GirlWhoWantsTractor
Platinum Member
- Joined
- Apr 25, 2015
- Messages
- 948
- Location
- The Mountains of Virginia
- Tractor
- 2018 Mahindra 26XL HST, Husqv GT48XLsi & YTH48LS
Been at this off and on for 5 yrs. 12 acres of steep, pretty woods w/ some rare plants/trees/amphibians but overgrown with skinny poplars that shoot up 60-80 ft tall then fall over, creating impassable tangles of trunks. They had already shaded out and killed the rare red pines (still hoping to find one left someday) and were crowding the chestnuts and wild cherrys. So some thinning would help this forest but there was a lot I wanted to preserve if possible.
First, I think it helps to plan some. Think about how (and if) you want to use different parts. Don't want to start thinning and realize you're no longer screened from a road or a neighbor. Can't put it back.
As far as selectively thinning tall saplings, we did hundreds of them and for 2" saplings IMO the trimmer with the sawblade attachment is quick and easy, esp on hills and esp if you want it cut close to the ground. Chainsaw very difficult because you're cutting sideways and either leave too much stump or get your chain in the dirt. Above a certain height, the trimmer becomes too dangerous IMO as you have little control over the fall. In fall-winter-spring with no leaves, even a 60 foot sapling is pretty light. Just twitch it out by hand to the nearest path where your equipment awaits. Cut in half if necessary for transport. When you have a dozen or so, throw a rope or chain around the trunks and tow them to your burn pile. THEN buck them, or just cut the tops off and burn/chip those and use the long skinny poles for projects. Quickest, least destructive method IMO. Do one area at a time. Clear the deadfall first, then the smallest brush/saplings, then step back and have another look and select a few larger trees to clear, and so on, until you get there. As an alternative to burning, I rented a huge tow-behind chipper that you could feed an entire tree up to 6" thick and it chipped a 40 footer in less than a minute. Nice bonus--ended up with a compost pile the size of a school bus. This is a Very Dangerous Machine and I hired a crew to work it.
If you want paths, try using existing deer paths plus any remnants of former farming/logging paths--less work, less destruction. Then minimal scraping to keep them clear for walking/tractoring. Overhangs are trimmed, and since people walk there, some deadwood is cleared on the sides. A deadfall off to the side can be picturesque, or ugly. If ugly, it is removed. I do any path scraping mostly in winter so as not to scrape off the moss, tiny ferns, and wood violets that grow over the paths starting in spring.
Consider leaving some areas untouched, maybe with a small footpath nearby. Many critters prefer dense undisturbed forest. The yellow-billed cuckoo, the whipporwills, the wood thrush (my favorite), flying squirrels, and who knows what else, which is the point. My farmer neighbor did some extensive logging along his fence lines last year and I haven't heard the cuckoo or seen a red squirrel since. The edges where this untouched forest meets open grass, yard, driveway, I keep looking neat by removing deadfall and dead lower branches, but just on the edges. Quick work, and improves the appearance enormously while leaving the interior untouched.
If you have large swaths that need clearing, at least consider hiring it out. I chose one area approx 1/8 acre at the bottom of the ravine closest to the house to be cleared so some ponds could be dug and you could stroll around and enjoy it (project #1, year #1). This area was completely cleared, regraded, replanted, re-landscaped, etc., etc. This was a big, fairly dangerous job that made sense for me to hire out, including an extra man to buck everything; all done in a matter of hours. That's the downside of the "push it all down" method; it's a lot of work to restore to looking semi-natural, if you care about that, and that was my job.
When using the push-over method for just one or two trees, I like to rake up the duff first and set it aside; then once the tree is gone, fill & level the hole then rake the duff back over the area. Prevents erosion and looks natural.
Big stumps should be hauled away IMO unless you don't mind dumping them somewhere on your property and they don't seem to rot very fast (5 years later, still intact). They will not burn (surprise) we had huge bonfires hot enough to smelt iron and they just will not burn, at least not when fresh. And will ruin your chain fast; very dense stuff and often surprisingly contain rocks that the tree grew around, and bits of old barb wire fence too. Ugh. $90 per load to have them hauled away; best money I ever spent.
Can't say it enough: tree-work is sooo much easier late-fall through late-winter, for so many reasons..... You can see better, no underbrush to snag, no poison ivy or bugs, the critters are hibernating, a bonfire is welcome in winter--hellish in summer, and I swear a young tree is half the weight leafless.
(Before everyone kills me, remember I'm talking about minimally invasive methods in hilly, dense forest.)
