best way to cut around pond

plumcrazy704406 · Mar 9, 2015

best way to cut around pond - pics added page 3 (#25)

We have a large pond (5 acres)that I would like to maintain the growth around. One side is a slight hill, but the other is much steeper, maybe a 30 to 40 degree angle.
Our tractor is a b3000 cab model with fel and a backhoe (if they matter for weight).
I have been looking at videos of sickle mowers and I am assuming this may be the way to go but,,,,,,,,does any members have other suggestions?
I would prefer to not end up in the drink.

coachgeo · Mar 9, 2015

plumcrazy704406 said:
...does any members have other suggestions?
I would prefer to not end up in the drink.

As long as their is no Alligators in the pond, I'ld say get some strong portable fencing, Goats of a breed that do not like to climb or jump fences. They'll keep it trimmed easy. Just rotate the section of fence every few days? to another part of the pond.

Some folk actually hire out their goats just for this purpose.

Russell King · Mar 9, 2015

Someone (can't recall who) on here has the same problem and solved it with a boom mower. See this link:
http://www.servis-rhino.com/products/boom-mowers

Diydave · Mar 10, 2015

Here's my goat, and it's ORANGE: http://youtu.be/1psDtUiGxh8

Bulldog · Mar 10, 2015

The goat idea sounds pretty good but this is what I do.

Tooljunkie · Mar 10, 2015

Ok, build away. Sickle mower, hydraulic motor a couple cylinders and a quick attatch for the loader. Brackets,teleccopic boom to hang mower off front of machine. Then you can at least see it to mow. Intense build, but practical.

We built a sickle mower to hang off the front of an airboat for weed control
The rice tray was adjustable, to mow just below water line.

ShaunBlake · Mar 10, 2015

A sickle-bar mower would be the least expensive, I think. However, a rig like Bulldog has would be more flexible. And Tooljunkie has a good point if you need to watch the mower while maintaining your resolution to not wind up in the drink: hang a sickle-bar mower (or some such) on the front, and if you need reach, hang it on a praying mantis-type arm. (Good luck with that! And hope your pond isn't all overgrown before you get the fab finished!)

skeets · Mar 10, 2015

tooljunkie were you harvesting rice with that rig??

cerlawson · Mar 10, 2015

Pay attention to the highway roadside mowers. Many are equipped with a counter weight so you can operate on a steep hill side and not tip over.

Tooljunkie · Mar 10, 2015

skeets said:
tooljunkie were you harvesting rice with that rig??

Not myself personally, have a few friends that harvest wild rice. Havent paid for wild rice in 20 plus years.
I help with building,modifying and repairing the harvesters. Get to fly out in bush plane ti work in them. May go harvesting this fall.

skeets · Mar 11, 2015

Outstanding,, I found a big flat covered with rice last year and ask one of the guys in town about getting some,,, he looked and said DONT MESS WITH IT, asking why he said that only the natives are permitted to harvest wild rice and any white caught will wind up with their nuts in a vice,, So I left it alone,, No desire to wind up a foul of the law in a forging country if you understand

sheepfarmer · Mar 11, 2015

coachgeo said:
As long as their is no Alligators in the pond, I'ld say get some strong portable fencing, Goats of a breed that do not like to climb or jump fences. They'll keep it trimmed easy. Just rotate the section of fence every few days? to another part of the pond.

Some folk actually hire out their goats just for this purpose.

Sheep don't tend to jump fences and do just as good a job...do I have a deal for you

Tooljunkie · Mar 11, 2015

Up here the lakes are leased. Nothing preventing the aboriginals from harvesting, other than them being so remote. And what they harvest with canoes isnt an issue.
The one rice lake has a nice cabin- cell booster and satellite tv. Is a home away from home.

My apologies to op, waay off topic.

Dont know your local regulations, some will spray to kill weeds and burn off once a year.

JR4AL · Mar 11, 2015

Back on Topic. .. have you tried a bushhog and backing down straight to the pond where the tailwheel touches the water and then driving forward up the cut path. reposition beside your last cut and back straight down where the tail wheel touches the water again. then coming out in your cut agin. May want to add weight to your bucket and keep it lowfor more stability. HST is nice in this situation! start where you feel comfortable and dont go anywhere you think you may slip or worse flip. R1's are better for this type mowing. Before you start walk the terrain and mark with flags any holes that may cause an upset. may want to consider atleast filling them in before you cut that area. i hope this helps!

plumcrazy704406 · Mar 12, 2015

I have the industrial tires (r1??) on the tractor. The tires have almost no wear on them, so the bite should be good. I will get a couple of pond pics once the snow melts out a bit to show the angle. I'm concerned about "sliding" into the pond if I back down. I guess that's a drawback with a cab unit, if you go in the drink, no quick way out. The hst would make it easy to back down, pull up. I do find the tractor to be really responsive.. It's another learning curve for a city slicker.

Diydave · Mar 12, 2015

plumcrazy704406 said:
I have the industrial tires (r1??) on the tractor. The tires have almost no wear on them, so the bite should be good. I will get a couple of pond pics once the snow melts out a bit to show the angle. I'm concerned about "sliding" into the pond if I back down. I guess that's a drawback with a cab unit, if you go in the drink, no quick way out. The hst would make it easy to back down, pull up. I do find the tractor to be really responsive.. It's another learning curve for a city slicker.

You'll learn about them R1's soon enough...

D2Cat · Mar 12, 2015

I think you'd be "plumcrazy" to try to mow a pond dam backing down to it and pulling up. Why? One mistake and you're "in the drink".

How much will it cost you to get your tractor out and then drain all the fluids?

sheepfarmer · Mar 12, 2015

I am with D2 on this, 30 to 40 degrees sounds way too scary, life is too short as it is. If sheep don't appeal, how about mowing the easy areas and what you need for convenient access, and then put in some nice perennials and low growing ground cover that can help keep the weeds and brush under control and hold the ground where it is steep? I did this next to my driveway where it is too steep for the mower. Takes a couple of years to fill in, but most of it is entirely maintenance free. Usually there are friends, neighbors that can give you cuttings so you don't have to spend a fortune. Also there are parts of my yard that I can't mow, and string trimming it once a summer is adequate to control the annual weeds and grass. (Not as much fun as with a tractor, but if it is only once

)

Daren Todd · Mar 12, 2015

I'm with d2 and Sheepfarmer on this. Had a customer almost roll his brand new "L" trying to Bush hog backwards down a hill to his pond to clear a path. As soon as his back tires dropped over the edge he had one of his rear tires drop into a burro. Front end popped up. Bush hog kept him from going over backwards. But he had to slosh a mile through the mud back to his barn to get his hands and his large tractor to get the bota back up onto hard ground.
We used our horses to keep the grass down around one of our ponds. Had it fenced to keep them out, but a couple times a year we would open it up and let them have at it. Once we led them in, they pretty much stayed there till it was scalped. With five of them it didn't take very long.

Benhameen · Mar 12, 2015

A while back some one on here posted pics of a push mower they had rigged up to hang out 4-5 ft beside the tractor, using the 3 pt to raise it up and down. Can't remember who it was, it's been awhile.

best way to cut around pond

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