Reclaiming an overgrown field

[Timm250]

I closed on the 19.5 acres on April 29. Since then I have been trying to get the fields opened back up so that they can be used for pasture. I started out using my tractor & bush hog & it got to the point I decided it would be better if I rented a brush cutter for my skid steer. So I rented one for the long weekend. There is a total of about 17 acres that needs to be cleared. I finally have it down to about 2-3 acres left.

 

[creekbend]

Nice job. You have definitely been busy.

 

[Timm250]

The skid steer is slower than the tractor & bush hog but it does a better job of cutting closer to the ground & cuts the pieces up better.

 

[Timm250]

Looks like I won't be able to finish up until the weekend. A blade broke on the brush cutter & they will have to order one. It will be in Wednesday & the rental place will put it on & I will pick it up on Friday.

 

[clemsonfor]

You better follow that up with some herbicide or you will end up with chest tall sweetgum in 8 weeks. Ask me how i know!! I reclaimed parts of my fields that went years between cuttings. I used a saw for the big stuff and bush hogged all the rest. Those stumps will sprout and grow faster than you will imagine. there roots are so big they grow crazy. I would use either imazapyr or glyphosate once they have sprouted in about 4 weeks and spray the entire site, they will not go away.

Glyphosate will easily kill sweetgum though. Its a foliar applied herbicied imazapyr is soil active and will kill that way. Both can and are often used togeather to help control resprouts, which is not a big deal with sweetgum as the seedlings are usually weak and outcompeated with grass and once cut they get over topped by grass but something like say crab grass for example that must have seeds finer than frog hair, the Gly kills the actual plant but the stuff always sprouts from something, so the imazapyr kills and prevents the resprouting of new plants or seeds. Or large roots that were not totally killed by the GLY.

 

[Timm250]

Thanks for the suggestions. It has been about 3 weeks since I started working on this & the part of the field that was cut first has some good grass coming up. This was a hay field until about 6 or 7 years ago. The blackberry briars are starting to sprout back out in most places. I had thought about waiting until the end of June and then bush hogging it again. After that I would wait until early August to spray. I normally use 2-4-D & Remedy on bushes. There is a lot of orchard grass coming back & I would like to save it if possible.

 

[TomSeller]

I closed on the 19.5 acres on April 29. Since then I have been trying to get the fields opened back up so that they can be used for pasture. I started out using my tractor & bush hog & it got to the point I decided it would be better if I rented a brush cutter for my skid steer. So I rented one for the long weekend. There is a total of about 17 acres that needs to be cleared. I finally have it down to about 2-3 acres left.

Very nice. Restoring the fields will be a lot of satisfaction.

 

[Ed of all trades]

If you just keep it clipped it will soon be grass. It works, have done it many times.

 

[clemsonfor]

2-4d is not really labeled for sweetgum control, i bet it makes it sick at best. The sweetgum is going to be the hardest thing to control. the grass after a few years will out compete the blackberries if you keep it cut.

 

[Timm250]

2-4d is not really labeled for sweetgum control, i bet it makes it sick at best. The sweetgum is going to be the hardest thing to control. the grass after a few years will out compete the blackberries if you keep it cut.

The 2-4d is for the blackberries & honeysuckle. The Remedy is for the sweet gum & other saplings. There were also a lot of persimmon & ash trees in the field.

Some places are almost all gum & others are mixed. There were a few sycamore.

About 1/4 acre was all thorn trees.