ScottOkla
Silver Member
We have 150 acres of bottomland that we have been gradually clearing for the last 7 years, but we are only able to do a few acres per year. This is primarily made up of pecan trees and the occasional oak or ash, but which was not mowed in 20 to 30 years so there are many various seedlings and other brush that have taken over between and under the old, mature trees. It is almost entirely think brush now.
I would like to get this clearing done in a faster manner than I have been able to do thus far. Specifically, I have two areas of about 10-20 acres each that would be valuable to me cleared off. By "cleared off" I mean I want everything gone except the mature trees. Almost all of the trees to be removed are less than 12" in diameter. Most less than that. The rest is vines and underbrush.
Large equipment would not be able to do this work most of the year because of the damage caused in the soft soil. Usually July-October is the only time the ground will support large equipment without compaction. For this reason and and a few others, I have wondered whether mulching would be feasible. Since I want the mature trees left and everything else removed, it seems mulching might be more economical and beneficial to the soil than other options. I have read a lot of the the threads on this topic and it has peaked my interest.
I would appreciate opinions on how costly this would be to mulch and the best overall approach to take for this situation. I currently spend 20 to 30 days per winter running the chainsaws thinning the mature trees in the 80 acres we have cleared and also clearing new areas with our tree shear and grapple. I just don't want to take another 7 or 8 years to finish the remaining work. My father and uncles are really getting up there in age and I want them to see the place like it was when they were kids. It is a tough choice to make when weighing quicker/costlier vs. slower/cheaper.
I would also appreciate it if anyone has any experience with mulching contractors close to NE Oklahoma that they would share.
I would like to get this clearing done in a faster manner than I have been able to do thus far. Specifically, I have two areas of about 10-20 acres each that would be valuable to me cleared off. By "cleared off" I mean I want everything gone except the mature trees. Almost all of the trees to be removed are less than 12" in diameter. Most less than that. The rest is vines and underbrush.
Large equipment would not be able to do this work most of the year because of the damage caused in the soft soil. Usually July-October is the only time the ground will support large equipment without compaction. For this reason and and a few others, I have wondered whether mulching would be feasible. Since I want the mature trees left and everything else removed, it seems mulching might be more economical and beneficial to the soil than other options. I have read a lot of the the threads on this topic and it has peaked my interest.
I would appreciate opinions on how costly this would be to mulch and the best overall approach to take for this situation. I currently spend 20 to 30 days per winter running the chainsaws thinning the mature trees in the 80 acres we have cleared and also clearing new areas with our tree shear and grapple. I just don't want to take another 7 or 8 years to finish the remaining work. My father and uncles are really getting up there in age and I want them to see the place like it was when they were kids. It is a tough choice to make when weighing quicker/costlier vs. slower/cheaper.
I would also appreciate it if anyone has any experience with mulching contractors close to NE Oklahoma that they would share.