Need advice on how to clear 4 acres

[Reiz45]

Hello,
I need your advice on how I should go about clearing four acres of land. The land was harvested about 5 years ago. Since then, a few trees and bushes have regrown. I'm leaving all of the large trees in place (not many remaining), but cutting all of the small trees (no larger than 3" width).
I'm going to plant walnut and pecan trees once cleared, and also hunt the property.
How would you go about clearing it, and what tools/ tractors would you suggest? Note: I don't own any tractors, other than a riding lawn mower, so I'll be renting the equipment.
Thanks.

 

[jeff9366]

Rent a mini-excavator to remove stumps of trees.

Much faster than a tractor or tractor-backhoe.

U-TUBE VIDEOS: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=removing+tree+stumps+excavator

 

[newbury]

I'd suggest a credit card. Hire a good guy w/ a dozer and he might be done by lunch.

What can you hunt on 4 acres?

Make sure the trees you leave are worth it. Nothing worse than battling weed trees from seeds of trees the loggers didn't want.

 

[Jaeger]

I agree, hire someone to do it.

He'll have the right equipment, and experience to keep it from becoming an enduring project for you.

 

[newbury]

4 acres that looks like the pictures, even with minimal equipment, is not that difficult to clear. But it is work. If the OP has a decent paying job he should hire someone who does it for a living and get on with life.

The tools needed for quickly clearing land are different than those needed for raising walnuts and pecans for the first 40 years.

 

[Gary Fowler]

For that undergrowth and likely high stumps, get a mulching machine. They can grind up the shrub trees AND the stumps so it will be bush hog safe in the future. 4 acres will likely just use up the minimum hours charged.

 

[MMagis]

Another vote for hiring it done. It won’t be done well or efficiently with only one piece of equipment. A few guys with the right equipment will be in and out of there in a week or less.

 

[ch1ch2]

You probably can do it with a brush hog. But I vote for hiring it done.

 

[smstonypoint]

Another vote for hiring out the job.

It's hard to tell, but it looks like the last photo was taken in the fall/winter. If so, the small evergreen bushes may be Chinese (or Japanese) privet -- a major pain in the you-know-where. Mulching alone will result in the stems resprouting with a vengeance. I expect you would get some regrowth if you use a bulldozer or track hoe, but the regrowth will be less than with mulching alone.

You have a good excuse to buy an ATV (or UTV) and a 12-volt sprayer for spot spraying of privet and other plant pests before and after you plant your trees.

Steve

 

[truckdiagnostics]

4 acres that looks like the pictures, even with minimal equipment, is not that difficult to clear. But it is work. If the OP has a decent paying job he should hire someone who does it for a living and get on with life.

The tools needed for quickly clearing land are different than those needed for raising walnuts and pecans for the first 40 years.

I like this answer, I have managed to rationalize in my silly brain, if I do it myself I can buy XYZ equipment and the money I save will pay for it. If your not working you might come out ahead. I bought back hoe for my skid steer used it then repair/rebuilt it and now worth more than I paid. It was however lot of work, and if I included my labor chances are it was a looser. You can also rationalize buying more tools this way.