Large lawn cutting

dar_cool

Hi all,
We are in the final stages of buying a house in the country, it has a large garden of about 2 acres of good quality grass, what kind of mower would be suitable for this? Ive been looking at 2nd hand ride on mowers on donedeal and adverts, I was advised of a deck of 42"-48", any advice welcomed
Cheers

brembo26

blackbox

Size 40" or bigger sounds right.

Type of mower depends on the type of lawn you have. Is it level or hilly? Are there lots of trees and obstacles or is it completely open? Are you planning to collect the grass or mulch it?

dar_cool

Very flat but good few trees and shrubs alright. What would I need for something like that ?
Thanks

dar_cool

And also want to collect it

my3cents

Take a look at how you are going to cut your grass. Walk around the site and look at the turns you are going to make. You might even make some beds larger to have an easier sweep around them. Finally you'll probably still need a small mower to speed up cutting around trees and shubs. A quick run around the beds, twice around trees and a round off of corners with a small mower without a grass box can make it a lot quicker with a lawn tractor which can pick up anything thrown back by the small mower (only needs to be a cheaper push one).

If you really are cutting 2 acres of grass then a triple is another type of machine to look at http://www.georgebrowns.co.uk/groundcare_machinery_baroness_mowers.aspx?n=1519&page=0 6ft wide that leaves a good finish but zero pick up.

my3cents

dar_cool wrote: »

And also want to collect it

You'll learn :pac:

1hnr79jr65

A few goats will do the trick.

my3cents

Sour Lemonz wrote: »

A few goats will do the trick.

Many people have made that mistake but its cheaper in the long run to buy a very expensive mower unless you don't have any neighbors within about 4 miles.

9or10

OP, what did the previous owner use?

my3cents

9or10 wrote: »

OP, what did the previous owner use?

And find out how long they took.

dar_cool

Ive never had a big garden ive always only used a push mower. is mulching a better option ?
Im not sure what the previous owner used

9or10

Two acres is a huge amount of grass to collect and dispose of.

If you look at any mower you consider, look at the size of the grass box and imagine how many times that will need emptying.

Also think about those times when you can't mow because of rain, or you're off to Ibiza for a fortnight.

Just as a way to gauge it. There are two houses together here and the father in law comes back to mow it on his ride-on. Because of weather and other stuff, there was quite an interval in mowings - he had to empty the box 3 times and I had to push the mound of grass back (it goes slimy quite quickly) with the tractor.


tl:dr If it works for you mulching can be a good idea

my3cents

Another issue is that you can end up running out of places to put all the grass cuttings.

Delphinium

check out contract company to cut it. Mine is almost as large and is cut regularly and kept in good shape. Costs have worked out less than owning an expensive mower and you never have to worry about repairs or weather. remember your mower will be stored idle for months using space and depreciating. also you need to clean and service it regularly and it will need renewing with such a large area to cut.

Right2Write

Yeah, a few sheep or a horse Two acres is a lot of grass to cut unless you have a man servant to go with the house

moonshadow

^^ what Delphinium said .... 20 years living on a similar spot ...17,000 on machines , plus time , plus fuel and maintenance on machines.....I hate cutting grass now...really really hate cutting grass.

freedominacup

dar_cool wrote: »

And also want to collect it

No you don't. An unfertilised lawn is capable of growing north of 10 tonnes of grass per acre per year. Where are you going to put it. Volume wise fresh and fairly well packed you are talking about a forty foot artic trailer load of grass from your two acres every year. We bought a second hand John Deere 455 last year to cut three lawns covering around 2 acres in total. Including travel time it takes less than 2 hours to cut the three lawns. Cost 3500. Bomb proof. Mulching deck. Very pleased with it after two seasons.

gerfmurphy

I have about the same size. Went through a few domestic ride ons but then got a triple cut kobota.
Never looked back. Way easier and cheaper to maintain.
Its diesel and direct drive so no belts.
Picking up grass hmmm as above you will learn, its that its a few hundred kgs of grass to store somewhere on a regular basis and its bloody heavy to continue cutting with the load filling. It builds up quick. Better cut it regularly and leave it.
Just what I found.
Pm me if you want for further details

NIMAN

I have a 1/2 acre site and always mulch..

Good luck if you plan to collect 2 acres. You'll have to add on another couple of hours to your time.

dar_cool

Cheers lads, this is the kind of feedback i was looking for.
Thanks alot

veetwin

I have a 48 inch zero turn which does a 2.5 acre garden in about an hour (mulching). Takes another 30 mins with a small push mower to do the inaccessible bits. You could at least double that time if you wanted to bag it and be left with the problem of what to do with the grass. Mulching can work well if you cut regularly with a machine with plenty of power for the job.

NIMAN

I find the secret of good mulching is to cut little but often.
If you leave it too long and the grass is long then it can be difficult to mulch, and often you get left with clumps of grass on your lawn. Sometimes our Irish weather can hamper how often you get to cut of course.

Hocus Focus

my3cents wrote: »

Another issue is that you can end up running out of places to put all the grass cuttings.

I've been putting the cuttings from 3/4 acre on a heap under some overhanging elders etc., for about 15 years. It just rots down to more or less the same height each year and has only increased in overall size very gradually. An added bonus is that it is currently providing a decent supply of Shaggy Parasol mushrooms.

howdoyouknow

Be worth considering a robomower or two or three. Let them at it and you don't have to worry about weather or time. Cutting grass is a pain in the hole. Collecting you have to find somewhere to dispose of all the grass and to mulch if the grass is growing well need to cut at least twice a week. Whatever time I get a new mower I'll definitely be considering one.