Cutting Tall Grass

Ivor_Guddon

as the title says

back garden has grass about 3ft high

whats the best way to cut this ? would a strimmer be better than a lawnmower ?

looksee

Yes.

Padre_Pio

How big is the garden?

ELM327

Strimmer. I let my garden go wild all last year to encourage more growth and replenish balance etc (and it worked), but I'm still strimming it all back! (C 1 acre!)

looksee

In fairness, to expand on my previous post, you will need both. Strim it then mow it on high and again on lower settings. It will look terrible initially but will improve to something reasonable pretty quickly.

victor8600

I would use a handheld scythe, then the lawn mower. The advantage of the scythe is that it cuts the grass cleanly and does not spray bits of grass onto the walls of the back garden.

Padre_Pio

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122164740#Comment_122164740

I suppose you have to buy a scythe and learn to use it properly. You can rent a decent strimmer.

magicbastarder

yeah, you could easily bugger your back up if using a scythe for the first time. it's a nice idea but not worth investing unless you reckon it's a long term investment.

victor8600

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122164910#Comment_122164910

Yes, all tools require skills to use them properly. I went through two petrol strimmers before getting a scythe to manage paths on a 1 ac wildflower/shrub site over the years.

On the other hand, it is much easier to rent a strimmer for a once-off clearing.

Mailman98

I have about half an an acre of very tall grass to cut. I'd be afraid I'd damage my strimmer with it. Does anyone know of any shops that stock scythes?

looksee

Read the previous comments - a scythe needs practise. If you have a half decent strimmer it should do it - slowly possibly but you have to learn to use the scythe so probably the same length of time. If your strimmer is the 'trim the edges of the lawn' type consider hiring one. We cut down tall grass with a strimmer and there is no problem.

aidanki

Would a long reach hedge cutter be suitable for this, or will heavy grass just ruin the blades in a short time.

Was trimming medium grass along an embankment with a powerful maryuama trimmer and it worked fine, just not the easiest on my back bending constantly, it got me thinking about a long reach hedge trimmer.

Machine like this can swivel the head to make it similar to a sythe if you like https://www.howdentools.com/product/kawasaki-27cc-hedgecutter-gclr273r?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjw4MSzBhC8ARIsAPFOuyXlGD1uQHuJU4TnhNwZUYeC8dR_yHH6MlkMw36VsgUwOtQIjUAOh0caAonNEALw_wcB

Jim_Hodge

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122275269#Comment_122275269

You'd be better to get a petrol strimmer, with a solid blade, designed for the job than getting that.