You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
Export thread
Buying First Zero Turn or Stand on Mower...HELP
#1
E
edwa92
E
edwa92
I will be building on about 1-2 acres in the next few years and I am already researching what mower to purchase (probably can already tell I'm a nut). I've thought about the Scag Liberty Z as a top of the line residential mower and even jumping on a Patriot. I am also looking into stand-on mowers as well. I will probably finance as most dealers offer 0% 48 months.
My priorities:
-quality of cut/striping
-durability/reliability/longevity
I plan on taking care of this machine and am leaning towards commercial equipment the more research I do. Even though I work healthcare, I love lawn care. It's my hobby and stress reliever being an ICU nurse. I have many different dealers close to me (Scag, Ferris, Kubota, Gravely, Wright, etc.) Any recommendations are appreciated.
My priorities:
-quality of cut/striping
-durability/reliability/longevity
I plan on taking care of this machine and am leaning towards commercial equipment the more research I do. Even though I work healthcare, I love lawn care. It's my hobby and stress reliever being an ICU nurse. I have many different dealers close to me (Scag, Ferris, Kubota, Gravely, Wright, etc.) Any recommendations are appreciated.
#2
wrldtvlr
wrldtvlr
Would be helpful to know a bit more about what you plan to be mowing. Any slopes? If so, how steep? Golf course turf or wild grass? Trees or flower beds? Mole / squirrel mounds?
#3
M
mechanic mark
M
mechanic mark
I just got off the phone with my nieces husband Jeff. He & his dad own 30 Kubota ZTRS, all diesels. Jeff told me they just purchased 2 new Kubota ZTRS with striping kits & 5' decks. He will send me model number of new mowers & I will post them. What type of grass or sod will you be mowing? I would add Toro to your list as they own the XMARK brand now. I would read reviews, visit all Dealers & shops, get referrals if you wish, test drive all mowers operating all controls & decide which mower are you most comfortable with. Let us know how it goes, thanks edwa92. Mark
Kubota ZD1211 is the new ZTR mower with flat free tires available as an option.
Kubota ZD1211 is the new ZTR mower with flat free tires available as an option.
#4
C
cruzenmike
C
cruzenmike
You didn't give a budget, just your financing requirements which of course most brands will have. My vote is for the Exmark Radius E. A bit pricier than the competition, but excellent warranty, usually outstanding dealer support and if course great cut quality/striping. One thing to consider, while you don't mention it, is your property. If you don't have the land now, that might be worth thinking about as some mowers are not ideal for hills, or rough terrain. If money is no option buy the biggest, most powerful, most expensive machine that you can get. Once you spend towards of $10k, they are all pretty good machines.
#5
E
edwa92
There will be slopes, but nothing crazy. Should be fairly flat. I plan on seeding turf type tall fescue certified seed. The land I’ll be building on is currently being used for farming (corn).
E
edwa92
Would be helpful to know a bit more about what you plan to be mowing. Any slopes? If so, how steep? Golf course turf or wild grass? Trees or flower beds? Mole / squirrel mounds?
There will be slopes, but nothing crazy. Should be fairly flat. I plan on seeding turf type tall fescue certified seed. The land I’ll be building on is currently being used for farming (corn).
#6
E
edwa92
E
edwa92
Thanks for the reply. I’ll check into that as well. I will be seeding TTTF certified seed from my local site one.I just got off the phone with my nieces husband Jeff. He & his dad own 30 Kubota ZTRS, all diesels. Jeff told me they just purchased 2 new Kubota ZTRS with striping kits & 5' decks. He will send me model number of new mowers & I will post them. What type of grass or sod will you be mowing? I would add Toro to your list as they own the XMARK brand now. I would read reviews, visit all Dealers & shops, get referrals if you wish, test drive all mowers operating all controls & decide which mower are you most comfortable with. Let us know how it goes, thanks edwa92. Mark
Kubota ZD1211 is the new ZTR mower with flat free tires available as an option.
#7
E
edwa92
E
edwa92
I appreciate the reply! I’ll check into the exmark radius E. I’d like to spend max $7000-8000.You didn't give a budget, just your financing requirements which of course most brands will have. My vote is for the Exmark Radius E. A bit pricier than the competition, but excellent warranty, usually outstanding dealer support and if course great cut quality/striping. One thing to consider, while you don't mention it, is your property. If you don't have the land now, that might be worth thinking about as some mowers are not ideal for hills, or rough terrain. If money is no option buy the biggest, most powerful, most expensive machine that you can get. Once you spend towards of $10k, they are all pretty good machines.
#8
B
bertsmobile1
B
bertsmobile1
If they have been growing corn then you will need to build up the soil with a lot and I mean a real lot of organic matter like compost or mulch plus a year of a nitrogen fixing green manure like mustard .
Even if you have to pay some one to do it, it will be worth the effort in the long run.
Corn is very deep rooted and down here is often used to break up heavy clay soils or reactive flood plain soil .
For successful grass you need the soil to be biologically active in the first 3 " not at 12 " where the grass roots will never get to .
Then look at the shape
Again down here corn is planted on a plowed mounds with a drainage ditch either side to allow water to drain from the stalks and then penetrate deep down to the root zone
If this is just leveled you will have grass that will tend to have green & brown stripes that follow the original drainage ditches .
To make a good lawn on these fields you need to rotary hoe a good 8" to 12" then run a harrow over the plowed soil .
Then add the compost and hoe that in 3" to 4" deep
Follow this with the green manure , try for 3 to 4 crops
Then harrow again and plant your grass seeds .
Check with the local agriculture authority about the grass you are thinking about growing as you might also need to adjust the pH or change the seed mix.
Plant a seed mix not a single seed variety or you will end up with a seasonal lawn that is either 2" tall in season and dead off season .
if you take the time & effort to prepare the soil properly you will have a very healthy for decades to come requiring very little other than the occasional top dress & fertalise
Do it wrong and it will be a mill stone around your neck till you give up and get the whole thing concreted.
Even if you have to pay some one to do it, it will be worth the effort in the long run.
Corn is very deep rooted and down here is often used to break up heavy clay soils or reactive flood plain soil .
For successful grass you need the soil to be biologically active in the first 3 " not at 12 " where the grass roots will never get to .
Then look at the shape
Again down here corn is planted on a plowed mounds with a drainage ditch either side to allow water to drain from the stalks and then penetrate deep down to the root zone
If this is just leveled you will have grass that will tend to have green & brown stripes that follow the original drainage ditches .
To make a good lawn on these fields you need to rotary hoe a good 8" to 12" then run a harrow over the plowed soil .
Then add the compost and hoe that in 3" to 4" deep
Follow this with the green manure , try for 3 to 4 crops
Then harrow again and plant your grass seeds .
Check with the local agriculture authority about the grass you are thinking about growing as you might also need to adjust the pH or change the seed mix.
Plant a seed mix not a single seed variety or you will end up with a seasonal lawn that is either 2" tall in season and dead off season .
if you take the time & effort to prepare the soil properly you will have a very healthy for decades to come requiring very little other than the occasional top dress & fertalise
Do it wrong and it will be a mill stone around your neck till you give up and get the whole thing concreted.
#9
E
edwa92
E
edwa92
I’m not sure (since this will be my first time doing this kind of renovation), but you would think the soil would have a lot of good nutrients from it being used for farming. Either way, once we cleared out our section to build, I was going to get a soil test to check my pH and adjust accordingly. I was going to rent a bobcat tiller and then use a harrow to smooth it out. Then add LESCO CarbonPro-G Soil Optimizer w/ Mirimichi Green and repeat the process. Then spread seed and use a slice seeder to get in into the soil 1/4” to have good seed/soil contact and have a nice finish and then spread starter fert.If they have been growing corn then you will need to build up the soil with a lot and I mean a real lot of organic matter like compost or mulch plus a year of a nitrogen fixing green manure like mustard .
Even if you have to pay some one to do it, it will be worth the effort in the long run.
Corn is very deep rooted and down here is often used to break up heavy clay soils or reactive flood plain soil .
For successful grass you need the soil to be biologically active in the first 3 " not at 12 " where the grass roots will never get to .
Then look at the shape
Again down here corn is planted on a plowed mounds with a drainage ditch either side to allow water to drain from the stalks and then penetrate deep down to the root zone
If this is just leveled you will have grass that will tend to have green & brown stripes that follow the original drainage ditches .
To make a good lawn on these fields you need to rotary hoe a good 8" to 12" then run a harrow over the plowed soil .
Then add the compost and hoe that in 3" to 4" deep
Follow this with the green manure , try for 3 to 4 crops
Then harrow again and plant your grass seeds .
Check with the local agriculture authority about the grass you are thinking about growing as you might also need to adjust the pH or change the seed mix.
Plant a seed mix not a single seed variety or you will end up with a seasonal lawn that is either 2" tall in season and dead off season .
if you take the time & effort to prepare the soil properly you will have a very healthy for decades to come requiring very little other than the occasional top dress & fertalise
Do it wrong and it will be a mill stone around your neck till you give up and get the whole thing concreted.
#10
wrldtvlr
There's a lot more than pH to look at, and farming can definitely deplete soil nutrients. I would start with an inexpensive soil test kit, and then stop by with the results at your local ag extension office for some free advice. Otherwise you are just guessing and run a high chance of wasting a lot of money.
wrldtvlr
I’m not sure (since this will be my first time doing this kind of renovation), but you would think the soil would have a lot of good nutrients from it being used for farming. Either way, once we cleared out our section to build, I was going to get a soil test to check my pH and adjust accordingly. I was going to rent a bobcat tiller and then use a harrow to smooth it out. Then add LESCO CarbonPro-G Soil Optimizer w/ Mirimichi Green and repeat the process. Then spread seed and use a slice seeder to get in into the soil 1/4” to have good seed/soil contact and have a nice finish and then spread starter fert.
There's a lot more than pH to look at, and farming can definitely deplete soil nutrients. I would start with an inexpensive soil test kit, and then stop by with the results at your local ag extension office for some free advice. Otherwise you are just guessing and run a high chance of wasting a lot of money.
#11
B
bertsmobile1
B
bertsmobile1
My workshop is on the rural fringe , rapidly becoming urban of Sydney. I see this a lot where 1000 acres suddenly becomes 100 x 10 acre hobby farms / rural retreats.
The quality of the soil is very much dependent upon the philosophy of the farmer and weather they practiced chemical farming , seed + fertilizer = crop or regeneraive farming Graze crop fallow graze .
Lots of old school croppers just put the same crop in year in year out and ever increasing amounts of super.
Even worse they used the same mounds & drainage ditches so the soil becomes compacted and in particular the sub soil becomes compacted into corrogotions .
The old ditches hold water so the grass is always greener and grows quicker but the spots where the tops of the mounds have been removed drain quicker & die off at the slightest water shortage / heat wave.
Not a problem with lots of 5 acres or less because the developers usually scalp all of the top soil off the block and level before building then buy in new soil before the sale date .
So the owners of the problem blocks spend a fortune every year deep punching and knife slitting plus top dressing and ferterlising because they wanted an "instant lawn " and did not do the ground work to improve the soil first.
Add to that the old poor soils seem to forever be invaded by every lawn pest know to man and some not even known .
Good grass needs to be in sandy LOAM with at lest 20% organic matter .
If they were growing corn successfully then you will be looking at hot dry summers and unless there is good water retention you are looking at hundreds to thousands of gallons of water weekly ( do you have dam ? ) during the hot dry months . So plowing in tons of charcoal will greatly aid the water retention without making the ground swampy .
Soaking the charcoal in trace elements before plowing in will keep the trace elements available for decades .
Bio char is really just a wank and while it does improve the soil and in particular the fungial & bacterial content it is nothing like the hype the self appointed planet savers make it out to be .
Soil chemistry & biology has streaked away over the past 20 years but the old timers just kept on doing what their daddy did and the idea that there is more plant life under the soil than on top is totally foreign to them .
If I was in your shoes, the last thing I would be looking fro right now would be a striping ZTR, that comes in much latter.
Right now it is a sub- compact tractor , or stand on combination machine like small landscapers use . You can pick them up with all the gear, bucket, back -hoe, cultivator, post hole digger, cement mixet fork blades eic quie cheap second hand in the USA then flog it off when you have finished.
Build the house, lay out the house garden then work the rest of the soil from the house out to the boundary over a 3 to 6 year time frame to slowly create your lawn .
Otherwise you will end up a slave to 2 acres of weeds.
Also consider the strip & replace method preferred by the local property developers .
Soil retailers will usually do you a deal , particularly if they can strip off 12" or better the replace it with 1/2 the amount of top quality lawn loam.
FWIW, the farm my work shop is on is just under 1000 acres and the 3 of us mow it using 3 x 2000 series Cubs , mind you it is real pasture not striped lawn.
I mow 2 to 3 acres of road side verge with a variety of tractor mowers , mostly locally made ones from 24" 8Hp out front slasher ( goes under the bottom wire on he fence ) to a 36" 10Hp tractor
All of hem are better than 40 years old.
The quality of the soil is very much dependent upon the philosophy of the farmer and weather they practiced chemical farming , seed + fertilizer = crop or regeneraive farming Graze crop fallow graze .
Lots of old school croppers just put the same crop in year in year out and ever increasing amounts of super.
Even worse they used the same mounds & drainage ditches so the soil becomes compacted and in particular the sub soil becomes compacted into corrogotions .
The old ditches hold water so the grass is always greener and grows quicker but the spots where the tops of the mounds have been removed drain quicker & die off at the slightest water shortage / heat wave.
Not a problem with lots of 5 acres or less because the developers usually scalp all of the top soil off the block and level before building then buy in new soil before the sale date .
So the owners of the problem blocks spend a fortune every year deep punching and knife slitting plus top dressing and ferterlising because they wanted an "instant lawn " and did not do the ground work to improve the soil first.
Add to that the old poor soils seem to forever be invaded by every lawn pest know to man and some not even known .
Good grass needs to be in sandy LOAM with at lest 20% organic matter .
If they were growing corn successfully then you will be looking at hot dry summers and unless there is good water retention you are looking at hundreds to thousands of gallons of water weekly ( do you have dam ? ) during the hot dry months . So plowing in tons of charcoal will greatly aid the water retention without making the ground swampy .
Soaking the charcoal in trace elements before plowing in will keep the trace elements available for decades .
Bio char is really just a wank and while it does improve the soil and in particular the fungial & bacterial content it is nothing like the hype the self appointed planet savers make it out to be .
Soil chemistry & biology has streaked away over the past 20 years but the old timers just kept on doing what their daddy did and the idea that there is more plant life under the soil than on top is totally foreign to them .
If I was in your shoes, the last thing I would be looking fro right now would be a striping ZTR, that comes in much latter.
Right now it is a sub- compact tractor , or stand on combination machine like small landscapers use . You can pick them up with all the gear, bucket, back -hoe, cultivator, post hole digger, cement mixet fork blades eic quie cheap second hand in the USA then flog it off when you have finished.
Build the house, lay out the house garden then work the rest of the soil from the house out to the boundary over a 3 to 6 year time frame to slowly create your lawn .
Otherwise you will end up a slave to 2 acres of weeds.
Also consider the strip & replace method preferred by the local property developers .
Soil retailers will usually do you a deal , particularly if they can strip off 12" or better the replace it with 1/2 the amount of top quality lawn loam.
FWIW, the farm my work shop is on is just under 1000 acres and the 3 of us mow it using 3 x 2000 series Cubs , mind you it is real pasture not striped lawn.
I mow 2 to 3 acres of road side verge with a variety of tractor mowers , mostly locally made ones from 24" 8Hp out front slasher ( goes under the bottom wire on he fence ) to a 36" 10Hp tractor
All of hem are better than 40 years old.