New Trails - Brush Hogged, Now How to Remove Small Stumps?

[christiansok]

I recently had my father-in-law bring his skid steer over with the brush hog attachment and cut some new trails through the woods at our house. The trails cut on one end of the property where there is more mature oaks were pretty easy to cut and the brush wasn't very thin at all. These don't need much tidying up. However, on another section of the property there was very thick brush/Poplar trees which made cutting the trail through initially difficult and left us with a ton of tiny 'stumps' (if thats a good word) poking up into the trail. They are all very small diameter and fairly short from brush hogging. I'd like to get the trails and clear and smooth as I can for walking and snowshoeing.

I've tried using the bucket on my tractor but it wasn't super effective at really digging in. Going along and getting caught on a larger (2 or 3") diameter stump just stopped the tractor in its tracks. I've also drug through some sections with a back blade to clear off some of the brush and debris left behind. While going through with the blade at an angle was pretty good at clearing debris it didn't really grab or pull up any of those tiny stumps. Does anyone have any suggestions for attachments or implements that may be effective at clearing them out? I'm not real familiar with what kind of tractor implements are out there but was thinking possibly some bucket teeth or debris forks would work for getting a little under the small stumps and roots. Or perhaps an implement for the back that would go under and help pull up the roots and stumps like a middle buster or plow of some sort?

Any tips/experience would be appreciated as well as some of the lingo for the different attachments just to see what is out there on the used market. Thanks.

 

[Peter 315]

Youu could try the Piranha toothbar.....BXpanded Piranha Toothbar

 

[bcp]

If you have a way to mount one or more, this may work:

cultivator sweep at DuckDuckGo

Maybe a rototiller.

Bruce

 

[cglaser104]

The quickest way? A forestry mulcher. You may be able to rent one of your FIL has a bobcat to power it.

If your looking to knock it out yourself the I'd suggest a toothbar and a loooots of patience. You could also keep it mowed and let nature take care of it over time.

 

[YLee Kioti]

for those small stumps, I've used the box blade.
Adjusted blade to dig in and the sharp edge would slice them off. Especially soft wood.

 

[christiansok]

for those small stumps, I've used the box blade.
Adjusted blade to dig in and the sharp edge would slice them off. Especially soft wood.

Did you utilize the scarifiers/teeth on the box blade or just the back edge?

 

[bearthebruce]

I have done our trail work with a ratchet rake on the bucket and a grader blade on the 3ph. It took lots of passes but digging the rake in and then dragging the rake over the stump loosened and then pulled the small stumps - up to 3 inch diameter. Ground was damp and soft.

Some stumps did stop the tractor. i often popped the bucket up and over the stump too. The grader blade also helped to pull and dig... It's slow going but it is going..

I don't beat the tractor up doing this. I don't want to bend or damage the FEL.

 

[Beaver Cove Deere]

How many are we talking about and in how big of an area?

 

[Ford850]

I'd get that skid steer back and use the bucket flat on the ground to sheer and pull out the mini stumps. That would be the quickest solution in my opinion, and then you can maintain it with your tractor.

 

[Mat4644]

Adjust your box blade with the blade touching and the rippers slightly down. Clear from both directions.

 

[YLee Kioti]

Did you utilize the scarifiers/teeth on the box blade or just the back edge?

Both, just depended on the stump and location. If it's a 3-4 inch stump I lined up the scarifier to convinced the stump to come with me....lol.....smaller one's slice them off with the blade.

 

[christiansok]

How many are we talking about and in how big of an area?

The section of trail cleared out is probably 6 feet wide and about 300 or so feet long.

 

[christiansok]

Adjust your box blade with the blade touching and the rippers slightly down. Clear from both directions.

Right now I only have a back blade. I don't know that the cutting edge is super sharp either I would have to take a look. That may be a good place to start since it seems from here the edge on the blade does a lot of the work.

 

[christiansok]

I'd get that skid steer back and use the bucket flat on the ground to sheer and pull out the mini stumps. That would be the quickest solution in my opinion, and then you can maintain it with your tractor.

I tried digging it out some more today with mostly my back blade and a bit of the bucket and I was thinking the same thing here, the skid steer is so much more powerful when moving dirt. My loader/bucket is really more suited to moving around loose piles.

 

[Hay Dude]

I mean if I wasnt in the mood to spend money on an attachment or a rental machine, I use the corner of my bucket where its stronger. Course I don’t know how big/heavy your tractor is.
I would start back 1-2 feet from stumps and dig down a few inches. Youll probably cut a few roots in the process and get under the trunk and they should just pop out.
I have cleared at least 50 acres of land covered with small trees with 2-3inch calipers and was very successful using bush hog to knock the vegetation down and grind it up, then used the weight of the tractor and the corner of the bucket to shallowly cut roots & scoop them out. I would then shake dirt off the stumplet and patch up the low spot.
I never rented anything. Just dont use middle 80% of the bucket edge or itll bend and youll be hopping mad.
I actually kinda rammed them with the corner and they tipped out pretty easy.

 

[airbiscuit]

Can you post a pic? You might be over thinking it.

My experience with a rough cut mower:

• First mowing - lots of little stumps/stubble
• Second mowing (a few months later) fewer little stumps/stubble
• Second year mowing - mostly just grass
• Next mowing - nice grass trail

 

[two_bit_score]

Can you post a pic? You might be over thinking it.

My experience with a rough cut mower:

• First mowing - lots of little stumps/stubble
• Second mowing (a few months later) fewer little stumps/stubble
• Second year mowing - mostly just grass
• Next mowing - nice grass trail

That is my thinking also.
Time heals.

 

[oosik]

I have two major "trails" on my property. Both cut thru thick stands of small pines. I cleared a path thru the pines with a chainsaw. I used the six tooth scarifier on the front of my LPGS to dig out the roots/stobs. It did well but only because I have a larger tractor( Kubota M6040 ). After all the roots/stobs were removed - raised the scarifiers and leveled it all back out with just the LPGS.

It took a pass in both directions to get everything jerked out and bunched up. Roots, stobs & wads of bunch grass. I worried that it might be torn up too bad. Not to fear - the LPGS with its shanks raised leveled it all back nicely. View attachment 675337 Yes, the weeds grow well here also.

 

[Doug62]

Stump bucket will also help dig in and pop them up. They are pretty inexpensive and fit in place of your bucket.

 

[deezler]

Cristians,

I would slow down a sec here. Unless you really want to plow and till up that entire section of trail, maybe just take a step back. Can you wait one more year to accept a perfectly smooth trail through here? Just keep mowing it, and it will be grassy soon.

If you have trees and bushes over 1" in diameter, you really ought to get the roots out in the first step. I like to clear trail by pushing the saplings and bushes over, often pulling the roots/stumps out with them, and then use my tooth bar on my loader bucket to pluck the rootballs out if necessary. If you brush-hog right through the 2-3" diameter stuff, then you should really just wait for it to die after repeated mowings. Otherwise you're talking about completely plowing up this length of trail.