Weather

[Ricard with an H]

Thanks, Geoff.

I think the chain harrow suited to my use would either be an old worn one or the multi-purpose type where you can just drag the chains rather than the spikes. Then you have the option using the spikes in aggressive or gentle mode. (Forward facing or backward facing spikes)

I'm not being a tight-wadd, I'm just broke this year at this time and I know there are old harrows knocking about going rusty that would suit my needs rather than me forking out over £150.

I tried dragging a pair of ladders behind the ride-on and whilst it worked to some extent I know when I'm wasting my time.

Best £50 this year ?

Rotosieve.

Thank you Geoff.

[oldherbaceous]

Still raining for the third day on the trot, now i am under pressure with all the lawns i cut....But i will do it.

[retropants]

Richard, have you tried ebay for the harrow?

[Ricard with an H]

Yes I have, the second hand ones seem to be more expensive than new ones and mostly the vendor doesn't want to be bothered with delivering because they are heavy items.

I can get a new drag matt or triple action harrow delivered for around £150 but right now when I need it the most we've been hit with some high bills for car repairs and maintenance.

I'll have to sit on it for the moment, we're going to the craft fair in Devon at the beginning of June so I'll keep my eyes on e-bay, if I spot a used one I can afford I'll hook a trailer to the van so I can pick up.

I bet that there are a lot of worn out chain harrows going rusty in the long grass that would be perfect as a drag-matt, maybe they are all being bought-up by equestrian users.

[oldherbaceous]

Afternoon Richard, i have had exactly the same problem as you. I have been on the look out for a cheap, heavy duty set of framed harrows, locally and at the right sort of price. Nothing has turned up, despite knowing lots of people in the farming circle. I think a lot of it is due to the amount of riding stables and hobby farmers around here. So in the end i bought a new set, and am now expecting loads of secondhand ones to be offered to me....

Hope something turns up for you.

[Ricard with an H]

I'm so happy that you have some experience.

I'm concerned about buying the very lightweight ones and also concerned about a heavy one. My ride on mower is a 14 HP twin. I want to tow something to scatter the cut grass that is left in a trail behind me.

I'm just doing a test with some willow bunches, these are having some effect but it's patchy and when you turn whatever you tow trails along the inside of your track.

[oldherbaceous]

Afternoon Richard, i certainly think a heavy grade chain harrow will rip the grass up a lot more than you need, especially if you are only trying to spread the grass cuttings. I think towing anything on a chain or rope will always tend to move to the side if turning. Using a header bar, with a chain or rope each end, going back to the draw bar might help a little. You might have to cut up and down in straight lines, just cutting round the field headlands in curves. Or just try harrowing in straight lines, across the rows of grass, this might spread the grass. At the end of the day, i think you will just have to experiment a little.

[peter]

Forgive me, I now have a mental image of Richard driving along with a jury rigged attachment on the back of his ride-on resembling the modern combine chaff cutter/spreader.

[oldherbaceous]

Us boys and our toys, Peter.

[Ricard with an H]

So funny Peter, if you only knew about obsessions.

Erm, well, it's not actually toys even though it's the same fun.

OH, do you think a lightweight drag-mat would do what I'm trying to achieve ? Will it bounce? Yes, I was concerned about ripping the turf though I was also concerned if I went much too lightweight. If I had a machine strong enough to pull if I would buy a three-way so I can rip the turf if I want but leave the ripping tines on top and just drag 60 kilos of chain around just to give those bloody a headache.

If if bounces around i'll get the same effect as with the willow. It stores some cuttings then releases them in mini-clumps.

I don't suppose I can expect a kitchen garden forum to produce an answer for me and though whilst that isn't a challenge I figure OH might have an idea.

Eventually.

[peter]

Richard, I think I do, my desk neighbour has OCD
Some of us envy your usable equipment, I seem to run a machinery graveyard.
I have four mowers, got rid of two last year though, all in various stages of ill health.
At one point I had five rotovators, three working ojes and two incomplete Howard Gems, I'm down to one working Merry Tiller Major and two Howard 350s one needing a rebuild(leaky gearbox amd ignition problems) and one with a carburettor air leak. But I do have for the 350s; a chisel harrow, a ridger and a complete ploughing kit
Four strimmers, one working, two broken and one dying. Plus one that got stolen last year.

My general mechanical ineptitude and lack of funds means these will occupy me for years!

Will I try to get some of them working without spending money, you bet, will I accept more mechanical casualties, probably, will I take anything to the dump, err why?

Forgot yhe poor starting 1987 storm bought Oleo-mac chainsaw.

[Ricard with an H]

Ahh, you understand ? But crickey, that is a lot of hardwear.

I'm known as, "Mower-man" just because I have three different grass cutting machines and vacuum cleaner man because I own three Dysons, a semi industrial workshop vacuum and three others.

They all work but not at the same time.

This grass cutting solution has been irritating me for years, the pick-up arrangement for that ride on is a rotating brush that throws the grass in a bag. I don't want to pick up and it's very time consuming though when the grass is growing at full speed our paddock is a mess of cut grass slime and dry grass cuttings.

I did a test, if the grasses are scattered evenly they dry quickly and dissipate quickly. Our paddock is too small for sheep though goats might work but to be honest I have enough work to do without taking on more to irritate these old bones.

Dose anyone have an idea about the best type of harrow or drag-Matt that would suit my needs ? The willow probably did a 50% job so would a cheap drag Matt suit my needs ?

[oldherbaceous]

Morning Richard, i have been thinking long and hard to give you the right answer. But since i have never used a set of harrows for just spreading grass, i'm a little dubious about an answer. So, i think i would be sending an email, or ringing a couple of the suppliers of the lightweight harrows to see what advice they can give. The heavy duty ones are more for rough field work that have very dense thatch or the fields have been poached, (cut up by animals feet when the fields are wet and soft) And of course they take a lot more pulling, so not sure if a ride on tractor would be up for that job, however big the horsepower is, as most of the horsepower is designed to go through the deck and not so much through the back axle.

If you do get any helpful infomation, please let us know, as i would be very interested.

[Ricard with an H]

Thanks OH, I had considered calling or sending an e-mail though I'm troubled by cynicism. How often are sold something quite unsuited to the application just to get a sale, ok, there are those who wouldn't dream of selling me the wrong item though plenty would.

We also have lot's of hobby farmers and some equestrian, in both cases these holdings would probably use either drag matts or harrows so there is a knowledge base for me to tap into.

I'll go to see the perfect person to give me help, a father and son team who still run a farm and supply everything from domestic mowers, nuts and bolts to smallholding machinery. In fact this pair of likely-lads probably have just what I want if they can remember where they put it. A friend took a mower for repair, the likely-lads lost his mower amongst all the mowers they have so they gave him another to keep him going. That mower still hasn't turned up as far as I'm aware. Having said that, these boys can diagnose a machine fault just by staring at it. I got a brand-new Harry mower blade from them, rare as hens teeth, they also have a new Harry deck with the handle, all the other parts have been used to repair Harry mowers.

It's a weird place to conduct a business and they can't possibly make a profit, last few times I went there they couldn't remember how much to charge me and it had to be cash. Sometimes you pay when your next passing-by.

[Geoff]

Is there a green keepers forum anywhere? I'm not a golfer and keep well away but surely they don't pick up on fairways. I guess they probably get round it with high frequency but you never know. I assume this troublesome area isn't the stuff you are feeding so generously with 6X - if so I'd stop that first.
I shouldn't have had that thought - there may be more like this http://grounds-mag.com/golf_courses/gro ... _fairways/