New Pasture Saplings

   / New Pasture Saplings #1  

DB1200

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Apr 11, 2021
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35
Tractor
David Brown 1200
Hello all, Me and my wife bought our place about six years ago. There was about five acres that had been clear cut by the previous owner. He let it grow up and by the time we got it, it had grown up a lot. We hired a forestry mulcher to come in and clean it up. In the process of harrowing it and getting it ready to seed. My question is there are so many maple and gum saplings that just keep on coming back. I brushhog them as low as I can and just keep cutting them but they always come back and then some. What is the best way to take care of them?
 
   / New Pasture Saplings #2  
2-4-D,2-4-5T,Roundup or other brush killer PROPERLY and Carfully applied.
#1 Most things will be killed,including the neighbors tomatoes if wind blows it over there.
#2 Timing is important for best results. Early growing season when growth is vigorous and there's moisture in the ground and no rain predicted within 24 hours. Do not get overanchous with brush hogging after spraying but if spots of green reappear after a month,brush hog and watch for new leaves. If new leaves appear,let them grow a week or so before retreatment.

3/4/5 and 6 Read the label,ALL THE LABEL before use.
 
   / New Pasture Saplings #3  
I bought a tree puller. Roots and all the rest. Use it to clear the field, then sell it for what you paid, sort of like a Case 580 backhoe that leaks oil, starts hard, and needs tires. Only may need it for a month. Then sell it.
 
   / New Pasture Saplings #4  
You'll probably laugh, but if it's fenced off, and fence is pretty decent get 3-4 goats. They love to eat on things like that, to include poison ivy, briars, and any broad leaf plants other livestock won't eat. Environmentally friendly, no chemicals, and fertilize you pasture at the same time. Amish do it all the time to clear entire overgrown farms.

I had 4 at one time for the same reason. They cleaned up a good sized patch of poison ivy, multiflora rose, and a lot of broadleaf plants the horses don't eat. Ples ate along underneath the fence making trimming around the fence a lot easier. They eat off new water sprouts as soon as they appear, eventually killing them. Many the first year here, during the summer dry spell. A lone Dog Wood tree was the only unintentional casualty. Apparently, they love the taste of the bark and girthed it, killing it.
 
   / New Pasture Saplings #5  
Good old fashioned hard work. Pull them out. Avoid the chemicals if you can. While you pull out what is there, fertilize the grasses to out-compete what you don’t want.
Poultry litter, composted leaves, etc.
Use money to hire local help to pull them out instead of chemicals. Once you get them cleared, use a no-till drill and rill in some grasses that flourish in your area. Might be endophyte free fescue, reeds canary grass, brome…

Where you live will determine best grass.
 
   / New Pasture Saplings #6  
It kind of depends on what you want all 5 acres to look like. If you think that you won't need to mow again if you get rid of the sapling stumps, you're mistaken. If you want it to look like your front yard, you might as well do what Dude said. Other brush and saplings will find a way to start growing if given a chance. I don't know where you're at, but around here, I would mow it about 4 or 5 times in the summer with the bush hog.
 
   / New Pasture Saplings
  • Thread Starter
#7  
Thanks for the help. I think the main problem is that when the where mulched up the stumps where taken down to ground level and wherever there was a stump I get stands of sapling trees. I could try pulling them but would have to pull the stumps which is out of the question. I might try spot treating with some brush killer after I have cut them off and see if that decreases them. I'm just looking to make it usable pasture land. The land for many years will never be good for hay production. Just wanting to use it as another place to put cows to give my other pastures a rest.
 
   / New Pasture Saplings #8  
I run Irish Dexters and they are almost as effective on that stuff as goats. Recently my bull has taken a dislike to small cedar saplings and is shredding them every chance he gets, I welcome the help. Almost anything within their reach is eaten, including multiflora rose. The do draw the line on PawPaw and are not at all fond of clover. They are carving more pasture out of thick forest every year.
 
   / New Pasture Saplings #9  
2-4-D,2-4-5T,Roundup or other brush killer PROPERLY and Carfully applied.
#1 Most things will be killed,including the neighbors tomatoes if wind blows it over there.
#2 Timing is important for best results. Early growing season when growth is vigorous and there's moisture in the ground and no rain predicted within 24 hours. Do not get overanchous with brush hogging after spraying but if spots of green reappear after a month,brush hog and watch for new leaves. If new leaves appear,let them grow a week or so before retreatment.

3/4/5 and 6 Read the label,ALL THE LABEL before use.
I am also a chemical guy. Fortunately I have a good friend that is in charge of the chemical applications on a 25,000 acre row crop operation. He's my go-to guy.

He recommended "Remedy" to me for brush control. Last year I sprayed 15 acres of CRP that had some problems. It killed the woody plants with no damage to others.

Roundup is primarily a "grass" killer.

2-4-D is primarily a "broad leaf" killer.

Remedy is primarily a "brush" killer.

Combine all three and you leave the ground bare. I use that combination when spraying the influent/effluent ends of road culverts.
 
   / New Pasture Saplings #10  
Thanks for the help. I think the main problem is that when the where mulched up the stumps where taken down to ground level and wherever there was a stump I get stands of sapling trees. I could try pulling them but would have to pull the stumps which is out of the question. I might try spot treating with some brush killer after I have cut them off and see if that decreases them. I'm just looking to make it usable pasture land. The land for many years will never be good for hay production. Just wanting to use it as another place to put cows to give my other pastures a rest.
Invasive trees thrive on man's attack. Pulling the tree or mulching the stumps simply aggravate the root system and it flourishes because it no longer has to feed a standing tree. Honey Locust are a good example of this. They go crazy!!!

Treating the stumps after cutting is a solution. For a multitude of small trees scattered over 5 acres will require a LOT of time. And the treatment needs to applied the moment you cut the tree. For small trees, 3-4 inches in diameter, I've drilled a 3/8" hole into the base of the standing trunk and squirt it full of chemical. Let the live tree suck the chemical down into the root system and kill it.

I'm absolutely not a fan of a tree shear. All they do is create a disaster. Especially if clearing 4-8" trees. Cedar stumps will last a decade or more before they finally rot away.

For spraying chemicals on a standing tree, "Remedy" works the best for me. You can gain some effectiveness if you mix in some 2-4-D. And that mixture won't kill your grasses. Some people recommend mixing with Diesel Fuel but that tries to kill everything it contacts. I also discovered from my friend last year that Remedy will kill lespedeza.

For stump treatment I use Tordon RTU. I also have some pelleted Tordon but rarely use it. Excuse my faded Tordon bottle, it rode in the chain box most of last Summer.



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