New Trails - Brush Hogged, Now How to Remove Small Stumps?

[christiansok]

I recently had my father-in-law bring his skid steer over with the brush hog attachment and cut some new trails through the woods at our house. The trails cut on one end of the property where there is more mature oaks were pretty easy to cut and the brush wasn't very thin at all. These don't need much tidying up. However, on another section of the property there was very thick brush/Poplar trees which made cutting the trail through initially difficult and left us with a ton of tiny 'stumps' (if thats a good word) poking up into the trail. They are all very small diameter and fairly short from brush hogging. I'd like to get the trails and clear and smooth as I can for walking and snowshoeing.

I've tried using the bucket on my tractor but it wasn't super effective at really digging in. Going along and getting caught on a larger (2 or 3") diameter stump just stopped the tractor in its tracks. I've also drug through some sections with a back blade to clear off some of the brush and debris left behind. While going through with the blade at an angle was pretty good at clearing debris it didn't really grab or pull up any of those tiny stumps. Does anyone have any suggestions for attachments or implements that may be effective at clearing them out? I'm not real familiar with what kind of tractor implements are out there but was thinking possibly some bucket teeth or debris forks would work for getting a little under the small stumps and roots. Or perhaps an implement for the back that would go under and help pull up the roots and stumps like a middle buster or plow of some sort?

Any tips/experience would be appreciated as well as some of the lingo for the different attachments just to see what is out there on the used market. Thanks.

 

[Peter 315]

Youu could try the Piranha toothbar.....BXpanded Piranha Toothbar

 

[bcp]

If you have a way to mount one or more, this may work:

cultivator sweep at DuckDuckGo

Maybe a rototiller.

Bruce

 

[cglaser104]

The quickest way? A forestry mulcher. You may be able to rent one of your FIL has a bobcat to power it.

If your looking to knock it out yourself the I'd suggest a toothbar and a loooots of patience. You could also keep it mowed and let nature take care of it over time.

 

[YLee Kioti]

for those small stumps, I've used the box blade.
Adjusted blade to dig in and the sharp edge would slice them off. Especially soft wood.

 

[christiansok]

for those small stumps, I've used the box blade.
Adjusted blade to dig in and the sharp edge would slice them off. Especially soft wood.

Did you utilize the scarifiers/teeth on the box blade or just the back edge?

 

[bearthebruce]

I have done our trail work with a ratchet rake on the bucket and a grader blade on the 3ph. It took lots of passes but digging the rake in and then dragging the rake over the stump loosened and then pulled the small stumps - up to 3 inch diameter. Ground was damp and soft.

Some stumps did stop the tractor. i often popped the bucket up and over the stump too. The grader blade also helped to pull and dig... It's slow going but it is going..

I don't beat the tractor up doing this. I don't want to bend or damage the FEL.

 

[Beaver Cove Deere]

How many are we talking about and in how big of an area?

 

[Ford850]

I'd get that skid steer back and use the bucket flat on the ground to sheer and pull out the mini stumps. That would be the quickest solution in my opinion, and then you can maintain it with your tractor.

 

[Mat4644]

Adjust your box blade with the blade touching and the rippers slightly down. Clear from both directions.