# Lets talk lawn mowers.



## artie (20 Jun 2022)

My 36 inch ride on is waiting for an oil seal, so I have to use a 15 inch Mountfield push mower to do it all.
Bit tedious .
The biggest bit at the rear is around 1500 sq mtrs and takes a bit over 90 mins to cut.

But I think it is cut closer and looks better than it did with the ride on. So I did some calculations.

A 22" should do it in around 60 mins.

A 30" should do it around 45 mins and I know the 36" does it around 40 mins.

I'm actually considering buying a 22" and selling the ride on when fixed.

The purchase cost to time ratio seems to favour a 22" as the price jump to a 30" seems to outweigh the 15 minute per week time saving.

Any thoughts welcome.


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## Tris (20 Jun 2022)

As I do this for my day job a few things I've noticed re time to cut a lawn: takes twice as long in the spring and autumn cos you have to empty the bag more often, on a big lawn a builders bag at either end saves time, empty the bag before the chute gets clogged, if it's got too long cutting twice high and low at 90 degrees will often be quicker than 1 pass trying to take it all, if you walk across and moisture flicks off your boots it's too wet- use a dragmat or blower to get the excess off. This year we've had heavy dew up until last week which has kept the grass growing. I'm down to 45 minutes on the main lawn (1300 sq m) with a 24in Ransomes, it takes about 1½ hours in spring.
Get a big old cylinder mower, stripes look great and they move faster than a rotary.
Apologies if I'm teaching egg sucking here


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## flying haggis (20 Jun 2022)

You can get Rotary's with a rear roller so you get nice stripes. its what I have , 21in lawnflite, alloy deck so no rust




__





553HRS-PROHS Lawnmower


The Lawnflite Pro 553HRS-PROHS Lawnmower features a top quality Honda engine and sports a high speed gear to make short work of long lawns.



www.lawnflite.co.uk




I am on my second, the first one never got serviced in the ten years I had it and still sold for £150! And I only paid £300 for it secondhand.
If the grass is a bit long only cut half width passes, quicker to cut narrower passes than stopping to unclog it!
My lawnflite leaves the lawn looking like this


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## Spectric (20 Jun 2022)

artie said:


> I'm actually considering buying a 22" and selling the ride on when fixed.


It will also be the more healthy option because you are not sitting around.


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## Noel (20 Jun 2022)




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## Jacob (20 Jun 2022)

I'm into no-mow May etc. Been doing it for years - just mow not too short about 3 times a year - spring (after the dandelions), mid summer, autumn. Not quite the flowers that Noel grows but a nice selection of self setters. Mow paths though and everybody sticks to them, even the dog!
It's a cheapo Mountfield, about £120 I seem to recall. They are subject to rust so well worth a bit of maintenance.


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## Sandyn (20 Jun 2022)

I would have all these flowers cut down........they just attract bees!!!


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## clogs (20 Jun 2022)

we had a 2 acre garden/orchard at our old house...not quite a lawn but it did look nice...
used to cut it every week when up for sale....
had normal big ride-on's......
but then bought one of these....it wizzes around the tree's..........
wern't cheap but oh so quick....still got it but no lawns at our house in 30+degrees....
up for sale this autumn....plenty of rich folks here with lawns....lol...


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## dickm (20 Jun 2022)

artie said:


> A 22" should do it in around 60 mins.
> 
> A 30" should do it around 45 mins and I know the 36" does it around 40 mins.
> 
> ...


Just one warning; depending on the shape of your lawn and your age, a 22" mower can become a real pain. My 20 year old Hayter is self-propelled, so no pushing, but manoeuvering it in any confined space takes quite a lot of effort. Fortunately, it only usually gets used now to get the lawn down to a level for the robot to be happy!


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## Ollie78 (20 Jun 2022)

Sounds like you need a tractor, or maybe a couple of sheep.


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## flying haggis (20 Jun 2022)

Trouble is,sheep don't just eat grass...


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## niemeyjt (21 Jun 2022)

I used a 21" Honda - alloy deck - great exercise and also with a catcher no clippings to get trapsed into the house and good for the compost heap - on maybe half an acre. Recommended.


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## ian33a (21 Jun 2022)

At our old house I used a small petrol Atco to get around the difficult stuff and a power drive Hayter Harrier 48 for the more open sections.

In our new place we have about 0.5 acres of grass to cut near the house and the Hayter decided to have a strop immediately after moving. It took us 2 hours to cut the rear lawns with the Atco - much of that was emptying and carting the cut grass to the compost heap. 

I now have the Hayter back from the repairers so this should take away some of the pain. 

As we also have a field, currently rather overgrown, the plan is to use our flail mower for most of that. Great fun cutting it down with a tractor but I do miss the stripes when I use that on the main lawns - plus the tractor and flail are not easy to manoeuvre into tight corners.

Ultimately, the Hayter will be used to give a fine striped cut near the house and the flail will be used further away and in the field.


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## Fergie 307 (21 Jun 2022)

ian33a said:


> At our old house I used a small petrol Atco to get around the difficult stuff and a power drive Hayter Harrier 48 for the more open sections.
> 
> In our new place we have about 0.5 acres of grass to cut near the house and the Hayter decided to have a strop immediately after moving. It took us 2 hours to cut the rear lawns with the Atco - much of that was emptying and carting the cut grass to the compost heap.
> 
> ...





flying haggis said:


> You can get Rotary's with a rear roller so you get nice stripes. its what I have , 21in lawnflite, alloy deck so no rust
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## gmgmgm (21 Jun 2022)

Robot mower? I have a robot doing the main area (>1500 sqm), a Makita cordless mower (17"?) and a ride-on. All get used, depending upon the area I want to cut. Cordless mowers are brilliant for smaller areas, where a robot mower doesn't cover.

I don't collect any of the clippings which saves a lot of time. If it's really long I get out the tractor and flail, which gives a wonderful quality of cut.

I think it comes down to how much you value stripes and your time!


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## Jacob (21 Jun 2022)

Save yourself a lot of effort with just 3 cuts a year!
Here's typical snap of my no-mow May lawn, before it was mowed last week. A highish cut and take cuttings off to reduce fertility. It'll all grow back.
Full of self set wild flowers, looks good, bees love it.
Dandelions, Clover, lesser stitchwort, eggs n bacon, ragwort (for the cinnabar moths). plantain, knapweed, buttercups, daisies, black medick, pig nut, lots of moss (very nice underfoot), many others.
Easily identified if you google "lawn weeds"


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## dickm (22 Jun 2022)

Jacob said:


> Save yourself a lot of effort with just 3 cuts a year!
> Here's typical snap of my no-mow May lawn, before it was mowed last week. A highish cut and take cuttings off to reduce fertility. It'll all grow back.
> Full of self set wild flowers, looks good, bees love it.
> Dandelions, Clover, lesser stitchwort, eggs n bacon, ragwort (for the cinnabar moths). plantain, knapweed, buttercups, daisies, black medick, pig nut, lots of moss (very nice underfoot), many others.
> ...


Brilliant. Well done Jacob. 
I've been vainly trying to persuade our local community council to adopt a similar approach, but they have a "suburban garden" mindset which insists communal grass must be clipped to 20mm every week and flowers must be planted in regular lines in separate beds. Looks totally out of place in a small, very rural village, THEN they complain it's too much work! On top of which there is the petrolhead with a ride-on mower who drives along the roadside verges about a mile either side of his entrance, shaving off any flower which dares to show its head. Including the verge outside my house which I'd just sown and planted with a wildflower mix. Crazy, but he clearly believes pumping out petrol fumes is a public service.


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## gregmcateer (22 Jun 2022)

I've just today used a rotovator/tiller/cultivator (*delete as you wish), to prep our little front garden for sowing meadow grass and flowers mix. Hopefully end up with a beautiful, VERY low maintenence area that the insects love.


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## recipio (22 Jun 2022)

If you have a large single lawn a robot mower is amazing. Silent yet effective they rely on taking a mm or so off but can be working away 10 hours per day. Expensive to set up certainly but it's like getting a pet. They are controlled via an app on the phone and need no maintenance - just change the blades every few weeks. The time they free up is very gratifying.


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## Jacob (22 Jun 2022)

gregmcateer said:


> I've just today used a rotovator/tiller/cultivator (*delete as you wish), to prep our little front garden for sowing meadow grass and flowers mix. Hopefully end up with a beautiful, VERY low maintenence area that the insects love.


Didn't have to do anything to mine - it was originally a hard surface of infertile limestone chippings (ex chapel school playground) which over the years had been invaded and just grass, nettles etc. Just mowed it for a few years and everything in the "lawn" is self set. Low fertility is key - and learning to like dandelions!
The soil is only about 2" deep and very well drained.


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## gregmcateer (22 Jun 2022)

Nice one. I've gone for the 'happy wife, happy life' option.


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## niemeyjt (22 Jun 2022)

Jacob said:


> Didn't have to do anything to mine - it was originally a hard surface of infertile limestone chippings (ex chapel school playground) which over the years had been invaded and just grass, nettles etc. Just mowed it for a few years and everything in the "lawn" is self set. Low fertility is key - and learning to like dandelions!
> The soil is only about 2" deep and very well drained.


You were lucky to have less fertile soil so the grass did not outcompete the wild flowers.

For those with more fertile soils, sow some Yellow Rattle - it is a parasite on grass that will weaken it.

We had some lovely wild flower areas here - until the council decided to "tidy it up" - now it is just a few brown clumps of grass. They did not even give it enough time for the seeds to dry out and fall. Grrrr.


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## Tris (22 Jun 2022)

If you've got goldfinches in the area it is well worth leaving dandelions to seed for the sight of them sidling up the stems to eat the seeds


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## flying haggis (22 Jun 2022)

Jacob said:


> Save yourself a lot of effort with just 3 cuts a year!
> Here's typical snap of my no-mow May lawn, before it was mowed last week. A highish cut and take cuttings off to reduce fertility. It'll all grow back.
> Full of self set wild flowers, looks good, bees love it.
> Dandelions, Clover, lesser stitchwort, eggs n bacon, ragwort (for the cinnabar moths). plantain, knapweed, buttercups, daisies, black medick, pig nut, lots of moss (very nice underfoot), many others.
> ...




I would have to cut that to tidy it up, sorry!


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## Jacob (22 Jun 2022)

flying haggis said:


> I would have to cut that to tidy it up, sorry!


One half way measure is just to mow narrow paths through and leave large sectors to run a bit wild. It works really well and people (and dogs!) tend to use them, leaving the flowery bits un-trampled.
Doesn't take long to get to like it and you find yourself really pleased to see dandelions all bright and early in the spring, followed by celandine, buttercups and so on!
Helps to take an active interest and crawl about identifying tiny little flowers like Black Medick which you've never ever noticed in a lifetime.


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## pe2dave (23 Jun 2022)

dickm said:


> On top of which there is the petrolhead with a ride-on mower who drives along the roadside verges about a mile either side of his entrance, shaving off any flower which dares to show its head. Including the verge outside my house which I'd just sown and planted with a wildflower mix. Crazy, but he clearly believes pumping out petrol fumes is a public service.



(Get some help and) 'install' a decorative (v.heavy) stone or two inline with his house, on your bit. Might slow him down.
Or just ask him politely not to?


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## dickm (23 Jun 2022)

pe2dave said:


> (Get some help and) 'install' a decorative (v.heavy) stone or two inline with his house, on your bit. Might slow him down.
> Or just ask him politely not to?


Good thoughts. For the time being, a notice saying "Planted wild flowers, do not mow" did get him to come and apologise for destroying things, but suggestion that a bit less mowing would do no harm had no effect whatsoever. As someone mentioned in another thread "It's not easy being green".


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## Spectric (23 Jun 2022)

@flying haggis has the right idea, nature does not like these prestine mowed lawns that are cut to soil level with a hint of green. We leave our grass alone doing what @Jacob does by mowing paths through it just to show it is not a neglected wasteland and at the moment it is covered in heather with swarms of bee's collecting the nectar.


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## Jacob (23 Jun 2022)

Spectric said:


> @flying haggis has the right idea, nature does not like these prestine mowed lawns that are cut to soil level with a hint of green. We leave our grass alone doing what @Jacob does by mowing paths through it just to show it is not a neglected wasteland and at the moment it is covered in heather with swarms of bee's collecting the nectar.


Thats early for heather! Must be climate change?


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## Spectric (23 Jun 2022)

Opp's that should have been clover, but climate change gave us the mildest winter in a decade.


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## flying haggis (23 Jun 2022)

dickm said:


> Brilliant. Well done Jacob.
> I've been vainly trying to persuade our local community council to adopt a similar approach, but they have a "suburban garden" mindset which insists communal grass must be clipped to 20mm every week and flowers must be planted in regular lines in separate beds. Looks totally out of place in a small, very rural village, THEN they complain it's too much work! On top of which there is the petrolhead with a ride-on mower who drives along the roadside verges about a mile either side of his entrance, shaving off any flower which dares to show its head. Including the verge outside my house which I'd just sown and planted with a wildflower mix. Crazy, but he clearly believes pumping out petrol fumes is a public service.


I would be furious if someone took it upon themselves to cut the grass on my property so tell your rogue verge mower if he cuts your verge again you will report him to the police for using an unregistered vehicle on the highway. Oh and leave a couple of engineering bricks in the long grass.....


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## Pedronicus (23 Jun 2022)

flying haggis said:


> Trouble is,sheep don't just eat grass...


According to my veterinary wife sheep just graze grass whereas goats will eat anything in sight.


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## leisurefix (23 Jun 2022)

Jacob said:


> One half way measure is just to mow narrow paths through and leave large sectors to run a bit wild. It works really well and people (and dogs!) tend to use them, leaving the flowery bits un-trampled.
> Doesn't take long to get to like it and you find yourself really pleased to see dandelions all bright and early in the spring, followed by celandine, buttercups and so on!
> Helps to take an active interest and crawl about identifying tiny little flowers like Black Medick which you've never ever noticed in a lifetime.


We do this, let nature do whatever & cut narrow paths. But, how do you cut the grass in the autumn at the end of the growing season? My wife wants me to leave it until the seeds have been taken by wildlife, but by then the long grasses are fallen low to the ground and matted. Cutting it is really hard. Any suggestions?
Thanks


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## Robbo3 (24 Jun 2022)

To stop the cowslips getting mown on the grass verge one householder hammers about 6 hazel twigs around each clump, then when the kids come home from school they decorate them with wool. Seems to be very effective as all of the contractors (so far) have mown round them.


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## Seascaper (24 Jun 2022)

This is my mower and tractor, it makes life easier......


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## ian33a (24 Jun 2022)

leisurefix said:


> We do this, let nature do whatever & cut narrow paths. But, how do you cut the grass in the autumn at the end of the growing season? My wife wants me to leave it until the seeds have been taken by wildlife, but by then the long grasses are fallen low to the ground and matted. Cutting it is really hard. Any suggestions?
> Thanks



Not easy to do by hand. 

Depending upon where you live in Devon and what access is like, you might be able to find a contractor who will cut your paths for you when he or she has some spare time.

Alternatively, you might be able to hire a brush cutter lawn mower and do it yourself. You may even be able to buy one, possibly an ex-rental, at season end.

You could also buy a petrol strimmer/brush cutter - this is a cheaper solution but harder work.

If you have a lot of cutting to do, unrestricted access, and the cash to invest appropriately, you could invest in a tractor and flail mower. You can cut the paths as often as you want and the remainder as and when your wife lets you!


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## pe2dave (24 Jun 2022)

leisurefix said:


> We do this, let nature do whatever & cut narrow paths. But, how do you cut the grass in the autumn at the end of the growing season? My wife wants me to leave it until the seeds have been taken by wildlife, but by then the long grasses are fallen low to the ground and matted. Cutting it is really hard. Any suggestions?
> Thanks


A strimmer. Buy / borrow one. Once the seeds are spread, even 'flattened' grass can be cut with patience (if it's not too large an area.)


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## Jacob (24 Jun 2022)

leisurefix said:


> We do this, let nature do whatever & cut narrow paths. But, how do you cut the grass in the autumn at the end of the growing season? My wife wants me to leave it until the seeds have been taken by wildlife, but by then the long grasses are fallen low to the ground and matted. Cutting it is really hard. Any suggestions?
> Thanks








Wildflower meadow: maintenance / RHS Gardening


Wildflower meadows require an annual maintenance programme to allow the more desirable species to flourish and to reduce the vigour of the more rampant species. This usually involves mowing and some judicious weed control.




www.rhs.org.uk




Also take off all the cuttings as you mow - raking them up is a PITA
I did mine last week but left a few clumps with knapweed (not flowered yet) and Ragwort (for the cinnabar moths - one seen so far, more expected daily)


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## imageel (24 Jun 2022)

In the field at the end of our garden the farmer used to leave a ~15m wide strip adjacent to the boundary un-ploughed I presume because of an overhead high voltage line used to feed a small plot of rental offices down the road, and being largely untouched it grew all sorts of wild flowers over the years however some time ago it got over-run by some variety of almost elephant like grassses whose sole object in life was to grow about a metre high and throw up massive head of seeds. Being somewhat open these grasses soon started to invade any available spot in my garden so I bought off the 'bay an ex council brush cutter - a Sthil FS400 complete with shoulder harness for not a lot of money and that made clearing mine and my neighbours patch super easy!
Move forward 10y and now the problem has gone away courtesy of the Gov mandates to build more housing - a lot of the farmland around here is actually owned by the Crown Estate and only leased so rich pickings for them.
TBH this seems to affect the whole of Southern England even as far afield as South Oxford - Didcot way when I last visited.
Progress of sorts I suppose...


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## dickm (24 Jun 2022)

Seascaper said:


> This is my mower and tractor, it makes life easier......View attachment 138239
> View attachment 138240
> View attachment 138241


Oh dear. Reminds me it's almost 60 years to the day since I last drove a Major.


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## MikeJhn (24 Jun 2022)

Just mow a path through and that is a bamboo grove on the left, about 0.25A a murmur of Starlings roost in it every night during the season.


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## leisurefix (24 Jun 2022)

pe2dave said:


> A strimmer. Buy / borrow one. Once the seeds are spread, even 'flattened' grass can be cut with patience (if it's not too large an area.)


Thanks for the suggestions. Mowing the paths I'm good at. I do have a petrol strimmer, but it (or perhaps I) is not good when the grasses fall matted to the ground, it is often wet as well by the time I do it in the autumn, maybe I leave it too long?. There is not a lot of land, so a tractor would be too big. Best I have found so far is long reach hedge trimming attachment & a rake. Was looking, or hoping for some ingenious solution.


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## flying haggis (24 Jun 2022)

get someone else to do it?..............


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## SamG340 (24 Jun 2022)

Spectric said:


> Opp's that should have been clover, but climate change gave us the mildest winter in a decade.


Our winter was especially mild


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## SamG340 (24 Jun 2022)

leisurefix said:


> Thanks for the suggestions. Mowing the paths I'm good at. I do have a petrol strimmer, but it (or perhaps I) is not good when the grasses fall matted to the ground, it is often wet as well by the time I do it in the autumn, maybe I leave it too long?. There is not a lot of land, so a tractor would be too big. Best I have found so far is long reach hedge trimming attachment & a rake. Was looking, or hoping for some ingenious solution.



Rough field / rough cut mower


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## dickm (24 Jun 2022)

Wheeled strimmer. But don't get the Hayter one from some time in the 1990s with that ******** Tecumseh engine. Local community council has one and I reckon I've probably spent at least as much time trying to fettle that ******* engine as it has spent strimming.


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## leisurefix (24 Jun 2022)

flying haggis said:


> get someone else to do it?..............


My wife did suggest getting an oiled topless bloke with a scythe!!!


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## artie (24 Jun 2022)

What opinions do you lot have about blades.

Bar v swing tip.

I'm leaning towards swing tip, but it does limit choice somewhat.


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## Tris (25 Jun 2022)

Used to find swing top useful when freelancing, never knew what might be lurking in someone's lawn so it was a bit more forgiving. Unless you've got some seriously uneven ground a straight blade should be fine. If you want a roller on it I'd look at Kaaz or the lawnflight mentioned earlier. Honda are good but I find the drive speed very slow. Hayter often struggle to fill the bag properly as the rear roller is a large diameter


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## Tris (25 Jun 2022)

leisurefix said:


> Thanks for the suggestions. Mowing the paths I'm good at. I do have a petrol strimmer, but it (or perhaps I) is not good when the grasses fall matted to the ground, it is often wet as well by the time I do it in the autumn, maybe I leave it too long?. There is not a lot of land, so a tractor would be too big. Best I have found so far is long reach hedge trimming attachment & a rake. Was looking, or hoping for some ingenious solution.


It should be possible to hire a walk behind flail mower that will tackle that fairly easily, go steadily and watch for which way the grass is lying and you should get a good finish.
Alternatively strim or scythe in late August before it gets totally flattened, leave it to dry like hay and gather it up, most of the seeds will fall off the stems on this process and be left for wildlife


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## flying haggis (25 Jun 2022)

Tris said:


> Used to find swing top useful when freelancing, never knew what might be lurking in someone's lawn so it was a bit more forgiving. Unless you've got some seriously uneven ground a straight blade should be fine. If you want a roller on it I'd look at Kaaz or the lawnflight mentioned earlier. Honda are good but I find the drive speed very slow. Hayter often struggle to fill the bag properly as the rear roller is a large diameter


the lawnflite I referred to above is the higher speed version so it travels across the ground quicker than the previous version (hence why I upgraded). As for the grass pickup if the grass is longer simply take a smaller "bite" ie don't use the full 21 in width just take half width slices. the second "pass" tidies up the remains of the first. That is quicker than having to stop and unclog the chute. The mower also has a blade brake so when you let go of the levers the drive and blade stop but the engine keeps running so you don't have to keep restarting.
As an aside to all this, years ago I had a summer job cutting grass with a contracting firm. One of the mowers they had (and my favourite) was an Australian make called Morrison with a single 36 in blade made of half inch thick steel. I took the corner off a cast iron manhole cover that was standing proud in some long grass and the mower didnt flinch!! It was also used on one job we tackled when the grass was over 6ft high and it coped albeit a bit slowly.


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## pe2dave (25 Jun 2022)

leisurefix said:


> Thanks for the suggestions. Mowing the paths I'm good at. I do have a petrol strimmer, but it (or perhaps I) is not good when the grasses fall matted to the ground, it is often wet as well by the time I do it in the autumn, maybe I leave it too long?. There is not a lot of land, so a tractor would be too big. Best I have found so far is long reach hedge trimming attachment & a rake. Was looking, or hoping for some ingenious solution.


Stihl petrol strimmer at the luxury end. 
(v.old) solution. Petrol driven, 3' wide "hedge trimmer" style blades at the front. Used to cut really tall grass on a scout camp site. Little could stop it. Lethal though. No idea what it was called.


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## MikeJhn (25 Jun 2022)

Probably an Alan Scythe, lots of reconditioned ones on e-bay.


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## pe2dave (25 Jun 2022)

MikeJhn said:


> Probably an Alan Scythe, lots of reconditioned ones on e-bay.
> 
> View attachment 138344


That's it. Lethal but oh so effective.
(More likely to be v.rusty/ blunt and still working  That looks like a labour of love.


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## MikeJhn (25 Jun 2022)

Picture came from e-bay and on for an offer of £200.00


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## Tris (25 Jun 2022)

Or buy one of these unless you enjoy tinkering with old machinery









BCS 615 PowerSafe® Crusader Power Scythe


The BCS 615 Crusader Power Scythe offers a choice of 3 cutting widths as well as a choice of Honda engine, making it ideal for both confined and open spaces.




www.tracmaster.co.uk


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## pe2dave (25 Jun 2022)

Unsubtle price different @Tris !


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## SamG340 (25 Jun 2022)

They're £50 a day to hire


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## pe2dave (25 Jun 2022)

SamG340 said:


> They're £50 a day to hire


That sounds like (an expensive) solution,


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## SamG340 (25 Jun 2022)

pe2dave said:


> That sounds like (an expensive) solution,



Cheaper than £3,000 on a brand new one 

£50 hire. Say he needs to hire one twice a year = £100, 30 years of hire would cost the same as buying a brand-new one.

Plus you've got to factor in maintenance cost, time and effort working on it, break downs, storage .. ect.

Obviously the cheapest way is to buy one second hand and do your own maintenance !


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## Tris (25 Jun 2022)

pe2dave said:


> Unsubtle price different @Tris !


True, but if it's anything like the Allen scythe I had way back I could lose half a day trying to start the wretched thing, adds up over a season. If there was a way to fix a modern engine on them like people have on the Howard Gems that'd be the way to go


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## MikeJhn (25 Jun 2022)

Couple of local lads who keep the local church grass in order have a very old Alan Scythe that seems to start as soon as they look at it, does not seem to be a problem, their main problem is the vibration up through the handles when using it, good job they are young and hardy.


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## Geoff_S (25 Jun 2022)

Tris said:


> True, but if it's anything like the Allen scythe I had way back I could lose half a day trying to start the wretched thing, adds up over a season. If there was a way to fix a modern engine on them like people have on the Howard Gems that'd be the way to go


So apart from the engine, is it OK?


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## Tris (25 Jun 2022)

Geoff_S said:


> So apart from the engine, is it OK?


Once it was going it was brilliant, cut through all sorts of undergrowth and the large wheels meant it rode well on all sorts of ground. If you were to fix a piece of tin over the front to stop the cut grass wrapping on the axles they'd be better than any modern machine I've used. Just my opinion, others may vary


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## clogs (25 Jun 2022)

when I lived in France the only walk behind strimmer I could buy new was a Husqvarner
very pretty with plastic covers but still had a rubbish modern Briggs N stratton )now the chinese own the brand and are good) just over €900's.........no thank u.......
so made this from junk in a morning....
40 year old Honda engine...still starts second pull.....front pulley from a 50's Massey tractor and the tool bag is a seat air bag n wheels from a w/chair....nothing beats it




morning...


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## artie (25 Jun 2022)

clogs said:


> .nothing beats it


Could we see the blade layout?


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## dickm (25 Jun 2022)

Spent many years using a Mountfield sickle bar machine on experimental plots. It had a huge Villiers 25 engine and was unstoppable. The later Allens, with, if I recall correctly, a smaller Villiers, were OK, but all suffered from a "back to front" clutch mechanism, which would refuse to disengage in a crisis!


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## leisurefix (25 Jun 2022)

Tris said:


> It should be possible to hire a walk behind flail mower that will tackle that fairly easily, go steadily and watch for which way the grass is lying and you should get a good finish.
> Alternatively strim or scythe in late August before it gets totally flattened, leave it to dry like hay and gather it up, most of the seeds will fall off the stems on this process and be left for wildlife


Thanks, interesting that seeds will have already fallen, will make a big difference cutting slightly earlier in the year. Really appreciate that comment.

The Allen scythe looks great if strimming earlier in the year is still a pain. Cheers, Andy.


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## Stevekane (26 Jun 2022)

We have large greens where we live that people have tried to get the council to do conservation cuts on but so far without success, the problem seems to be that the one thing that seems to generate complaints is if they dont cut the grass,,sad but apparently true.
I dont know anything about these but didnt there used to be a walk behind strimmer type of thing called a “Billy Goat” which I only remember the adverts because it seemed such a clever name?
Steve.


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## flying haggis (26 Jun 2022)

A "Billy goat" is a large vacumm for collecting leaves etc not a mower

I stand corrected, there is Billy goat strimmer type thing. If you want one here is one to consider








Billy Goat BCR4328BVECE Outback® All Terrain Garden Tractor / Ride-On Brush Cutter


Trustpilot




www.thegreenreaper.co.uk




there are smaller walk behind ones available though starting about £3k


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## flying haggis (26 Jun 2022)

But .....................


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## Stevekane (26 Jun 2022)

flying haggis said:


> A "Billy goat" is a large vacumm for collecting leaves etc not a mower
> 
> I stand corrected, there is Billy goat strimmer type thing. If you want one here is one to consider
> 
> ...


Yes the Billy Goats a bit pricey,,,if I wanted one I dont think I could resist the lovely old Allen Sythe pictured earlier, would that have been powered drive too? i guess not, but for occasional use I would think it would be fine, plenty of old motorbikes running around, why shouldn't this beastie be turned into a good starter?
Ive just seen the Goat Mower, brilliant,,,
Steve.


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## flying haggis (26 Jun 2022)

As far as I can remember from my struggles with an Allen scythe they were powered drive and I seem to recall thinking it could do with small wheels either end of the cutter bar to keep the bar at a uniform height and to stop it digging in.
These are supposed to be the mutts nuts when it comes to cutting grass,shrubs,small trees,kids,dogs etc








VENTRAC 4500Y DIESEL ARTICULATING TRACTOR DUAL WHEELS MULTI ATTACH SLOPE MOWER | eBay


I have for sale a 2018 Ventrac 4500Y articulating tractor. This tractor is fitted with dual wheels, and has all wheel drive, enabling it to mow on slopes up to 30º, unlike any other ride on tractor on the market.



www.ebay.co.uk


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## dickm (26 Jun 2022)

Yes, the Allen scythe wheels were powered, and as I pointed out above, the clutch didn't always disengage when you wanted to stop. Despite using walk-behind sickle bar for many years, they always scared me! 
Of course, if you wanted a REAL nightmare machine, there was a sickle bar attachment for the Howard Bullfinch rotavator!


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## Marcusthehat (26 Jun 2022)

I am 63, I choose to buy a 22" Stihl, (the one with the off set handlebars to allow easier access to empty the box) rather than a ride-on, purely for the exercise, it takes me 2 hours to cut our grass.
It boxes well, even in dampish conditions, IF one keeps the underside of the deck clean, like after each use, because our always damp NI grass ALWAYS leaves what can only be describes as a build-up of green putty.


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## artie (27 Jun 2022)

Marcusthehat said:


> I am 63, I choose to buy a 22" Stihl, (the one with the off set handlebars to allow easier access to empty the box) rather than a ride-on, purely for the exercise, it takes me 2 hours to cut our grass.
> It boxes well, even in dampish conditions, IF one keeps the underside of the deck clean, like after each use, because our always damp NI grass ALWAYS leaves what can only be describes as a build-up of green putty.


I put an order in yesterday for a Timemaster 30" cut but it's on back order to July.

Hope it can deal with Co Antrim grass.


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## Seascaper (27 Jun 2022)

One of most useful garden tools is my Stihl Kombi which one can add attachments for the job in hand. The most useful item for cutting grass is this tool which is about 12 inches long. It is better to use on grass than either a strimmer or hedge cutting attachment. It is light and manoeuvrable and one can cut a lot of grass quickly. It also takes up little shed space.

FH-KM 145° KombiTool - Adjutable scrub cutter


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## stuart little (27 Jun 2022)

I wonder what an Allen scythe cost new?


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## artie (27 Jun 2022)

Facebook လော့ဂ်အင်ဝင်ရန်


သင်၏ သူငယ်ချင်း၊ မိသားစု၊ သင်သိသောသူများနှင့် စတင်၍ ချိတ်ဆက်ပြီး မျှဝေရန် Facebook သို့ လော့ဂ်အင်ဝင်ပါ။




www.facebook.com


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## dickm (28 Jun 2022)

stuart little said:


> I wonder what an Allen scythe cost new?


Trying to remember how much we paid for the work Mayfield (to my mind, a much better, but fairly rare, machine). It was something exorbitant like £200. But that was in 1968....


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## Seascaper (28 Jun 2022)

Hello,
This is a machine I had to cut long grass, I have had many Allen Sythe’s, Mayfield and some big pedestrian mowers but this Goldini machine took some beating. It has a wonderful Rugerini Diesel engine which gently ticks over, uses very little red diesel and so easy to start. It also has a full set of gears.
Cost £3k new but hold their price as with anyone good and reliable. One of my first so called mowers to cut a large area of grass was something I made, it involved an old Hayterette mower, the push along mower. Remove the handle bar, bolt a piece of 4 x 2 to the aluminium deck and there you have it, attach it to your Landrover and drive around cutting the grass. The Hayterette cost £20 and always started first pull. 
Regards


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## Stevekane (29 Jun 2022)

The big Golderini looks like the sort of thing Ive seen in Greece and Bulgaria, mini tractor wheels, big cowhorn handlebars and somehow cobbled onto the back, a hitch with a two wheeled box with a cushion on it, chummy sits on the box and drives into town for a session on the old Rakie,,I always wondered what the turning circle would be? I assume that “back on the farm” there would be a few attachments.
Steve


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