Hey All,
I have been struggling this year to control broadleaf weeds in my clover plots. There is some chicory in the plots so I was hoping to avoid having to use 2-4DB as I believe this will kill my chicory. I was hoping to use my lawn mower to cut before we get some rain to set back the weeds and allow the clover/chicory to respond to the rain by outgrowing the weeds and shading them out. Sadly this hasn't worked and I'm fighting weeds left and right.
Right now my problem is, my mower can only cut at a max height of 4" and I want to find a way to cut at 8" or higher to avoid over-mowing my clover/chicory and setting it back. I have a couple of ideas and wondering if anyone else has a different (less expensive) solution or if I have to bite the bullet and just use chemicals. I do have a tractor and a brush hog, but they are not stored at my house or land and it will not be feasible to do so for a few years.
1. Find a cheap riding lawn mower and put on larger tires to raise the mower deck and keep it up north. I am anticipating running into steering issues on the front tires and the rears may rub against the mower deck, so unless I find a perfect older model I will have to find someone to do some metal fabrication to make it work.
2. The pull behind mowers would be great, but used ones are $1800 and new ones are over $2500 where I can find them, so that is a no-go. For that price, I might as well try to find a used 8n and park it up north (I wont be afraid for this to sit outside) and use my brush hog on it.
3. Get a used walk-behind DR brush mower/string trimmer and put larger wheels on it to raise the cutting height. However, the clover plots are spread over 35 acres and that's a lot of pushing, especially when the temps are higher.
4. Just bite the bullet, use 2-4DB knowing that my chicory will die but at least my clover will survive.
Any other thoughts or ideas that anyone has seen or used in the past with this? All help is appreciated, thank you!
I have been struggling this year to control broadleaf weeds in my clover plots. There is some chicory in the plots so I was hoping to avoid having to use 2-4DB as I believe this will kill my chicory. I was hoping to use my lawn mower to cut before we get some rain to set back the weeds and allow the clover/chicory to respond to the rain by outgrowing the weeds and shading them out. Sadly this hasn't worked and I'm fighting weeds left and right.
Right now my problem is, my mower can only cut at a max height of 4" and I want to find a way to cut at 8" or higher to avoid over-mowing my clover/chicory and setting it back. I have a couple of ideas and wondering if anyone else has a different (less expensive) solution or if I have to bite the bullet and just use chemicals. I do have a tractor and a brush hog, but they are not stored at my house or land and it will not be feasible to do so for a few years.
1. Find a cheap riding lawn mower and put on larger tires to raise the mower deck and keep it up north. I am anticipating running into steering issues on the front tires and the rears may rub against the mower deck, so unless I find a perfect older model I will have to find someone to do some metal fabrication to make it work.
2. The pull behind mowers would be great, but used ones are $1800 and new ones are over $2500 where I can find them, so that is a no-go. For that price, I might as well try to find a used 8n and park it up north (I wont be afraid for this to sit outside) and use my brush hog on it.
3. Get a used walk-behind DR brush mower/string trimmer and put larger wheels on it to raise the cutting height. However, the clover plots are spread over 35 acres and that's a lot of pushing, especially when the temps are higher.
4. Just bite the bullet, use 2-4DB knowing that my chicory will die but at least my clover will survive.
Any other thoughts or ideas that anyone has seen or used in the past with this? All help is appreciated, thank you!
