Need help in mowing for weed control

[si2305]

I have about 5 acres of grassland in southern Illinois. This was old pasture but has not been regularly maintained for about 10 years and the grass is thoroughly infiltrated by weeds--especially goldenrod. I was hoping to restore this land to a more grassy condition by mowing as I would prefer to not add herbicides to it. My question is when should I mow and how often should I do it? I currently have a small diesel tractor and a 4' bush hog. Any info you can give would be helpfull.

Thanks

SI2305

[twstanley]

Most likely you need to keep mowing this pasture every couple weeks or so, depending on rain, etc. Keep mowing the weeds down before they get a chance to produce a seed head and that will kill them off as the plant will spend all its energy trying to get to the reproductive stage. Also keeping the weeds trimmed will keep them from shading the grasses out. I have done this on our property and it has helped a lot. You might also consider doing a soil test and adjusting the PH and adding nutrients as needed.

[GaryM]

As twstanley said, just mowing, maybe 3" in height, will reduce the weeds in time. Even the ones that aren't dead will be a lot less unpleasant looking.