Buy Tractor And Mower or Skidsteer and Mulch Head?

[Eagleview]

For a block that size and if the rows are a 8' both ways i would buy a narrow version of these Roller Choppers and a tractor with a blade and armoured tyres or tracks and keep on truckin . After you have knocked it all down , then put a fire through it and not before as you will need the small stuff to help keep the fire going . It would be done in weeks not years .

 

[cbturf]

MM I disagree, I think that my 140 will do the job much faster and cheaper than a skid steer. If you meant track type machine then I will refund your $.02 otherwise you owe me another nickel. IH I do not think that would work because of root damage to the trees. The long term goal is for those trees to be harvested for lumber and they can not afford to loose any crop trees. Pine Straw is this your plantation or are you leasing it from the timber growers?

 

[Amer Pine Straw]

I'm leasing the land. The stands have been pulled from their rotation and are now dedicated and exist only for pine straw production.

These are great ideas. Keep them coming please! Thanks to everyone!

 

[cbturf]

My point was that they are not your trees. I bet that in 30 years or so they will be back in rotation when lumber prices go back up and they are large enough to harvest.

 

[Treemow]

I think for pine straw production the area would most definitely have to be back drug.I don't think you would want to leave 12 - 24 inch material just laying.It wouldn"t bale well.

 

[Tony Puckett]

I have cut almost seventy acres of planted pines with an RC 100 and Timberax. Some was thick and some was not so bad. I averaged about one acre every 1.75 hours.

Tony

 

[Amer Pine Straw]

So probably any piece of equipment is going to leave large enough sized mulch material that I will have to remove it? It won't lay flat, it will be varied size chunks and pieces? My hay rake adjusts at either end by 1/16" each turn of the crank. I like to leave some sort of litter layer as a moisture barrier if I can. I always leave old straw on the floor for this reason.

We definetly don't want to even stress the trees if possible, lots of good points.

 

[Amer Pine Straw]

What are the differences between carbide head and cutting head?

 

[yellowdogsvc]

I have cut almost seventy acres of planted pines with an RC 100 and Timberax. Some was thick and some was not so bad. I averaged about one acre every 1.75 hours.

Tony

That would have to be some thin material to get that production out of a CTL

 

[yellowdogsvc]

So probably any piece of equipment is going to leave large enough sized mulch material that I will have to remove it? It won't lay flat, it will be varied size chunks and pieces? My hay rake adjusts at either end by 1/16" each turn of the crank. I like to leave some sort of litter layer as a moisture barrier if I can. I always leave old straw on the floor for this reason.

We definetly don't want to even stress the trees if possible, lots of good points.

Check out an FAE with trap door. You can get really fine shreds.