Clearing Help

   / Clearing Help #1  

PForce

New member
Joined
Jun 2, 2012
Messages
1
Location
Scotia, NY
Tractor
Kubota B2320
I just bought 6 acres, and have started clearing 3 of them. I had to machete through some very thick brush just to start some inroads away from the road just to get some room to work. Now those areas are full of short, very thin brush stubs. You can see some of the pictures here:

1JuneClearing2.jpg


1JUNClearing.jpg


What would be the best way to clear out those stubs and the underlying, very extensive root structure? Rototiller? Maybe box blade? Something else?
 
   / Clearing Help #2  
Get a "brush grubber" and pull it behind your tractor with an 8' section of chain to yank the stumps out one by one. It would have been a lot easier if you left 18-24" of stump height to help leverage them out. I don't know if those little stubs will have enough meat or leverage. I think the lowest stump I yanked out with a brush grubber was about 12".

If you had a big tractor and a stout box blade with rippers, you could maybe attack the stumps and roots from the ground. But from experience I will tell you that they can be a lot tougher than you'd think, and you may run into traction limitations real quick. If they have taproots, they can be tenacious.

If all else fails, bigger equipment on tracks can probably clean up the stumps and roots with no problem.

Be aware that the more ground disturbance you create, the greater the side issues/responsibilities regarding erosion and sedimentation control. Your locailty may even have rules about this. Here, I can only disturb up to 2500 sq. ft before requiring land disturbance permits, erosion/sedimentation plans, and silt fences. It's a real pain. So plucking stumps on a limited basis really keeps the ground together and keeps me out of trouble.

Good luck!
 
   / Clearing Help #3  
I've had luck using a Stihl brush cutter with a toothed blade attachment (look like a table saw blade). It allows for cutting the little f'ers off close to flush to the ground. If your not in a hurry, mow the area for a couple of seasons and they will be just a fond memory.
 
   / Clearing Help #4  
With brush that small I think I would have just bush hogged it. By keeping it down they will just rot away.
 
   / Clearing Help #5  
I do those with a brush grubber. Half the time I pull the whole tree first and cut the stump off later (easier that way I think). I hook up to the hooks on my FEL and use the hydraulics to pull them if they are fairly small (up to 2 inches in diameter). If they don't come out that easy, I can usually drive forward and snap some roots to make them more cooperative (up to 4 or 5 inches diameter). I can then shake the FEL and release most if not all of the dirt hung up in the root ball. Pulling the roots does a couple things that are important to me: it keeps them from growing back (like Ash does), and doesn't leave behind any "toe trippers". It also makes it easier to work the soil afterwards if I want to level out an area that is lumpy (which it will be after pulling a bunch in close proximity). Stumps wider than that or are more stubborn get the backhoe treatment.

If you have an extra set of hands for operating the brush grubber, this goes very quick, or you could get the kind that attaches to the FEL and is operated via a cord from the seat (lot more $, though).

If you aren't as worried about walking the area and just want it cleared, I would agree with the brush hog method. Doing it the way I do and seeding afterwards gives you something you can mow with a regular mower.
Hope that helps.
 
   / Clearing Help #6  
We just use a rotary cutter and mow low, so you don't have anything left to puncture tires.
 
 
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