Brush, what to do with it?

[kthompson]

Smokeydog sure did not know your area had such a storm. Do some what of paying attention to your general area as we enjoy vacationing east of you. Glad the damage was not people. When our state was hit so hard by Hurricane Hugo in Sept of 1989 saw forest lost know would not grow back in my lifetime. Oh it is back to trees but not the massive ones. We drove out of Pigeon Forge the Wednesday morning hours before the wildfires really went wild. Last time there it was good to see the buildings that had been rebuilt, but scars of the fire were there.

I have spent many hours over the last twenty some years cleaning up my wife's family farmland. Only about forty acres but plenty rain and trees will take back a yard quicker then you can clean up a foot. It is amazing how fast trees will rot here left just piled. Early this spring did the most massive burn of cut trees have ever, as clearing up last of the over grown field land. Had local saw mill person hauThl off one load of fine hardwoods up to 30 inches in diameter and several loads of pine many 24 inches. Truck bed was maybe 20 feet and 8 ft wide with logs rounded over. Had that much of trash trees left to burn. Amazed me how well they burnt that size and only cut for 2 to 4 months. My typical cut and clear back method is cut or pull up the trees and place them back to let them rot and also the roots left. Has served me well. Just have to spray the brush that sprouts there so it does not become another item to clear.

 

[Smokeydog]

Update on the storm damage. Insurance pays to remove and dispose of trees on buildings. So I’m going to have arborists cut the trees insured and some out of pocket high bucket truck widow makers around the house. For me to grapple and transport the debris to the gully I make about $500/hour. Sadly insurance only covers $3,000 debris removal of the estimated $50-60k for someone to clean up the rest. Winched down the last leaning tree toward the house yesterday so we are safe. Slowly working on the rest as the heat, weather and yellow jackets allow. Some will wait for cooler weather.
Once again the gully tree debris composter proves it’s value.

 

[Diggin It]

That all sucks big time, but it just illustrates why I will not allow trees taller than the roof line within 30' of the house. I trimmed all of that out long ago. The little bit of shade a tree provides does not outweigh the potential for significant damage.


I have one very large Oak tree over the shed, but it would cost more than the shed to have it cut down. There is another very large Oak out front, but I **think** it's beyond the range of house damage. I can't afford to have that one cut either though.

 

[Richard]

I live in Greenback so am not so far from OP.

We've got a dry pond area that is dry 99% of the time until it rains HARD, then it will fill up to maybe 5' deep.....and slowly seep away.

I've got access to this area from all sides with my loader/backhoe so we just pile it up and burn.

You can see my backhoe (full sized industrial) in background for some scale.

(this large isn't common anymore, I try to keep them much, MUCH smaller)


I've had some decent sized fires here.

 

[Jstpssng]

This wasn't brush, but stumps and roots. In fall 2009 I had a 2 acre field reclaimed; first they cut the trees and chipped them, then came through with an excavator pulling the stumps and piling them.
Because the stumps were green, much of the top layer of topsoil went with them.

This year I finally bought a grapple and went into the first pile, expecting to find a bunch of stumps. Instead I found it all was nicely composted with a bit of rotten wood mixed in.
Every few days I spread a layer in my poultry pen. After the birds migrate to the freezer I'll work some lime in and plant a cover crop... next year I will use it in raised beds.

 

[crazyal]

Decades ago we had an ice storm that broke a lot of tree tops. I can't remember exactly but it was like 4 or 5 days straight. I still see damage to the trees from the storm. Glad you're ok but it does suck that you lost that many trees. That's what usually happens around here when you clear a lot in the forest. The trees didn't have to resist wind so they grew taller and faster than if they were out in a field.

I'm kind of like Gordon when it comes to branches. I've tried almost everything and now just make piles. Between the nutrients going back into the soil it also makes for great habitats for the creatures. Turkeys love to next in them and chipmunks also move right in. We have lots of owls, hawks and even Peregrine falcons so they keep the chipmunks in check.

 

[Jstpssng]

^^^^
That ice storm was in 1998.

 

[Smokeydog]

That on top of 20’ deep gully.

 

[compact]

Stack and burn. Had a bad windstorm, took 70 cord of downed trees, brush left at edge of drive. We stacked it with the mini-ex, 4 piles 15 feet high and 30 around and burned them one at a time. Guessing 70 foot flames. Lit from center with a non osha approved method (quart mild jug FULL (very important) of gas with paper plug, like a big moltoff, jug melts, flaming gas runs to bottom of pile, works on dry piles). Growing good grass where piles sat.

 

[sirigul]

For those without the luxury or space of relaxed burn bans, many roll-off places have a cheaper rate for "yard waste" that you can fill over a few weeks. I found this option cheaper and easier than a mega-chipper rental, especially with 20"+ half-rotten deadfall and lots of poison ivy in the mix.