Why and How I Made My Own Deer Hunting Food Plot Mower
It is a good idea to mow your food plots to a height of about 6" once or twice a season. This allows your perennials (like clover) to dominate over the weeds. My push mowers and rider, however, mow at a maximum of 4", and in uneven ground it is more like 3" - this is too low. To get the 6" height, you can use an ATV mower designed for this purpose which usually costs $2000 or more. Not able to spend that amount right now, I decided to mount my push mower on a frame and remount its large wheels to give me that height. Also, I made this mower so it could mow my trails on the way out to the food plot. I had the mower and wood, so the only cost was $15 of bolts, nuts, and washers. A video of my food plot mower in action is shown below. Also, instructions on how to make your own food plot mower and photos are given below.
How To Make Your Own Homemade Food Plot Mower
The diagram below gives the dimensions used for my mower. These dimensions may vary for different models, so you will have to adjust them as needed. For this mower, you will need a push mower with extra large rear wheels.
What you will need to do first is prop your mower up to the desired cutting height and remove the wheels. Then you will need to attach side pieces like my pieces A and B shown below. I used short blocks of 2x4's as spacers. Attach the sides A and B with bolts with thread matching your mower - your bolts should easily screw in where the wheels were attached. You then attach the sides C, D, and E as shown. I used long deck screws. Reattach your large mower wheels. I used 1/2" shoulder bolts (like these) with smooth shoulder that fit perfectly in my wheel bushings. Attach a 2x6 over the top of your frame (piece F) and then attach the towing assembly consisting of piece G and diagonal brace H. Then attach a hitch over the end. The top of you hitch needs to be about 16" up from the ground for use with an ATV. In addition to the diagram below, there are many photos shown below the diagram.
Notes: The food plot mower I made was designed to mow each side of an ATV trail. So you could mow one side of the trail on the way to your food plot in the woods, mow your plot, and then mow the other side of the trail on the way back. You could also attach your wheel to Side B and make your rig only the width of the push mower. The one drawback of this mower was that the ATV wheels tend to flatten down your plot, requiring you to make extra passes - this was not a factor when I used this rig as a push mower on smaller plot areas. And since you generally lack room to maneuver an ATV on small plots, this rig with its ability to be easily pushed by hand, proved to be the ideal solution for the smaller deer hunting food plots back in the woods.
