Mesquite Removal with a root plow question (San Antonio, TX Area)

[lostcreekranch]

The Texas A&M / Agri-Life Brush Busters is an excellent resource. Brush Busters « Texas Natural Resources Server Sent from my iPad using TractorByNet

Also recommend that you get to know your county Texas Agrilife Agents in Seguin. Most have regular new letters with information pertinent to your local area.

Here is link to get contact info for agents in all Texas Counties. AgriLife Extension County Offices | Just another WordPress site

These ladies and gentlemen are a great resource for us.

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[tacboss]

I also own a small 80 acre place near Eldorado, Tex. that had mesquite I wanted to remove.
I use the "Monster Tree Saw". It cuts flush to the ground then I spray the stump with Remedy as per Texas A&M university.
I've had great results with almost zero regrowth.

 

[bikenraider99]

Appreciate all the feedback folks!

@ two_bit_score: Thanks for the welcome, and you were right, I got some good feed back and other ideas. I actually never thought I'd come back to Marion, but life has a funny way of working out sometimes. I used to train here (riding bikes and running) and it's crazy to see how much the area has grown up. 15 or so years in Houston makes one appreciate the country life even more

@txdon, bcp, Ed of all trades, ustmd: Appreciate the feedback. What I was looking at was definitely a root plow and not a ROOT PLOW. Bill's Tractor supply in San Antonio carries a model close to it on their site for about $1K. I'm sure it's a good tool, and after reading some of the comments and my own research, think it's not right for me. I am seeing a pattern to outsource the job because I don't have the right tool for it, which is cool, it happens like that sometimes. I also don't want to have buyer's remorse and get a tool that isn't going to do the job or bust my tractor up and frustrate me.

@rlgustafson, jeff9366, tacboss: Thanks for the references and tips. I had been reading a lot about handling mesquite, and it seems to be a beast all of it's own. I want to stop it from taking root and think I'm catching it at the right time. Time, patience, and planning is what it looks like it's going to be.

*Update* With the ground being moist, I took a chance and was able to knock down and haul off, root and all, 2 of them and a bunch of saplings with the tractor. One more got pulled out of the ground with a chain and truck after I dug around it. That was enough for me; no stranger to hard work, but there comes a time of diminishing returns. Plus I had to get hauled out of the mud by my dad who is not letting me live this down. If he had facebook, me stuck in the mud would be on it! I think my next steps will be to get one of the local companies to come out and give an estimate on getting some of the bigger trees out. I'm okay with that because I think it'll pay dividends in the long run. Gives me more time to concentrate on some of the other projects I have for the property.

 

[C4Ranch]

Is this what you're looking at?

Jones Machine Shop

Why not spray?

 

[jeff9366]

Here is an interesting LINK with lots of vender references: Controlling Plants Mechanically

 

[tonyoz]

The university of Texas, Dallas campus helped the develoment of the Mesquiite Grubber that fits on an excavator and have had some good results. Saw it on UTube some years ago.

 

[STx]

Our place is in Duval County, which is Mesquite Central. They're all we have for "big" trees so I mostly mow around them and keep them but the few that I've mowed over clearing just grow 20 new seedlings from the root in a month or so. Continued mowing will eventually control them.

For full removal of bigger trees, I'd agree with the suggestions of either getting an excavator or dozer with a deep root plow or cutting flush to the ground and using Remedy/diesel to kill the stump. The big trees have EXTENSIVE root systems and getting them completely out with a SCUT is not likely to happen. One little piece of root and you will get a new tree from it.

 

[Bill Stecik]

That is what I think of when you say root plow . I can稚 imagine anything smaller . We have used a pull scraper with the bottom cut out . It works great.

 

[txdon]

I had some mesquite very near the water line and used the Remedy/diesel mixture. Each time about half would come back I'm on my 4th spraying now (in two years) hopefully in the spring I'll have less than a dozen left to spray. My neighbor had some large mesquite trees that he sprayed on the stump once 3 years ago and now it looks like 90% have come back.

If the ground is wet and has some amount of sand a deep tooth grapple could also work.

 

[tacboss]

I found that it is very important to spray stumps almost immediately after cutting to get a good kill.
Soak the entire stump paying attention to getting plenty of chemical around the bark edge.