donaldj
Bronze Member
Hi all, Don here.
Got 13 acres in a town just outside of the Detroit area, with 10-acre+ lots all around me. We just got our house built on it in March, and are now starting to enjoy the self-sufficient homesteading experience (subdivisions with HOAs suck!!).
We're fortunate in that our house was built on a lot that previously had an apple orchard, and we have approx 20 apple trees. They're very overgrown now so begins the long process of reining them back down to a usable size.
The lot is mostly unfinished. We had 3 acres cleared so we could build on it, and I'm in the process of cutting the undergrowth from another couple acres around the orchard (lots of wild grass, grapevine, and Asian Bittersweet vine). It's also been a bit of a chore uprooting all that vine so the apple trees recover a bit. I've basically been ramming all the vine with my front end loader and uprooting it. =)
We have about 6-7 acres of wooded land. I'll eventually make a walking/riding path through the woods to hunt from and so my wife and son can enjoy it.
Additionally, we have a 600 foot driveway or so out to the main road.
Ended up getting an LS XR3135 with a front end loader, pallet forks, rotary cutter, box scraper, landscaping rake, rear blade, and subsoiler.
So far the tractor has done everything I've asked of it, including some massive tree moving. We're heating with an outdoor woodburning boiler that goes to a basement in-slab radiant floor. So far, I estimate 5 full cords of wood needed a year for heat, and am trying to get 1-3 years surplus. Firewood gathering and handling is going to be one of the bigger functions for this tractor once the initial grounds are tamed.
Anyways, I'm enjoying the site immensely, and most assuredly because this isn't just a tractor-gear site, but lots of sharing in the know-how behind their use.
Got 13 acres in a town just outside of the Detroit area, with 10-acre+ lots all around me. We just got our house built on it in March, and are now starting to enjoy the self-sufficient homesteading experience (subdivisions with HOAs suck!!).
We're fortunate in that our house was built on a lot that previously had an apple orchard, and we have approx 20 apple trees. They're very overgrown now so begins the long process of reining them back down to a usable size.
The lot is mostly unfinished. We had 3 acres cleared so we could build on it, and I'm in the process of cutting the undergrowth from another couple acres around the orchard (lots of wild grass, grapevine, and Asian Bittersweet vine). It's also been a bit of a chore uprooting all that vine so the apple trees recover a bit. I've basically been ramming all the vine with my front end loader and uprooting it. =)
We have about 6-7 acres of wooded land. I'll eventually make a walking/riding path through the woods to hunt from and so my wife and son can enjoy it.
Additionally, we have a 600 foot driveway or so out to the main road.
Ended up getting an LS XR3135 with a front end loader, pallet forks, rotary cutter, box scraper, landscaping rake, rear blade, and subsoiler.
So far the tractor has done everything I've asked of it, including some massive tree moving. We're heating with an outdoor woodburning boiler that goes to a basement in-slab radiant floor. So far, I estimate 5 full cords of wood needed a year for heat, and am trying to get 1-3 years surplus. Firewood gathering and handling is going to be one of the bigger functions for this tractor once the initial grounds are tamed.
Anyways, I'm enjoying the site immensely, and most assuredly because this isn't just a tractor-gear site, but lots of sharing in the know-how behind their use.
