Mulcher for sagebrush on rocky ground?

[bcp]

This first.

Bruce

 

[scootr]

This first.

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Bruce

A guy can dream

 

[jyoutz]

A guy can dream

Depending on the acreage, a dozer with a brush rake blade can knock out the whole job in a day and hiring this out would be the best and probably cheapest approach. Then the land would be ready for maintenance with a tractor. Many loggers have small dozers with brush rake blades. They use them for piling slash. That equipment could remove both the brush and rocks.

 

[deserteagle71]

Some of the surface rock removed.

I've been removing "surface rocks" for 20+ years now. Frost keeps pushing them up out of the ground. But "surface rocks" is a misnomer. Only a few inches of these lunkers stick up out of the ground - just enough to destroy a mower. So I have to dig down and then lift them out.

 

[mikester]

Those break when you try to mulch large rocks.

You only mulch rocks with a forestry mulcher if you are looking to buy the rental company a new machine and be a Darwin Award winner

 

[jyoutz]

You only mulch rocks with a forestry mulcher if you are looking to buy the rental company a new machine and be a Darwin Award winner

Yep, I see them broken down in the woods regularly. Even the professional contractors hit rocks with them.

 

[Hay Dude]

I've been removing "surface rocks" for 20+ years now. Frost keeps pushing them up out of the ground. But "surface rocks" is a misnomer. Only a few inches of these lunkers stick up out of the ground - just enough to destroy a mower. So I have to dig down and then lift them out.
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Just like back home in PA!
Careful you don’t tweak your loader!

 

[Sierraau]

Rocks and cutters simply don’t work well together. A forestry masticator on a skid steer or excavator would work better, but large rocks would put those out of commission when the chipper teeth start breaking. With that size rocks, a small dozer with the blade held several inches above the ground would be the best option. After removing the bulk of the sage and maybe some rocks by pushing into piles or windrows, you might be able to use the cutter to finish the job and maintain the area.

Perhaps a rock bucket can be used to make the first pass to get all the rocks? The sage is shallow and will most likely be pulled up by the bucket (but I will need to sort the sage from the rocks so I can run over the sage with the mower and chop it up)>

 

[Sierraau]

Similar problems here. We modified an old BH, cut the blades down and added hardened 3/8 chain. It's been working like a charm. While I try to avoid the rocks, hitting them does not hurt the chains like it did the sharpened blades.

I like that idea. My two head mower is literally brand new, and I hate to mess with it, but if the chain works in it, maybe it would be a good idea. Is the deck deep enough to keep the chain from hitting it in the vertical plane?

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[Sierraau]

Fire.

That is the best way to remove sage brush. It's too bad you are where you are, that kind of prevents that.

If you want to tear equipment up, than go for it. Otherwise, manual removal is the second most cost effective way. It is obviously not the best at time efficiency.

We burn them here in Wyoming.

The original way I did it was with my backhoe. I'd pull the sagebrush out with the hoe, and move the rocks, but it is very tedious to do it that way. I am not as patient now (but I am very good with the backhoe).