Mowing a pasture full of goldenrod

[livemusic]

One of my woodlots has about seven acres in pasture and it has not been bushogged in years except for maybe a fourth of it. But even the one-fourth that was clipped last year grew up in goldenrod; it's just that the weeds on this part are not quite as tall as the rest of it. This pasture is covered in goldenrod and now they are mature. The plants are several feet tall, from 3ft to over your head. The seed pods are like fly-away cottony, fluffy thing that when you hit the weed, it throws countless of these fly-away seeds.

I want to cut this pasture and keep it cut but heck, this stuff is so thick, it concerns me for the tractor. I don't own a tractor but I am shopping and if I don't find what I want, I will have to rent one. But how can I ensure that the radiator does not become chockful of these floaty seeds? Hmmm... I first thought of attaching some kind of rod on the front of the tractor kind of like a spray rig rod (but it would need to be in front of the radiator), but I just thought of... if the tractor has a FEL, could you lower it in front of the tractor and kind of push these weeds over a bit, which will dislodge a ton of these floaty seeds... but I could go slow and maybe the wind would carry them away from the tractor? Any ideas?

I also thought that if you had a scythe style mower, if you could make that first pass around the perimeter, you could then position the tractor in the cut part and not be bothered by the floaty seeds, but I never see those scythe mowers anymore. I guess I could buy or rent one.

[thecfarm]

I have a screen in front of my radiator. All I do is stop and clean out that screen when the heat gauge starts to go up. Most times only twice when I am mowing. Now the wife mows once every couple weeks and that cured that seed problem.

[Southside]

If the tractor is clean and not a grease bomb then a battery powered leaf blower will knock the trash off the intake screen, if she is a grease bomb with no screen then you might be into an air compressor with a blow gun nozzle or even a pressure washer to clean the fins out now and then.  Should not be too much trouble with 7 acres.  If you get any wet moisture this time of year wait to do it right after that and things will float a lot less.  

Your bigger challenge is going to be what are you going to do to prevent the Golden Rod from coming back with a vengeance next year now that you have released it? 

[thecfarm]

Have the wife mow it once every 2 weeks.   :D
Just so all you know, the once every couple weeks was the wife's idea.
These are fields that we can see each and every day. It does look better when it's mowed.

[mike_belben]

Dangle a fencepost off the front bumper with chains to lay it to the ground ahead of the fans suction.  

Goldenrod is what is suited to grow there and heal the topsoil from past usage. Thats why its growing just that one thing.  If the dirt was any good itd grow a variety.  

Id crimp the goldenrod down and plant it to a cover crop blend to suppress more goldenrod if it bothers you.  Goldenrod is important to polinators, keep in mind. 

[SwampDonkey]

Goldenrod will grow about anywhere in these parts. I've seen it grow on clear cuts on wild ground along with lots of asters. ;D Run out ground up here is wild strawberry, short grass and devil's pain brush ground. If you've got big tall asters and goldenrod, it ain't run out. Just unkept. :D

[stavebuyer]

Most later model tractors have an easy to remove screen. The fluffy stuff can usually be cleaned off easy by a couple swipes by hand to keep you mowing. A more thorough job whenever you are around compressed air.

Always keep an on eye on the temp gauge. It will save you.

[livemusic]

Dangle a fencepost off the front bumper with chains to lay it to the ground ahead of the fans suction.  

Goldenrod is what is suited to grow there and heal the topsoil from past usage. Thats why its growing just that one thing.  If the dirt was any good itd grow a variety.  

Id crimp the goldenrod down and plant it to a cover crop blend to suppress more goldenrod if it bothers you.  Goldenrod is important to polinators, keep in mind.

This pasture was planted with fescue decades ago and alot is still there, but that goldenrod just took over in the past couple of years. When I get this clipped, I figure the fescue will flourish in some places. Got a lot of blackberry vines, too. And sweetgum!

[chep]

Goldenrod is highly alleopathic and releases chemicals to prevent anything else from growing. Thats why abandoned fields can stay to goldenrod for such a long time before tree species can colonize. Consistent mowing and soil disturbance can allow other seeds/species to colonize.

[customsawyer]

Mow in reverse.

[SwampDonkey]

I've had to bush hog in heavy grass in reverse direction.

Remember an old farm field I had to cross through to get to the back woods. The weeds, none woody stuff, was chest high. The place had a few pheasants on it. They could run and hide in that thick stuff. A man couldn't move his legs in there. :D

[chevytaHOE5674]

I mow fields of GR for people often. I just drop the mower down and go. If the temp gauge starts moving just blow out the radiator and continue on.

If you mow it often enough for a period of time usually other things will take over and the GR will slowly die out.

[Southside]

It's a good time if year to frost seed some clover into that field right after you mow it. A mix of red and a tall white variety like Ladino will help the soil get things going again. 3 lbs to the acre is all you need. 

[SwampDonkey]

Dad used to mow 3 old fields for the neighbors when we had cattle back in the 70's. They were just weedy fields. Cut and let lay, never fed to animals.

[Nebraska]

You might look at an offset flail mower that would get you at least driving on mown area,  plus lots that has been previously mentioned.  Crimping, seeding, air compressor ........

[charles mann]

Depending wind direction and my allergies, i usually drive into the wind, then shift to the side and mow in reverse. Keep the wind in a favorable travel direction to limit the lite stuff from getting into the rad. 
But you can, if the tractor you have to rent doesnt have a mesh screen, you can get some window screen and put in front of the rad and brush off when the temp starts to climb. 

[Joe Hillmann]

Put a screen in front of the radiator. And plan to clean it every 10 minutes.  And watch your temp gauge between cleaning.

I drove through about 100 feet of dry goldenrod this fall doing fences and in that short distance it was as if I had a sheet of felt over the radiator when I cleaned it.

[KEC]

Seems like an old piece of flyscreen and duct tape could get you by for a bit on the radiator. I can't help but comment, while tall weeds don't appeal to some eyes, those weeds are not all bad. Deer browse goldenrod and bed down in it and birds eat the seeds. Many songbirds feed on weed seeds in winter. Mowing keeps the weeds from maturing and going to seed. My neighbors' old horse pasture adjacent to my yard is choked full of Spotted Knapweed, which is generally regarded as bad stuff. Nobody told the goldfinches that it's bad and they eat the seeds. I counted 22 goldfinches one day and I'm sure there are more. The goldenrod get galls from a small insect and downy woodpeckers peck out the larvae. Just some stuff to think about.

[Wudman]

Just a side note......goldenrod is an intermediate host for a number of pine needle rust agents.  I planted a few old fields here on the farm and had a pretty extensive outbreak for a few years.  It is not usually a major issue, but was moreso for me as I drove through it everyday.  

Wud

[samandothers]

Could you use like a sickle mower or device that is off set to one side? Do one round then run the tractor in the already cut area, or go through the middle then work your way to each side?

[livemusic]

Could you use like a sickle mower or device that is off set to one side? Do one round then run the tractor in the already cut area, or go through the middle then work your way to each side?

Yes. I mentioned that when I said "scythe," I guess I was thinking of sickle. But I suppose just trying to shield the radiator with screen and keeping watch on the gauge is easier than finding a sickle mower!

[Walnut Beast]

If your able to do it physically get a good clearing saw. You can make short work of that.

[livemusic]

If your able to do it physically get a good clearing saw. You can make short work of that.

Seven acres? I do have a good one but that'd take awhile! I actually did a bit of this yesterday. I took my cordless hedge trimmer that you can adjust such that it is a scythe, and I whacked down some of this goldenrod in a small area and thought to myself how long it would take to do seven acres! A fraction of one acre would be daunting! But I'm old, lol.

[mike_belben]

Do you have an ATV?  They make tow behind, offset gas powered mowers that ride on 4 casters. You can even daisy chain them. I bet DR power probably makes one. 

[livemusic]

Do you have an ATV?  They make tow behind, offset gas powered mowers that ride on 4 casters. You can even daisy chain them. I bet DR power probably makes one.

Yes, I do, a Honda Foreman 500. I did look at those tow-behind mowers a couple years ago. Finally decided I just need a tractor. Which I still need, lol. I am shopping and dealing with no new inventory, backorders and then the flakes in the used market owners, it's a drag!