Clearing a new field

[merrickvilleguy]

well depending on how many little ones you have around you could chain grub them too ... I'm using 5/16" chain and can grub a bush of saplings 18" across easy enough ... but doing 1 or 2 at a time and the chain seems to slide right off

 

[LBrown59]

This is a field that I *remember* being planted in corn....that was about 30 years ago. Now there are trees, mostly < 4" all over the place. I used the backhoe yesterday
piece of 8" C-channel with a 'V' cut in it and a hole for a chain
so they really BITE . Poplar and cedar, not so easy.

I'm :laughing:

How big's the field?

 

[nebraskasparks]

Use a grapple!!!!
I didn't even know what a grapple was 2 months ago:confused2: Go and rent one on any machine and you'll find out why guys are in love with them. I've been digging out willow stumps 18"+, scrub hawthorn, maple etc... 4 inch trees don't even complain against a grapple. If you get tough roots...you simply use the grapple to unroot one side then switch to the other side then go for the middle. Done.
You can clear trees, rocks, you name it and build the biggest pile in the shortest amount of time.
Had I known about this device or had anyone recommended it years ago...I'd be a new man today!

 

[magicheater]

I do have a 35hp tractor. I DON'T have the $1K+ to add hydraulics and buy a grapple. I know that is the BEST plan, but I'm gonna have to make due with what I have, and can borrow.

Making do with what you have and finding creative uses with that is often good enough to get the job done. It is great to have the collective community here to offer suggestions on how. In the end it is your decision on how to proceed. Purchasing attachments is a tricky thing, and at best is based on how much overall use you will get from them. I have found that in the end the more specific the use, the more it sets idle, applies more often than not to persons not relying on the machine/attachment for revenue/sustenance. I have examples of that in my yard. Good luck with your project and hopefully you can find a way to use what you have creatively/efficiently so you are pleased with your effort in the end. Be thankful you have a tractor/loader!

 

[POC]

How big's the field?

The area I'm clearing is only about....30 yards wide and 150 yards long.
Did I mention this was for a rifle range?

 

[scoutcub]

If you can maneuver around the trees, I think the subsoiler or perhaps even a middle buster or bottom plow to rip the roots up might work....then shove with the loader into a pile...?

 

[rd_macgregor]

If/when you mow, I recommend that you mow fairly slowly. With a rotary brush mower, if you go too fast, you end up with punji stakes all over the place. When you go more slowly, the trees get pushed down, sliced off at an angle (which makes the punji stake), then cut again (maybe multiple times) closer to the ground before the mower passes on by.
If your mower is a flail, this isn't an issue.
BOB

 

[Highbeam]

A shooting range? Sheesh, that makes it way easier. Cut everything off at ground level with the rotary cutter or the chainsaw. Just low enough so that you can keep it mowed. Over time the little stumps will rot but who cares? They'll be low enough to shoot over and low enough to mow over.

 

[POC]

But I want to plant some clover or something in the area also for the deer...I guess I could still do that, and just work around the larger stumps.

 

[seymojo536]

That was one of my Grandpa's favorite sayings.

"Life's easier if you plow around the stumps."