high school where I mowed acres and acres of grass. Full time job and we were able to rotate through the property of about 8-10 hours of mowing a day once per week. We just cut it and let it lay.

I know that won't work for your friends, but just saying, that's a lot of mowing. More than once I would fall asleep and end up just going off at whatever direction the mower wanted to go :eek:
 
We just bought a riding lawn mower that has the mulching blades and adapter and there is no raking or bagging at all. It cuts the grass so small it just composts the grass right back into the ground. Now i know that 20 acres may be too much for the mower that we have ( john deere la145) but there must be a larger model with mulching capabilities. Just an idea.
 
Either livestock, -enviro friendly or a big Skag. I watched my FIL use his in the hay field to prove a point. Went right down the middle of ready to be cut hay. Ground it up and into grass clippings.
 
paul, i to used to mow a bunch it was around 7acres of cemetary and had two of them that size..we just mowed witha normal mower and mulch setup and did it ore frequently so the clipping wernt so thick it made wind rows... cut more freguently and also they make yard vacs that work great. you will need to dump regulary but they hold alot..also your idea of a green chopper and wagon would definatly get rid of more heavy grass.
 
Sheep are grazers and prefer grass plants. Goats are browsers and prefer woody woody plants, rose bushes, willow, tree branches, etc. Paul, if you are building your own trailer for clippings, get an old silage blower and put a small gas engine on it, it will suck and put it in the trailer, your trailer has to have screen so the air doesn't "lock up".
 
we use 25 HP Deere mowers with mulch decks...we mow over 100 acres at the VA hospital... these machines are 4 wheel drive, and have many implements available for them, like snow blowers, brooms, snow blades, all with hydraulic controls... we do NOT rake grass, but mulch it up, then aerate every spring and fall...
 
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