Mowing 4 acres

[woodyguy]

Would welcome some advice. I've recently bought a 4 acre meadow. Currently it is fertilised once per year then mown by a local farmer twice for silage. In return he cuts the hedges. The grass is native ie not rye but has poor species diversity.

I'm happy to cut the hedges and would like to stop fertilising so that like neighbouring meadows it can gradually become a wild flower meadow. I also wish to plant the edges with trees to increase the species diversity along the edges. So not attractive to a farmer.

I'm wondering what my options are. I've got a hayter rotary mower with a rear roller, so fine for a lawn but not for a rough meadow.

I guess I could get a contractor to mow it. Roughly what would that cost, say 2 cuts per year?

Or I could buy a second hand mower eg Hayter Condor, say £2k. I'm happy to spend a day mowing it each time. Are there other mowers you would recommend second hand.

Do I have other options?

[agg221]

To work as a wild flower meadow you will need to remove what you mow, to make the soil less nitrogen rich.

 

The best bet may well be to create a hay crop. I was talking to someone a few months back who grew a high wildflower content hay crop which had high demand - not sure whether it was for adding flavour to meat, or for horse owners, but either way it suggests that with a bit of research you may well find a contractor who will cut it for the crop, or you may end up even making a slight profit.

 

I really wouldn't want to be mowing it with anything conventional - you would need a seriously roughcut mower to cope if you are letting it get long enough for wild flowers.

 

Alec

[Tanat Valley Firewood]

We too have four acres, much of which is sloping. We find that four legged friends are great at keeping most of it down. I mow and strimm around the house. This is our first year trialling wild flower, so far so good, worth the preparation and then low maintenance. Good luck.

[div_h]

something like this? This is the units that cut the practice field at the golf course

[farmer rod]

Demand for forage is quite variable across the country, around here you would be lucky to cover costs making hay every year, usually something beggars it up, this year a glut, next year could be perpetual rain.

 

From a farmers point of view, it ought to be a nice square field with a big gate and no obstructions and with modern big tackle (which I do not have) a minimum of 20 acres.

 

not having seen your meadow of course, so just a suggestion, start your wildflowers in one corner , perhaps trees in the very corner, ask the farmer to miss that bit with the fert, and not cut it for first cut.

 

After a bit just go to one cut late in July with no fertiliser, but be prepared to incur costs of haymaking if you have no takers.

 

Getting the grass baled up and removed as said, is how hay meadows come to look like they do, but it is a real joy if you get a good bit going with bees humming and clouds of butterflies.

 

The original question was how to mow 4 acres, my answer is, first try any way that isnt yourself with a mower.

[Graham]

If it were mine I'd get some hay rattle sown to reduce the grass vigour along with a wildflower mix. Because I'm a bit of a Luddite the mowing would be by scythe. Eight mornings work there if you're fit enough:001_smile:!

[agrimog]

at 4 acres its doable with a fingermower(reaper), turn it with an old haybob, and get someone to bale it with a small square baler, if the wildflower content is right, the horsey folk will be queing up to buy them, the old implements can be picked up for buttons, a few words among the farming community should turn a few up

[Peasgood]

About 50 geese might just about do it as long as you stop with the fertiliser.

[woodyguy]

Thanks for comments and suggestions. Sadly many don't really apply until 10 years down the line when its not been fertilised and the flowers are growing. In the meantime I've got to mow it and as I'm deliberately setting out to make it difficult to mow ie scalloped edges for wildlife and groups of trees, the self mow maybe the answer.

[Burytreeman]

Woodguy, a small cheap 2wd tractor and a s/h ag mower will sort you out and if you have to go down the haymaking route you only need a haybob and you kitted out,

As has been said all these can be picked up at reasonable cost.

Cheers Tony