Both tractors are good choices , but if you are pulling stuff around a 500 series is much more heavy duty , if possible get a 54 inch deck. I personaly have a x534 with a 54 inch deck and it mows great , the tranny is a k-72 so it is more heavy duty . The important thing you said is work a garden the 324 I do belive doesnt accept a tiller like my 534 . I only bought mine to mow with and possibly a blower down the road. Ithink it is a big step from 300 to 500 series the 300s are like the old lx series which was a fine piece of machinery .I had one 16 years never a problem only regular maintainance the usual bearings in mower and drag links ever so often.I am sure you will get a lot of quality opinions on this thread the rest is up to you
SEMPER-FI and THANK YOU....

The X300 is a LAWN tractor and the X500 is a GARDEN tractor and that is one giant step UP the ladder.

The 48" and 54" mowing decks on the X500 do not have "timed" blades.

At 2-3/4 acres my property is just slightly larger than yours and like you, I have lots of trees. I also have some hills and other obstacles to mow around. I settled on a GX335 which I believe has been replaced by the X500 series tractors. I wasn't sure that I wanted a deck as large as 54" but the salesman told me I would not regret it and on my sixth season of mowing I'm so happy I took his advice. I think that the fact that the larger deck sticking out a little further away from the tractor actually makes it easier to mow up close to trees and such. And it also cut over an hour off the mowing time from the tractor I had before which had a 48" deck, though it wasn't only because of the additional 6"......it was just faster and more maneuverable too.

I got the mulch kit too with Gator blades and love it. It allows me to trim close to anything from either side of the deck. The locking differential really helps me on the fairly steep hills and also when I use the JBJr. scoop for moving gravel, dirt, bark or whatever.

Take a deep breath and go for the X-534. I'm on my second season of mowing around trees and hills without a single problem with mine. With the 54" deck and 4-wheel steering you can mow down to an 8" uncut circle. I really like the diff lock to get me out of slippery places I shouldn't have been in the first place. One caution with 4-sheel steering, try to avoid burning "tree circles" in your lawn with the outside rear tire. Turning too tight combined with going a little too fast and you'll rip the grass out by the roots.

hello my first time doing the forum i have a 2011 jd x500 i have the small plow and disk plow but they are craftsman both from before 1988 they still look the same as in the current catalog but will they hook up to the 3 pt hitch can i fabricate something

If those implements use a sleeve (Brinley) hitch then you can get the JD integral (sleeve) hitch for your X500 and they'll work fine.

If the implements are for class 0 or class 1 three point hitch
then they won't work cause there is no 3 point hitch for an X500

The standard differential lock on the X500 series and up can be an important feature that I dont believe is available on X300 series, but it's been a couple years since I looked at Deeres. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

grass1950,

This is a two year old thread.

Budcat hijacked this thread and asked a new question instead of starting a new thread.

Thanks justalurker, saw the month and day but paid no attention to the year.