Overgrown Garden - How best do i cut this grass

harry999

Its about 1/4 acre of area - so not that large..

If I got a cordless one of these https://www.blackanddecker.ie/product/ph5551-gb/51cm-550w-electric-pole-hedge-trimmer

or a trimmers https://www.screwfix.ie/p/dewalt-dcm561pbs-xj-18v-li-ion-xr-brushless-cordless-trimmer-bare/703fy

Its currently too long for a lawnmower so I need to cut it bare before spring - but what tool would do this best ? Thks

Screenshot 2024-01-15 at 14.09.42.png

NIMAN

Strimming best option ok, but I would not want to be tackling any sort of large area with a battery one.

Hire a petrol one instead.

looksee

A black and decker anything would be useless on that area. You need something with a good deal more oomph, possibly a brush cutter - are there brambles? Certainly a professional quality one, as NIMAN says, hire one.

?Cee?view

What are you going to do with the area afterwards? Why not just kill it off with Glyphosate?

harry999

I would hope to sow a new lawn in april/may - if I spray with Glyphosate - would I not need to cut it also ? Thks

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121619357#Comment_121619357

You will need to cut it first and bag it

Best to rent a ride-on with collection and drop the blades to the floor to get the shortest cut.

Then kill the whole thing with roundup or something.

After 3 or 4 weeks you could reseed.

harry999

I would have thought this be too rough for a ride on - that I be better off cut with a trimmers - would I need to get the trimmers with the blade ? maybe one of these https://www.diy.ie/outdoor-garden/garden-power-tools/trimmers.cat?Navigation+type=Grass - which of these best ? Thks

?Cee?view

You’ll probably burn them out before you finish half of what you need to do. Go to your local tool hire place and ask them what they’d recommend. They might have a powered scythe or a brush cutter (although I believe they’re hard to hire with that head). A strimmer will break your heart as the “wire” will keep snapping on the rough stuff.

I think your need a petrol bushcutter strimmer like this

https://www.woodies.ie/procut-plus-43cc-bicycle-handle-straight-shaft-brushcutter-1133973

I'mnot saying that brand but you need something with a metal blade.and the power of a petrol engine.

harry999

Sounds good thanks

harry999

Would the grass need to be dry to use the bushcutter strimmer or not really matter ? Thanks

left_hander

If you want to cut it right to the ground you will need to get a silage contractor in and even they might struggle with this at this time of year!

I have been this soldier before (but I might be mis-understanding what you are dealing with, mine was just a completely overgrown lawn but it looked not too dissimilar after a, well, "biodiversity friendly" previous resident!). It is hard to tell from the picture but is that just an overgrown lawn originally or is it a farmers field?

If originally a lawn, I don't think you need to go nuclear - at least not until next year when you see what you have over the course of a summer first. Cut it back initially to a high level using a strimmer, just get one which takes heavy duty string (a thin one will break your heart) and cut it back to a length whereby the highest setting on a lawn mower (this could be trial and error.....) will be able to cut it. Then, for this year let it grow and keep cutting it on the highest setting on the lawn mower and see what your lawn looks like.

You might find that there is more decent grass in there than you think, and once the grass starts growing the weeds will die off OR you need to get a weed killer which kills weeds but not grass OR you just need to dig out the weeds where they keep growing.

If you decide at the end of the year that you don't like it or your lawn looks crap, then you plough it and re-seed it in the Autumn or next spring. If it is a farmers field, be warned that sowing a lawn in the Summer time can and probably will involve a lot of watering. Having done that with a small area, I can confirm it is a COMPLETE pain in the backside.

If it is a farmers field, how to cut it is largely similar, other than when you cut it you can keep cutting it shorter and then plough it up.

I'd be waiting until April unless we get a dry spell in March before tackling it, there is no value in going at it until it gets a lot drier than it is at the moment.

As I say, that's what I'd try but maybe I'm mis understanding the above picture! Hope this helps and apologies if I am mis understanding what you are trying to cut.

Best of luck!

left_hander

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121633550#Comment_121633550

I was being half tongue in cheek but I accept that might not have come across!

A topper might struggle with that depth of grass would it not? Mind you they've probably improved a lot from my memory of them.

A disc mower would be the job alright, I don't know if its in the countryside but a local farmer would probably cut that in no time and save him a lot of hardship, but depends if its an overgrown lawn or a field to be re seeded as to whether he wants to go that route.

LaimaSeysa4

Ordinary lawnmowers or streamers are useless here, very neglected area. You need a machine like a combine harvester

embracingLife

I know it's been a few weeks since you posted here but the best machine for this job can be hired from tool hires especially ones around the country as they are used to people with large sites/gardens.

It's generally called a "tall grass cutter",ask in the local tool hire centre

chrome_screenshot_8 Feb 2024 08_42_25 GMT.png

The one in the bottom left photo is a common one that's available.

I can assure it will shred all the vegetation in one cut.

But best advice is to walk through the area first - if you can - to check there's no stones lying around as these will break the blades.

embracingLife

Also you can get steel blades for strimmers and these are the best way to cut thick grass/briars like Op.

embracingLife

Others on here suggesting you ask a local farmer to cut it using their mowers are naive. No farmer will risk cutting unknown fields as the chances of loose stones are too high and unless the OP can guarantee 100% there's no stones, the farmers will not do it. The blades on farmers grass mowers are not strong enough to resist hitting stones & rocks and easily break. The hassle of replacing broken blades on mowers is costly and time consuming and best advice is not to annoying local farmers for this.

Then again a farmer might cut this grass but they won't chance breaking the blades on the mower and instead will raise the mower higher off the ground by about 6 inches or so and cut above this. Then you'll be left to cut the grass on the ground which is an easier job.

left_hander

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121738335#Comment_121738335

Your last paragraph was what I was suggesting, but might not have made clear. Get a farmer to cut it back to a manageable length and see then what you have.

embracingLife

Ok that's fine Left hander.

Also Op it's not practical to ask a farmer to drive into your garden/field in these months as you probably know the ground is saturated with water and tractor will plough up the place! Even the mower machine that you'd hire would get stuck too so depends on yourself how you get on etc