Clearing slash & stumps from logging for Horse Pasture

[MossflowerWoods]

OK I have begun the work with my grapple and my new tractor. I have a couple specific questions.

Background:
The situation is I logged in Nov '10, it was pretty clean, but there is a fair amount of slash and many stumps. I have a professional with a 300hp Franklin Mulcher coming 10/23 to grind most stumps down to the dirt level (currently ~3" to 6"). I am clearing the loose stumps, slash piles, rotten trees, etc. in order to make their grinding more efficient and therefore I get more acreage mulched in less time by them.

My questions are:
1) Burn or "Compost"? So as I am collecting stuff into piles I can grapple and move I need to decide if I'm going to burn them, or take them to the edge of the forest and just leave them to rot.

2) If Burning small piles more often, or large piles less often?
2a) If burning, how much do I need to prep the "burn area" to prevent fire spreading?

3) if Burning - What precautions do I take to prevent the fire from speading to my Tree Crop? Or my house! Can I limit myself to a fire a couple buckets of dirt from my FEL will put it out?

4) if composting slash in the edge of the forest is there a best way to do this anyone can point me towards?

5) Do I just move it all to the edges and deal with it after they come and grind? It will be easier to have a burn pile etc on the ground stumps?

Thanks in advance!
Be well!
David

 

[tcartwri]

Quite honestly, the best way to do it is to have a dozer come in with a ripper blade and pull out / push everything into a pile all at once. I can't imagine how tedious it would be to use a stump grinder for that kind of work, plus the stump is still mostly there and will eventually rot into a void that would be a serious hazard for a horse. We had 14 acres of scrub and saplings cleared in one day, and the land was leveled and readied to plant hay on the second day. We just left the brush decay at the end of the lot. It didn't take very long at all.

 

[MossflowerWoods]

Quite honestly, the best way to do it is to have a dozer come in with a ripper blade and pull out / push everything into a pile all at once. I can't imagine how tedious it would be to use a stump grinder for that kind of work, plus the stump is still mostly there and will eventually rot into a void that would be a serious hazard for a horse. We had 14 acres of scrub and saplings cleared in one day, and the land was leveled and readied to plant hay on the second day. We just left the brush decay at the end of the lot. It didn't take very long at all.

Tim,
I had a long thread where TBN users educated me and helped me decide what path to take clearing this area. http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/rural-living/216379-what-best-way-clear-5-a.html

Thanks,
David

 

[tcartwri]

Oops... I read stump grinder and stopped.

I don't think you will have a whole lot to clean up after that thing goes over your land! :laughing:

 

[fishfactor]

Don't take this the wrong way, be we often find that when customers try to save hours by doing stuff before we get there, it ends up taking longer. That mulcher should go through brush and slash very quick. Just leave it spread out, not in piles. A good mulcher will go over the entire area with the machine. Probably once forward and 1 or 2 times backwards. The stumps will be what takes the time. Most slash will be mulched on the fly and make very little difference in the total hours unless you have a ton of it. Mulching it will also give you a good erosion barrier.

I can't speak for the company you have coming, but for us piles slow things down. We almost always unstack them with a skid steer and feed our big mulcher. Problem is, when you try to mulch a pile, all of the mulch from the stuff on top ends up covering up the stuff on the bottom making it hard to get to. We use a skid steer with a grapple to unstack the pile. Our Gyro Trac can mulch the slash about the same speed the skid steer can unstack it.

Be careful with burning. The danger is usually not from the pile spreading, but from tiny embers floating off and landing in dry brush, leaves, grass. These embers can be very small and travel a pretty good distance. You must take humidity, time of year, and wind into account. The first 2 are easy, but the wind is unpredictable.

 

[palmettobrush]

Fish I think this is a job for the soil stabilizer

 

[lduren]

Quite honestly, the best way to do it is to have a dozer come in with a ripper blade and pull out / push everything into a pile all at once. I can't imagine how tedious it would be to use a stump grinder for that kind of work, plus the stump is still mostly there and will eventually rot into a void that would be a serious hazard for a horse. We had 14 acres of scrub and saplings cleared in one day, and the land was leveled and readied to plant hay on the second day. We just left the brush decay at the end of the lot. It didn't take very long at all.

Hello Tcartwri, That is very interesting about a dozer being able to work 14 acres per day. I read on other peole saying that a dozer would do faster for smaller trees. add to the fact that in my area if our equipment value grand total costs over $25000 then we pay tax on the equipment. That makes it much more economical to hire someone to bulldoze it, along with something like a 50 horsepower tractor to help move things out of the way, I think.

 

[MossflowerWoods]

Don't take this the wrong way, be we often find that when customers try to save hours by doing stuff before we get there, it ends up taking longer. That mulcher should go through brush and slash very quick. Just leave it spread out, not in piles. A good mulcher will go over the entire area with the machine. Probably once forward and 1 or 2 times backwards. The stumps will be what takes the time. Most slash will be mulched on the fly and make very little difference in the total hours unless you have a ton of it. Mulching it will also give you a good erosion barrier.

I can't speak for the company you have coming, but for us piles slow things down. We almost always unstack them with a skid steer and feed our big mulcher. Problem is, when you try to mulch a pile, all of the mulch from the stuff on top ends up covering up the stuff on the bottom making it hard to get to. We use a skid steer with a grapple to unstack the pile. Our Gyro Trac can mulch the slash about the same speed the skid steer can unstack it.

Be careful with burning. The danger is usually not from the pile spreading, but from tiny embers floating off and landing in dry brush, leaves, grass. These embers can be very small and travel a pretty good distance. You must take humidity, time of year, and wind into account. The first 2 are easy, but the wind is unpredictable.

fishfactor,

They asked me to claen up the area they are to work in, I'm removing the piles, the dead trees and slash so they can grind more stumps, and finish more total acreage for me. This plan came because they suggested it because my cash to pay them is limited, and I need the most done as possible so myself and my new stump grinder are only working on an acre or two of the pasture space, and the trails, and not on the entire thing.

Make sense?

I'm trying to figure out how to deal with the debris I am removing from the area to be mulched with the 300 hp Franklin so it is NOT in the way.

Thanks,
David

 

[MarkV]

I was going along with fishfactor and just figured the mulcher could take care of everything. Sounds like for economics you are spending all this extra time to clean things up. I use to burn and in the right conditions was not worried about a fire getting away. In some areas the volunteer fire department will assist as practice. Now a days I just push things to the edge of the forest. It makes great habitat for little critters and generally rots away in 3 or 4 years.

MarkV

 

[MossflowerWoods]

I was going along with fishfactor and just figured the mulcher could take care of everything. Sounds like for economics you are spending all this extra time to clean things up. I use to burn and in the right conditions was not worried about a fire getting away. In some areas the volunteer fire department will assist as practice. Now a days I just push things to the edge of the forest. It makes great habitat for little critters and generally rots away in 3 or 4 years.

MarkV

MarkV,

I think that is what I will do also. In addition to putting in pasture, I am planning to keep some, or many of the "trails" the loggers cut when thinning my timber. some for fire access roads, and some for horse/mtn bike riding trails. I like to "edge" some of the trails with the deadfall trees and such to better demark the trail in the dark when I'm creeping out for hunting. I also plan to put a few food plots in so the deer will stay vs transit on my property.

Burning something bigger than I can put out with a hose and a bucket full of dirt scares the crap outta me honestly. So shoving it all into the edge of the forest makes good sense to me.

Soon as I can get rolling I will try to add pictures and show my progress.

Thanks to all-o-y'all for the good advice.:thumbsup:
David