How Often Do You REALLY Need to Mow? Field and Pasture Management 

I got about 5 acres that was nothing but bushes and weeds when i bought it. I started mowing every week for one season to kill the weeds and bush. Now i just mow every other week sometimes 3 weeks and the grass is growing good.

Beautiful place! I'm in the southeast so can't speak to the native plant ecosystem inn the PNW, but worked in that area for years and am a big native plant, budding botantist here. I will say your field is thriving with grass choking out the natives so you done good thus far. Aeration in May-June and again in Sept-Oct with perhaps a spreader behind the aerator putting out a basic (aka, CHEAP) balanced fertilizer mix would work further wonders. You can either grow grass or kill weeds, but not both at once! If your soil PH needs it, then lime with trace elements in it in Dec or Jan would boost the whole ecosystem... perhaps DRAMATICALLY. I put lime on our place the first winter and the grasses went crazy choking out all the junk after their spring fertilizer which balanced out the Ph. Then I did the basic Ortho weedkiller spray on the spring survivors which just accelerated the goodness to the point that the worst broadleaf stuff disappeared. Now my neighbors praise my lawn... But that couple of acres was a complete mess when we moved in. Oh, and BTW, you can bushhog with a cheap used lawnmower on the edges of your field. It's unmanly the first time, but it works and it's cheaper than diesel and you can push back the weed pressure on the edges. Blessings!

Great video and comparison. I have a old pasture area that I mow 1/3 of about every 2 weeks that is closer the house and buildings. It is mostly 100% thick grass. The other area of the same pasture I mow every 3 or 4 months and it covered with invasive weeds. Enjoyed the video.

Thanks. I pull a Rhino TS10 at 10" height usually every 4 wks or so, razor-sharp blades, low PTO RPM & higher gear - fast & works great over 30 acres of pastures. Grasses able to keep invasives in check. As always, thanks. God bless you & God bless America. TFS

Thanks for the video! We bought 13 acres in Indiana and are building on it this year. Eventually I will need to learn to maintain the land.

Thanks for the info. i've been mowing yearly on some of my roughage if you will. i can see doing it every month Wish i could afford a flail mower as you can cut it a little shorter or get a more even cut on the grasses. Plus it cuts vines and saplings better.

Grass heads out once a year, legumes once a month or so... so think about a plants vegetative stage vs its reproductive stage, the majority of growth happens in the former.... continuing to cut grass before it heads out for the year will not allow it to reach that reproductive stage, forcing it to keep growing rather than stalling out to make seeds