mowing on a severe slope
 

I have an embankment 60 metres long. The slope is approx 45deg. The
height varies from zero to 4.5metres, but is mostly 4 metres. The slope
is grassed, the grass having been planted the year before last. I now
have the problem of mowing. I've done it once with a strimmer and a
ladder, but never again! I've heard that it can be done with a hover on
a rope. Has anyone any good idea about this, other than mountain goats?

Bill

On 1 May 2005 18:40:32 -0700, "
wrote:

I have an embankment 60 metres long. The slope is approx 45deg. The
height varies from zero to 4.5metres, but is mostly 4 metres. The slope
is grassed, the grass having been planted the year before last. I now
have the problem of mowing. I've done it once with a strimmer and a
ladder, but never again! I've heard that it can be done with a hover on
a rope. Has anyone any good idea about this, other than mountain goats?

A Gravely 2 wheeled tractor (walk behind) with dual wheels is what I
used to use for steep mowing. I don't think I ever had to do 45º
though. If I had to do that, I'd probably try it angled to the hill
rather than sideways.

The dealer who sold me my Grasshopper ZTR mower had a bank behind the
shop that was darn near 45º and he mowed it sideways - in the morning
when there was still a little dew on the grass. It was an incredible
demo. I wouldn't have the courage to do it myself though.

RWL


******* Recreate gaps in email address to reply *******

wrote in message
oups.com...
I have an embankment 60 metres long. The slope is approx 45deg. The
height varies from zero to 4.5metres, but is mostly 4 metres. The slope
is grassed, the grass having been planted the year before last. I now
have the problem of mowing. I've done it once with a strimmer and a
ladder, but never again! I've heard that it can be done with a hover on
a rope. Has anyone any good idea about this, other than mountain goats?

Bill


well - it's not as technical as the other reply but my uncle upstate (who's
almost 80 now) has a front yard with a severe slope. He (and everyone that
lived on the hill) just did it with a rope. Doesn't sound like fun to me!

Buy a scythe?

wrote in message
oups.com...
I have an embankment 60 metres long. The slope is approx 45deg. The
height varies from zero to 4.5metres, but is mostly 4 metres. The slope
is grassed, the grass having been planted the year before last. I now
have the problem of mowing. I've done it once with a strimmer and a
ladder, but never again! I've heard that it can be done with a hover on
a rope. Has anyone any good idea about this, other than mountain goats?

Bill

I vote for the mountain goats...sounds alot less complicated, LOL!

Angie in the Boonies of East Texas

" wrote:

I have an embankment 60 metres long. The slope is approx 45deg. The
height varies from zero to 4.5metres, but is mostly 4 metres. The slope
is grassed, the grass having been planted the year before last. I now
have the problem of mowing. I've done it once with a strimmer and a
ladder, but never again! I've heard that it can be done with a hover on
a rope. Has anyone any good idea about this, other than mountain goats?

Bill

Consider replacing the grass with red fescue (Festuca rubra).
Unmowed, it is still attractive. You can also have it mowed once
or twice a year; for those few times, you can call in a
professional lawn service.

--

David E. Ross
URL:http://www.rossde.com/

I use Mozilla as my Web browser because I want a browser that
complies with Web standards. See URL:http://www.mozilla.org/.

I have an embankment 60 metres long. The slope is approx 45deg. The
height varies from zero to 4.5metres, but is mostly 4 metres. The slope
is grassed, the grass having been planted the year before last. I now
have the problem of mowing. I've done it once with a strimmer and a
ladder, but never again! I've heard that it can be done with a hover on
a rope. Has anyone any good idea about this, other than mountain goats?

Yup, perfect for a groundcover or three. Don't know what the
soils and rainfall patterns are like where you are, but using a variety
of species tends to protect slopes that might otherwise slide off in a
heap during heavy rainy seasons. The varying root structures appear
to be key to avoiding

Is this a cut slope or a fill slope or natural? Has anyone looked at the
angle of repose for this soil?

Kay

Betty Harris wrote:

wrote:

" have an embankment 60 metres long. The slope is approx 45deg. The
height varies from zero to 4.5metres, but is mostly 4 metres. The slope

is grassed, the grass having been planted the year before last. I now
have the problem of mowing. I've done it once with a strimmer and a
ladder, but never again! I've heard that it can be done with a hover on

a rope. Has anyone any good idea about this, other than mountain
goats?"

This is potentially VERY dangerous. There is no way you should even
attempt to mow this slope. Hire a Mexican to do it instead.

Nice. Instead of accepting the risk yourself, you would thrust the
risk on someone else merely because he was born in another nation
(a nation that occupied much of the U.S. south-west and Pacific
coast until that area was seized in an act of war).

No, my ancestry is not Mexican; it's east European. But I know
that Spanish was spoken here in California long before English was
spoken. Even Russian was spoken here before English.

If you live in California, Arizona, New Mexico, or Texas and meet
someone whose ancestry is Mexican, remember: His or her family
might have been living here long before your own family crossed the
Atlantic.
--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean
Sunset Zone: 21 -- interior Santa Monica Mountains with some ocean
influence (USDA 10a, very close to Sunset Zone 19)
Gardening pages at URL:http://www.rossde.com/garden/

David Ross May 3, 3:13 pm

Newsgroups: rec.gardens
From: David Ross - Find messages by this author
Date: Tue, 03 May 2005 12:13:49 -0700
Local: Tues,May 3 2005 3:13 pm
Subject: mowing on a severe slope




Nice. Instead of accepting the risk yourself, you would thrust the
risk on someone else merely because he was born in another nation
(a nation that occupied much of the U.S. south-west and Pacific
coast until that area was seized in an act of war).

No, my ancestry is not Mexican; it's east European. But I know
that Spanish was spoken here in California long before English was
spoken. Even Russian was spoken here before English.


If you live in California, Arizona, New Mexico, or Texas and meet
someone whose ancestry is Mexican, remember: His or her family
might have been living here long before your own family crossed the
Atlantic.



OK, OK. I get your point. The Mexicans were probably here before we
were. OK. Hire a ****** instead. They came along later. Is that OK
with you now?

Your friend,
Betty Harris

Betty Harris wrote:

David Ross May 3, 3:13 pm

Newsgroups: rec.gardens
From: David Ross - Find messages by this author
Date: Tue, 03 May 2005 12:13:49 -0700
Local: Tues,May 3 2005 3:13 pm
Subject: mowing on a severe slope




Nice. Instead of accepting the risk yourself, you would thrust the
risk on someone else merely because he was born in another nation
(a nation that occupied much of the U.S. south-west and Pacific
coast until that area was seized in an act of war).

No, my ancestry is not Mexican; it's east European. But I know
that Spanish was spoken here in California long before English was
spoken. Even Russian was spoken here before English.


If you live in California, Arizona, New Mexico, or Texas and meet
someone whose ancestry is Mexican, remember: His or her family
might have been living here long before your own family crossed the
Atlantic.



OK, OK. I get your point. The Mexicans were probably here before we
were. OK. Hire a ****** instead. They came along later. Is that OK
with you now?

Your friend,
Betty Harris



Shame on you! We call them, "People of Diversity." (write that down so
you remember it)

Whoever cuts the grass on a steep slope, they should use a mower with a
2-cycle engine rather than 4-cycle so it doesn't starve for oil and burn up.

Best regards,
Bob

zxcvbob wrote:
Whoever cuts the grass on a steep slope, they should use a mower with a
2-cycle engine rather than 4-cycle so it doesn't starve for oil and burn
up.

And they had better be bonded, and have workers comp insurance, or you can
kiss any equity in the property good-bye in the inevitable lawsuit when they
get hurt on your property following your direction.

--
Warren H.

==========
Disclaimer: My views reflect those of myself, and not my
employer, my friends, nor (as she often tells me) my wife.
Any resemblance to the views of anybody living or dead is
coincidental. No animals were hurt in the writing of this
response -- unless you count my dog who desperately wants
to go outside now.
Care for your landscape with Black and Decker cordless tools
http://www.holzemville.com/mall/blac...ker/index.html

Betty Harris wrote:

David Ross May 3, 3:13 pm

Newsgroups: rec.gardens
From: David Ross - Find messages by this author
Date: Tue, 03 May 2005 12:13:49 -0700
Local: Tues,May 3 2005 3:13 pm
Subject: mowing on a severe slope

Nice. Instead of accepting the risk yourself, you would thrust the
risk on someone else merely because he was born in another nation
(a nation that occupied much of the U.S. south-west and Pacific
coast until that area was seized in an act of war).

No, my ancestry is not Mexican; it's east European. But I know
that Spanish was spoken here in California long before English was
spoken. Even Russian was spoken here before English.

If you live in California, Arizona, New Mexico, or Texas and meet
someone whose ancestry is Mexican, remember: His or her family
might have been living here long before your own family crossed the
Atlantic.

OK, OK. I get your point. The Mexicans were probably here before we
were. OK. Hire a ****** instead. They came along later. Is that OK
with you now?

Your friend,
Betty Harris

No, you are not my friend. My friends are not bigots. In a moral
society, no level of discrimination -- no matter how small -- is
acceptable.

Maybe the sender of the original message in this thread should hire
a woman from Alaska with Bandini where her brains belong.

Don't worry. I won't reply to any more of your messages. All
messages from you are now filtered into my Delete folder before I
can read them.

--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean
Sunset Zone: 21 -- interior Santa Monica Mountains with some ocean
influence (USDA 10a, very close to Sunset Zone 19)
Gardening pages at URL:http://www.rossde.com/garden/

"Betty Harris" expounded:

OK, OK. I get your point. The Mexicans were probably here before we
were. OK. Hire a ****** instead. They came along later. Is that OK
with you now?

Troll. Ignore.

--
Ann, gardening in Zone 6a
South of Boston, Massachusetts
e-mail address is not checked
******************************

On 1 May 2005 18:40:32 -0700, "
wrote:

I have an embankment 60 metres long. The slope is approx 45deg. The
height varies from zero to 4.5metres, but is mostly 4 metres. The slope
is grassed, the grass having been planted the year before last. I now
have the problem of mowing. I've done it once with a strimmer and a
ladder, but never again! I've heard that it can be done with a hover on
a rope. Has anyone any good idea about this, other than mountain goats?

Bill
Once upon a time, when I worked in landscaping, we used small, light
lawnmowers attached to rope. We'd lower the mower down steep slopes
and pull it back up. That was before weed whackers.

Of course I was young and stupid back then, so what did I know? They
told me to do it and I did. It actually worked pretty good. I really
can't say as to how good of an idea it is.

I don't think I'd do it today, but then I'm older, wiser, and woosier
now.

Swyck