My project: Reclear 4 acres

[krue]

Had it clear prior to Hurricane Katrina, 5 of my 9 acres. I've managed to clear the acre around the house, but now it's time to start on the mess in the backyard. It goes for about a 1000 ft up the hill with a couple of dozen trees scattered on the ground. It's gonna be a lot of fun clearing it with my MF135.

 

[1bush2hog]

Be Careful - Especially if those trees are laying across one another, or if you have leaners. There can be lots of unsprung energy just waiting to be released.

I am still cleaning up many trees on my property from the mess Ivan created 2 years ago. It's a lot of work but steady as she goes will eventually get er done. Make safety your first priority.

Good Luck!

 

[redlevel]

It's gonna be a lot of fun clearing it with my MF135.

What's the plan? That low green stuff looks like Privet. Are you going to try to mow it? A 135 and a 285 Bushhog will handle that, but you better be ready to keep it cut back for a couple of years or hit it with herbicide everytime it sprouts.

I have a big problem with invasives, notably Kudzu, Privet, and Chinaberry. Blown down trees just makes it more exciting to try to get in there and handle it.

Like 1bush2hog said, be real careful.

 

[krue]

Where in GA are you redlevel? My brother lives just outside of Cordele is why I ask. You've got a good eye, it's mostly privet with some sumac and briars thrown in for fun.
My plan is to bushhog as much as I can, then skid the trees that are on the ground out. After that I'm gonna rent a trackhoe or hire a dozer to get the stumps and the trees that are still standing but leaning or with the top broken out. Luckily I had it pretty much cleared before the storm went thru, so all the brush is only about a year old.

 

[Slamfire]

My project is a bit more modest. I've about a quarter mile of electric right of way that we cleared 10 years ago. Some of the populars were getting close to the wires, so I chain sawed the biggest ones, and bush hogged the rest of the brush. I ran across some cherry saplings in that jungle, but they are the wild variety that only produces berry sized fruit. I wondered where all the locust came from, there weren't any of those in there before.
Today I disked the part closest to the road and used the landscape rake as a harrow, to smooth the slope out a bit. I didn't have enough tilt adjustment to keep all the tines in the ground, but it is coming along. I did manage to break on of my gauge wheels, while backing up slope. Tomorow, I'll have at it again.

 

[krue]

When I get thru with this, then the fun really begins! I've got another 4 acres to clear, brush thick enough that I saw a snake back out of it.:lol: Really tho, when we surveyed the land lines for me to buy it (2 yrs ago) there were times when we had to cut a section out of a tree, pull it straight down and repeat several times to get it low enough to fall, we're talking thick! I cleared the 5 acres with a rental 35 hp track hoe in about 6 days, I had another day on the rental so I thought I would clear a fire break around the last 4, 2 hours later I had gone about 100ft and when I turned to go back I had to clear my way back out.:lol:

 

[krue]

BTW does anyone have a better way of getting the dirt (red clay) off of the stumps than with a pressure washer? They don't burn worth a flip with the dirt on them and I have quite a few to get rid of.

 

[wushaw]

Let the mud dry on the stumps then take BH or FEL and shake the tar out of em.

 

[krue]

Let the mud dry on the stumps then take BH or FEL and shake the tar out of em.

Unfortunately I have neither.

 

[Highbeam]

My excavator guy would actually split the stump with his excavator bucket to make the wood pieces smaller and to knock the clay out of the bottom. Then pick up and drop acouple of times. If you have a stump that looks like a big ball of clay and no way to split the stump then I would look into burying them somewhere.

If you get a big enough and hot enough fire then it will burn the stumps including the dirt. No little fires, it needs to be hot.