i had the same issue, used to criss cross with my little flail mower on my small Kubota tractor. took forever and left a mess..i couldnt find a mulcher mower that fit my 16hp tractor, so I went for a Husqvarna Rider - articulated rear wheel steering, ride-on mulching mower with 3 blades. it can pretty much turn on a dime and mow right around a single hazelnut tree. saves alot of time mowing and cuts down some strimming work. there is an optional mowing deck with 80 little cutters similar to your mulcher, for longer grass and brush mulching. the Rider is kinda pricey but not much more than a larger tractor attachment. it's the best thing i bought, after using it for couple yrs now I cant imagine better to mow my hazelnut orchard. i have to catch up on alot of your vids, but i noticed the soul of your old Honda dirtbike lives on in that deathtrap of a bycicle..I hope you've made a good recovery!
That is very interesting. I am increasingly thinking that a ride on / zero turn mower is the way forward. With 2100 trees to mow, if I spend one minute per tree, that is 35 hours work. Currently I strim, then tidy up around the tree with my hands and it is taking over a minute per tree and it is hard work. I have been looking at ArduPilot (ArduRover) as a control mechanism for an autonomous mower i.e. set some way points around the trees and leave it to it. I'm currently educating myself on RTK NTRIP solutions for 1 cm precision accuracy. It will probably take a year or two to build something if I proceed with it. In the near term, I am going to borrow a ride on mower for a test next year when the ground dries out. As for the dirt bike, I came off it many times, but the worst injury I ever got from a bike was from my road bike! I hope all is well.
@@GubbFarm a robot brush mower would be great! something ive imagined building, unfortunately that's way out of my skillset, i'll better stick to buying things and breaking them. ive managed to service and replace belts and simple parts on my mower, so i might yet become an semi-autonomous farmer one of these days..! I have a mere 600 trees, more than enough to keep me cursing come strimming time,I think that zero turn mower could make a huge difference for you.
Another great vid! Had de same problem with my mower when I got a bigger tractor. With the old 45hp Ferguson the rpm went down when I mowed a thicker section of the field, with my newer 75hp the belts became a shitstorm. Since the mower was 5 years old I replaced the belts and cut the back end open, reinforced it and removed that annoying roller so it sprays everything out easier when it’s moisty instead of clogging up! Can send you som pics of yo like? Have a great weekend //
Hello Juglans Thanks for that. Since I replaced the belts, the engine revs now drop when I cut heavy grass without any slippage, so fingers crossed it runs well now. I want to keep the roller on it to pack down the grass in order to see the nuts on the ground. All the best.
Hi, we have an orchard too and are trying to work out the best way to control grass growing around trees and between trees down a row. Though my farm is in Australia and the trees are of a completely different species along with the grass being different too, the problems are very similar. Right now I’m considering buying a side shifting flail mower. My plan was to use it to drive my tractor down a row, extending the mower between each tree and retracting it when at a tree. My trees are four meters apart. However you say this takes a long time and you will get an under tree disc mower to mow round each tree. Are you still going to get the disc mower? This is another option I’m considering though it is more expensive. From an agronomist’s recommendation I spray a herbicide mix growing around the trees. It works. It’s not roundup. It is a mixture of five different chemicals that combine to kill grass. I’m not a huge fan of doing it but it works and needs to be done as the grass grows quickly and grows to over two meters tall.
Good to hear from you again! That old mower looks like it was definitely due for retirement. The new one looks pretty impressive. I know of people who mow with a scythe. Is that remotely useful in your situation?
It is good to hear from you too Bob. It took me about 30 hours to mow around the trees with the mulcher and I probably another 40 hours ahead of me to strim around them. I don't even want to think about trying to take into it with a scythe. However, I was chatting to Dad about this and he tells me, you would do well to cut one acre of hay a day with a scythe, and with about 20 acres to cut, that would be some work! That being said, I have read that some people find it a great way to manage trees in low rainfall climates, but in Fermanagh in Northern Ireland with 1000+ mm of rain a year, that isn't a problem. I hope all is well with you.
Looks like a really heavy duty mower. The mowed grass really laid down nicely and it's cool you can trim to the trees at the edge of the field with it. :) I'm not sure how that compares with using a large zero-turn riding mower for time, cost and quality of cut.
Hello Steve. A large zero turn mower might be a better choice for an orchard, but they are very expensive e.g. half the price of the tractor. I think the future of orchard mowers lies in a Robotic GPS RTK guided zero turn mower to keep the grass suppressed around the trees. I have been looking into Ardupilot mower builds and it might be a nice project to reduce maintenance time going forward. It would also deal with a concern that I have around compaction around the trees being caused by the tractor. All the best.
@@GubbFarm I looked at the John Deere web site after watching your video. They had a zero turn with a 60 inch deck suitable for 4 to 8 acres for $5200 msrp. That is in the USA in US dollars. I don't know if that is available in Ireland. It is a fair bit of cash to lay out for cutting grass. An automated GPS guided mower would be cool.
@@GubbFarm That price is comparable to the US cost. I don't remember the model number but it was considered a commercial grade mower that landscaping companies would use. Or a small farm in your case. 🙂 If you were able to rent 1 for a day, you might get a better idea if is worth buying.
Hiya, I’m now looking at buying a flail but thinking of a 7ft one thought not 6. Do you Think it will power it? Your tractor is not struggling much with the 6?
Hello Henri. The Kubota (66hp M4062) could drive a 7ft mower, but you will not travel fast on heavy grass with it. On very heavy grass I was travelling at about 2kph with the 6ft mower, however on lighter grass I was able to travel at about 8kph (I could probably have gone a bit faster, but it was to hard to dodge the trees!). All the best.
Hi Rick. It was probably human error on my behalf, as it was the one thing I didn't check before I started. I did contact Deleks and they didn't get back to me, so that doesn't bode well for the future. I hope all is well.
I agree Chris as I am concerned about compaction. I am currently mowing around the trees with the strimmer and there is probably 50 hours of work to cut the grass that is left. Neither the strimmer or the heavy mower are the right options and I am researching alternative solutions at the moment. I hope all is well.
i had the same issue, used to criss cross with my little flail mower on my small Kubota tractor. took forever and left a mess..i couldnt find a mulcher mower that fit my 16hp tractor, so I went for a Husqvarna Rider - articulated rear wheel steering, ride-on mulching mower with 3 blades. it can pretty much turn on a dime and mow right around a single hazelnut tree. saves alot of time mowing and cuts down some strimming work. there is an optional mowing deck with 80 little cutters similar to your mulcher, for longer grass and brush mulching. the Rider is kinda pricey but not much more than a larger tractor attachment. it's the best thing i bought, after using it for couple yrs now I cant imagine better to mow my hazelnut orchard.
i have to catch up on alot of your vids, but i noticed the soul of your old Honda dirtbike lives on in that deathtrap of a bycicle..I hope you've made a good recovery!
That is very interesting. I am increasingly thinking that a ride on / zero turn mower is the way forward. With 2100 trees to mow, if I spend one minute per tree, that is 35 hours work. Currently I strim, then tidy up around the tree with my hands and it is taking over a minute per tree and it is hard work.
I have been looking at ArduPilot (ArduRover) as a control mechanism for an autonomous mower i.e. set some way points around the trees and leave it to it. I'm currently educating myself on RTK NTRIP solutions for 1 cm precision accuracy. It will probably take a year or two to build something if I proceed with it. In the near term, I am going to borrow a ride on mower for a test next year when the ground dries out.
As for the dirt bike, I came off it many times, but the worst injury I ever got from a bike was from my road bike!
I hope all is well.
@@GubbFarm a robot brush mower would be great! something ive imagined building, unfortunately that's way out of my skillset, i'll better stick to buying things and breaking them. ive managed to service and replace belts and simple parts on my mower, so i might yet become an semi-autonomous farmer one of these days..!
I have a mere 600 trees, more than enough to keep me cursing come strimming time,I think that zero turn mower could make a huge difference for you.
After 2 years, are you still happy with the deleks mower quality ?
Well wear Dary!
You’ll have nice rich regrowth after that mowing. And big hazelnuts too let’s hope!
Thanks Paddy.
Fingers crossed the mulching creates a good outcome for the trees. I hope all is well.
All the best
Dary
@@GubbFarm all good here Dary thanks.
Looking forward to see your first proper harvest.
Another great vid!
Had de same problem with my mower when I got a bigger tractor. With the old 45hp Ferguson the rpm went down when I mowed a thicker section of the field, with my newer 75hp the belts became a shitstorm.
Since the mower was 5 years old I replaced the belts and cut the back end open, reinforced it and removed that annoying roller so it sprays everything out easier when it’s moisty instead of clogging up!
Can send you som pics of yo like?
Have a great weekend
//
Hello Juglans
Thanks for that. Since I replaced the belts, the engine revs now drop when I cut heavy grass without any slippage, so fingers crossed it runs well now. I want to keep the roller on it to pack down the grass in order to see the nuts on the ground.
All the best.
@@GubbFarm I see! For me the roller was just in the way but for you it has a purpose!
Have a great upcoming week
//
Tidy looking set up
I am happy with it. Fingers crossed I get a few years out of it. I hope all is well.
Hi, we have an orchard too and are trying to work out the best way to control grass growing around trees and between trees down a row. Though my farm is in Australia and the trees are of a completely different species along with the grass being different too, the problems are very similar.
Right now I’m considering buying a side shifting flail mower. My plan was to use it to drive my tractor down a row, extending the mower between each tree and retracting it when at a tree. My trees are four meters apart. However you say this takes a long time and you will get an under tree disc mower to mow round each tree.
Are you still going to get the disc mower? This is another option I’m considering though it is more expensive.
From an agronomist’s recommendation I spray a herbicide mix growing around the trees. It works. It’s not roundup. It is a mixture of five different chemicals that combine to kill grass. I’m not a huge fan of doing it but it works and needs to be done as the grass grows quickly and grows to over two meters tall.
Excellent video.😊 really interesting videos keep up the great work
Thank you JM. All the best.
Good to hear from you again! That old mower looks like it was definitely due for retirement. The new one looks pretty impressive.
I know of people who mow with a scythe. Is that remotely useful in your situation?
It is good to hear from you too Bob.
It took me about 30 hours to mow around the trees with the mulcher and I probably another 40 hours ahead of me to strim around them. I don't even want to think about trying to take into it with a scythe.
However, I was chatting to Dad about this and he tells me, you would do well to cut one acre of hay a day with a scythe, and with about 20 acres to cut, that would be some work!
That being said, I have read that some people find it a great way to manage trees in low rainfall climates, but in Fermanagh in Northern Ireland with 1000+ mm of rain a year, that isn't a problem.
I hope all is well with you.
So how long did the belt last?
Looks like a really heavy duty mower. The mowed grass really laid down nicely and it's cool you can trim to the trees at the edge of the field with it. :) I'm not sure how that compares with using a large zero-turn riding mower for time, cost and quality of cut.
Hello Steve. A large zero turn mower might be a better choice for an orchard, but they are very expensive e.g. half the price of the tractor. I think the future of orchard mowers lies in a Robotic GPS RTK guided zero turn mower to keep the grass suppressed around the trees. I have been looking into Ardupilot mower builds and it might be a nice project to reduce maintenance time going forward. It would also deal with a concern that I have around compaction around the trees being caused by the tractor. All the best.
@@GubbFarm I looked at the John Deere web site after watching your video. They had a zero turn with a 60 inch deck suitable for 4 to 8 acres for $5200 msrp. That is in the USA in US dollars. I don't know if that is available in Ireland. It is a fair bit of cash to lay out for cutting grass. An automated GPS guided mower would be cool.
@@stevefromthegarden1135 the first quote I got for a zero turn mower was £17k ($23k).. at which point I stopped looking! I need to ask around now.
I had a look at the John Deere and a few other residential mowers and they start around £4.5k, so more affordable than I thought.👍
@@GubbFarm That price is comparable to the US cost. I don't remember the model number but it was considered a commercial grade mower that landscaping companies would use. Or a small farm in your case. 🙂
If you were able to rent 1 for a day, you might get a better idea if is worth buying.
Hiya, I’m now looking at buying a flail but thinking of a 7ft one thought not 6. Do you
Think it will power it? Your tractor is not struggling much with the 6?
Hello Henri. The Kubota (66hp M4062) could drive a 7ft mower, but you will not travel fast on heavy grass with it. On very heavy grass I was travelling at about 2kph with the 6ft mower, however on lighter grass I was able to travel at about 8kph (I could probably have gone a bit faster, but it was to hard to dodge the trees!). All the best.
Belt's biggest enemy is heat. I'd try and get more ventilation through that guard.
Thanks Henry. That is very interesting. I must have a look at that.
Those belts should be under warranty, should talk to dealer.
Hi Rick. It was probably human error on my behalf, as it was the one thing I didn't check before I started. I did contact Deleks and they didn't get back to me, so that doesn't bode well for the future. I hope all is well.
I think you’ll be better off in future not cutting as tight to trees and go round them with a good strimmer
I agree Chris as I am concerned about compaction. I am currently mowing around the trees with the strimmer and there is probably 50 hours of work to cut the grass that is left. Neither the strimmer or the heavy mower are the right options and I am researching alternative solutions at the moment. I hope all is well.