setting cut height on flail mower

[blenderbender]

I'm trying to figure out how to increase cutting height on my 5' flail mower. I've been trying to turn 5 acres into a native wildflowers and grasses meadow and it's been suggested by seed provider to keep it mowed to 8 inches to give chance to establish and compete or out compete weeds, mostly ragweed at this point. I tried carrying the flail off the ground at that height but it seems like that's real hard on the lift arms and associated 3 point assembly the way it wracks and bounces up and down and sideways. So I was thinking of attaching bogey wheels to the mower to maintain the height and take the load off the 3 point. But I noticed that the cut quality suffers when mowing at that height. Lots of standing stalks that would otherwise be cut off if mower was cutting nearer the base of the weeds. I considered a sickle bar mower and although I neither have one or the experience using one, it seems they would cut more efficiently at that height. But I don't even know if they can be adjusted up to cut at that height. Of course the easiest, cheapest route would be to use what I have and just cut it low, but I don't know how that would affect the perennial wildflowers and grasses that I'm trying to get established. I'd welcome some advice..... thanks, Gary

 

[Russell King]

I don’t have the knowledge of getting a flail mower set high but will be interested in the replies. I have similar interests in using one to mow high grass.

Currently I use a rotary cutter (brush hog and it can be set up to around 10 inch tall so works well for height but can leave thick windrows if the weeds are tall and thick

 

[ken erickson]

I'm trying to figure out how to increase cutting height on my 5' flail mower. I've been trying to turn 5 acres into a native wildflowers and grasses meadow and it's been suggested by seed provider to keep it mowed to 8 inches to give chance to establish and compete or out compete weeds, mostly ragweed at this point. I tried carrying the flail off the ground at that height but it seems like that's real hard on the lift arms and associated 3 point assembly the way it wracks and bounces up and down and sideways. So I was thinking of attaching bogey wheels to the mower to maintain the height and take the load off the 3 point. But I noticed that the cut quality suffers when mowing at that height. Lots of standing stalks that would otherwise be cut off if mower was cutting nearer the base of the weeds. I considered a sickle bar mower and although I neither have one or the experience using one, it seems they would cut more efficiently at that height. But I don't even know if they can be adjusted up to cut at that height. Of course the easiest, cheapest route would be to use what I have and just cut it low, but I don't know how that would affect the perennial wildflowers and grasses that I'm trying to get established. I'd welcome some advice..... thanks, Gary

Gary,
I also would be very interested in replies. I have 28 acres of native forbs and grasses that have been planted and deal with ragweed, mares tail, common mullion and a few others. The advice given to me was to mow as early in the growing season as possible, high, due to a lot of the invasive grasses and weeds tend to grow sooner and quicker than the natives. Right now I have a 4 foot rotary cutter than I have set to about 7 to 8 inches high but plan on trading that for a 6 foot later this year.
I had considered a flail mower also, but I had wondered about suspending it on the three point lift arms to get a 8 inch cut height. Thank you for your thoughts on cut quality etc when you mow with your flail at that height.

I am glad to hear others are planting natives even though it can be frustrating , time consuming and expensive to create high quality prairie!

This is a not so good quality trail cam photo but it was a area I mowed last summer early . As you can see black eyed Susans are the dominant native wildflower that is trying hard to out compete the invasive's. I think next year as more of the natives germinate, (some take two or three seasons of cold stratification) this area will start to do alright. The dominate invasive in this photo is Spotted Knapweed which actually benefits from mowing. It will start to bud at a shorter height. I have hopes for the two weevils that were brought from Europe in the 1990's that hopefully will keep the Knapweed in some sort of balance. The second picture shows no less than 5 of the flower head weevils on a spotted knapweed flower. They destroy the ability for that flower to go to and release seeds. The other species of weevils are knapweed root weevils that will work to actually kill the plant.

 

[blenderbender]

Gary,
I also would be very interested in replies. I have 28 acres of native forbs and grasses that have been planted and deal with ragweed, mares tail, common mullion and a few others. The advice given to me was to mow as early in the growing season as possible, high, due to a lot of the invasive grasses and weeds tend to grow sooner and quicker than the natives. Right now I have a 4 foot rotary cutter than I have set to about 7 to 8 inches high but plan on trading that for a 6 foot later this year.
I had considered a flail mower also, but I had wondered about suspending it on the three point lift arms to get a 8 inch cut height. Thank you for your thoughts on cut quality etc when you mow with your flail at that height.

I am glad to hear others are planting natives even though it can be frustrating , time consuming and expensive to create high quality prairie!

This is a not so good quality trail cam photo but it was a area I mowed last summer early . As you can see black eyed Susans are the dominant native wildflower that is trying hard to out compete the invasive's. I think next year as more of the natives germinate, (some take two or three seasons of cold stratification) this area will start to do alright. The dominate invasive in this photo is Spotted Knapweed which actually benefits from mowing. It will start to bud at a shorter height. I have hopes for the two weevils that were brought from Europe in the 1990's that hopefully will keep the Knapweed in some sort of balance. The second picture shows no less than 5 of the flower head weevils on a spotted knapweed flower. They destroy the ability for that flower to go to and release seeds. The other species of weevils are knapweed root weevils that will work to actually kill the plant. View attachment 63613 View attachment 63615

Thanks Ken.... seems we have similar desires. No spotted knapweed in western Pennsylvania that I'm aware so I don't have that battle. Mare's tail for sure, but nothing like the ragweed. Lots of BE Susie's out there now, some likely native, and other that I planted. I did something this Spring that I swore I would never do.... spray the field with Glyphosate in early Spring to kill the cool spring grasses. This was advised by seed supplier who convinced me I would never stand much of a chance otherwise. And after spending a bunch of money on seed the prior 2 years I needed a different approach. Apparently ragweed was not affected by the spraying. Kind of wished I had waited for it to show. I'm going to mow again here shortly, short or tall, depending on whether I come up with a way to mow at 8" or so because the ragweed is starting to seed. I'll try and keep up with posting results if I learn anything.

 

[ken erickson]

Thanks Ken.... seems we have similar desires. No spotted knapweed in western Pennsylvania that I'm aware so I don't have that battle. Mare's tail for sure, but nothing like the ragweed. Lots of BE Susie's out there now, some likely native, and other that I planted. I did something this Spring that I swore I would never do.... spray the field with Glyphosate in early Spring to kill the cool spring grasses. This was advised by seed supplier who convinced me I would never stand much of a chance otherwise. And after spending a bunch of money on seed the prior 2 years I needed a different approach. Apparently ragweed was not affected by the spraying. Kind of wished I had waited for it to show. I'm going to mow again here shortly, short or tall, depending on whether I come up with a way to mow at 8" or so because the ragweed is starting to seed. I'll try and keep up with posting results if I learn anything.

I also used Glyphosate and Milestone early site wide to get a jump start before the site wide fall seeding using a Great Plains drill set up with 3 boxes. Have you considered spot spraying with a backpack sprayer? While I am not able to do this work myself I have had several spot spraying sessions to help control Knapweed in some of the best areas. I am fortunate that I am working with several agencies that I can cost share with, either with cash or work hours , such as maintenance mowing. The areas that were spot sprayed with Milestone for Knapweed did show considerable improvement compared to non spot spraying that targeted just Knapweed.

I do hope you do continue sharing your progress here and would love to see some pictures of your project. Your doing good things by putting in natives!

 

[forky]

Great thread and I'm also gonna keep an eye on it.
Wonder why you don't like the common mullion Ken? Great herb with many uses, as well as a favorite for the bees when in flower. I enjoy my prolly 6 acre meadow....it does have a huge amount of black eye susan that I started by simply picking bouquets down the road for my wife and spreading the seeds after the flowers were spent.
Not a fan of spraying at all....I do, but very limited without a breeze.
Gotta love the meadow or prairie ...Mother at her best!

 

[blenderbender]

I also used Glyphosate and Milestone early site wide to get a jump start before the site wide fall seeding using a Great Plains drill set up with 3 boxes. Have you considered spot spraying with a backpack sprayer? While I am not able to do this work myself I have had several spot spraying sessions to help control Knapweed in some of the best areas. I am fortunate that I am working with several agencies that I can cost share with, either with cash or work hours , such as maintenance mowing. The areas that were spot sprayed with Milestone for Knapweed did show considerable improvement compared to non spot spraying that targeted just Knapweed.

I do hope you do continue sharing your progress here and would love to see some pictures of your project. Your doing good things by putting in natives!

Way too much ragweed to spot spray..... waaayyy too much!

 

[ken erickson]

Great thread and I'm also gonna keep an eye on it.
Wonder why you don't like the common mullion Ken? Great herb with many uses, as well as a favorite for the bees when in flower. I enjoy my prolly 6 acre meadow....it does have a huge amount of black eye susan that I started by simply picking bouquets down the road for my wife and spreading the seeds after the flowers were spent.
Not a fan of spraying at all....I do, but very limited without a breeze.
Gotta love the meadow or prairie ...Mother at her best!

I will admit common mullion is the least objectionable of the non-natives in my prairie restoration efforts. I think it is so common in North America now it's considered naturalized? Besides as you mentioned bees I find that gold finch's favor the seeds. The reason that I would rather it not be there is that it can form some pretty thick stands and I feel the large Basel leaves keep light and water from reaching the native seeds that I would like to see germinate. But by far my biggest battle is Spotted Knapweed.

I guess the way I look at most of the non-natives , at least in my limited experience in the four years now that I have been learning and doing is that they , in general form a mono-culture. Native prairies are all about diversity . My seed mix included over 40 wildflower(forbs) and six native grass species. A large remnant prairie in Wisconsin can be considered 50 acres or larger, which is extremely rare, can have up to about 400 native species! A remnant prairie can be defined as a prairie that has never seen a plow, cultivated in any way etc.


Gary,
Getting back to your flail mower, are you running Y knives or hammers?
As my trade for a 6 foot brush cutter is not set in stone I have seriously considered a flail for maintenance mowing. I like the compact foot print of a flail mower compared to a rotary.

 

[Russell King]

On the flail mower it runs on one long roller at the back and bottom of the mower. I wonder if that whole thing could be removed and replaced with some spacer and the roller assembly put back on or possibly just replace the roller with some larger diameter roller or wheels.

 

[Yooper]

My experience is the same as yours. Even with freshly sharpened blades they will not cut well when raised. Sickle mower might be the way to go but I have no experience with one.

 

[D2Cat]

I have a 6' flail that is beat to xxxx. I bought it that way and was my first flail so I use it in all experimental situations as I learned how to use a flail.

I wanted to mow a hay field, but leave it 8" high. I use it on a 60 HP tractor. I got some chain and made metal straps ( 1/4" thick 2" x 6" steel) cut holes in the end so it would fit over the 3 pt pins and a slot so the chain could be adjusted. With this I can get the cutting height adjusted to where I want it and never pay any attention to it in that field.

I also have a 7' flail that has dolly wheels. It's really nice cutting. The wheel height is adjustable. Flail mowers have an adjustment for the roller, and it's usually three bolt hole positions. Where ever mine are, I leave them!

TBN has a forum thread dedicated to flail mowers, all kinds, sizes and configurations if you like to read.

 

[blenderbender]

I will admit common mullion is the least objectionable of the non-natives in my prairie restoration efforts. I think it is so common in North America now it's considered naturalized? Besides as you mentioned bees I find that gold finch's favor the seeds. The reason that I would rather it not be there is that it can form some pretty thick stands and I feel the large Basel leaves keep light and water from reaching the native seeds that I would like to see germinate. But by far my biggest battle is Spotted Knapweed.

I guess the way I look at most of the non-natives , at least in my limited experience in the four years now that I have been learning and doing is that they , in general form a mono-culture. Native prairies are all about diversity . My seed mix included over 40 wildflower(forbs) and six native grass species. A large remnant prairie in Wisconsin can be considered 50 acres or larger, which is extremely rare, can have up to about 400 native species! A remnant prairie can be defined as a prairie that has never seen a plow, cultivated in any way etc.


Gary,
Getting back to your flail mower, are you running Y knives or hammers?
As my trade for a 6 foot brush cutter is not set in stone I have seriously considered a flail for maintenance mowing. I like the compact foot print of a flail mower compared to a rotary.

I'm running hammers on my mower as that's what it came with.... not sure which would do a better job, but since I use it also in some thicker and heavier stuff, instead of changing to my brush hog, I'm leaving it as is. I did manage to eke out a 5-6" cut by adjusting rear roller actually one notch lower than it's intended to go by removing the bottom bolts and lowering it as far as it would go, then reinserting those bolts so that the roller end frame rests on those bolts which gained me another inch or so. I can't see where it can hurt anything as the weight of the mower and the ultra tightened upper pivot bolts will keep everything from moving...... if that all made sense. So ultimately, when using it, the mower is supported by the 3 point in front and roller in back. The sled type runners are out of play altogether for support. I'm thinking that shouldn't be a problem. Correct me if I'm wrong on that. I made a few passes with it yesterday and I think the cut height will work for me. Cut quality is a little ragged but it seems to be knocking the tops off most of the ragweed which is my bigger concern.