What would you use for this application?

BoneDigger · Jun 6, 2017

I apologize for all of my recent posts. I'm new to the world of tractors...

My tractor is a NH Workmaster 35, 4x4, 12 manual gears and shuttle shift.

So, I recently had my 55 acres thinned. In the process, they used a couple of my food plots for logging decks. It's nice because they removed a number of trees, leaving me a larger food plot. Although they removed the limbs, etc, it left me with quite a lot of sticks and smaller limbs. I'd like to clear that out so I can more easily till the area for plots. What attachment would I need? Or, am I better off just doing it by hand? I was thinking the loader and bucket might work, but not sure if there might be something better I could rent for a day or two?

This is in east Texas. Lots of sand here.

Cataclysm · Jun 6, 2017

Don't apologize for the posts. Its nice to see/hear new things. Post a way!!

Pic's would help. If you have a quick attach front and front hydraulics I'd say a brush grapple. If you don't then a landscape rake for the 3pt would do the trick.

No way I'd do that by hand with that nice tractor sitting there!

3Lfarms · Jun 6, 2017

That sounds to me like the perfect use for a landscape rake.

Tigershark · Jun 6, 2017

Landscape rake. Used one this weekend and was amazed at how much it picked up from small sticks to huge sticks. Raked them into a pile then used the loader to move everything.

jeff9366 · Jun 6, 2017

BoneDigger said:
So, I recently had my 55 acres thinned. In the process, they used a couple of my food plots for logging decks. It's nice because they removed a number of trees, leaving me a larger food plot. Although they removed the limbs, etc, it left me with quite a lot of sticks and smaller limbs. I'd like to clear that out so I can more easily till the area for plots. What attachment would I need? Or, am I better off just doing it by hand? I was thinking the loader and bucket might work, but not sure if there might be something better I could rent for a day or two?

A Ratchet Rake bucket attachment is ideal for piling debris. You have three articulation planes with your bucket and Ratchet Rake attachment.

I have a Landscape Rake and a Ratchet Rake. The Ratchet Rake is the superior for collecting and piling debris. A Landscape Rake is primarily a soil grading implement.

You can order a Ratchet Rake from the T-B-N Store, BUTTON at the top of this page.

teg · Jun 6, 2017

jeff9366 said:
My tractor is a NH Workmaster 35, 4x4, 12 manual gears and shuttle shift. ENTER YOUR TRACTOR IN YOUR TBN PROFILE.

I was going to say the same thing but in a more polite way....

A rental place should have a landscape rake and it would do just fine for what you need. The little stuff, let it rot for a little bit and it will till into the soil.

BoneDigger · Jun 6, 2017

I just entered the info to my profile. Honestly, I access TBN via Tapatalk on my cell phone 99.9% of the time, and you can't edit your profile via mobile in Tapatalk.

BoneDigger · Jun 6, 2017

Thanks for the replies! I'll be looking into these.

N80 · Jun 7, 2017

I purchased a landscape rake for this very purpose. It works fairly well but still takes a lot of finesse especially if there are stumps and rocks under the logging debris. More often than not I had my rake turned around backwards and 'pushed' stuff in reverse. If you do this it is best to adjust your top link outwards so the rake is angle forward and doesn't bite too hard on stumps and stuff and will ride over them instead. I used the bucket a lot too. Bucket teeth would be a big help with this sort of work but I made do without.

If you buy a landscape rake make sure you can find replacement times for it (which shouldn't be too hard). I have broken several.

BoneDigger · Jun 7, 2017

Here are a few pics of my area I need cleaned up.

N80 · Jun 7, 2017

A landscape rake will be ideal for that sort of debris. The best implement, especially for the larger stuff like in the back of your pictures is a grapple. But that's big money. A landscape rake should clean that up very nicely and has lots of other uses as well. I often use mine as a harrow after spreading seed. I turn it around backwards for that as well and drag it briskly.

orangeandgreen · Jun 7, 2017

I cleaned up after my loggers with a box blade, to get the big stuff, then finished up with a landscape rake.

jenkinsph · Jun 8, 2017

I use a landscape rake with every other tine removed for this type work. You only need to pick up the big sticks. You can till every thing else into the soil and that would be more beneficial to the soil.

N80 · Jun 8, 2017

jenkinsph said:
I use a landscape rake with every other tine removed for this type work. You only need to pick up the big sticks. You can till every thing else into the soil and that would be more beneficial to the soil.

I've done that too. Works well to prevent rake from clogging up with small stuff. A bit of a pain removing them and replacing them. Not sure pine debris is very much help to the soil though.

Captain Dirty · Jun 8, 2017

BoneDigger said:
. . left me with quite a lot of sticks and smaller limbs. I'd like to clear that out so I can more easily till the area for plots. What attachment would I need? Or, am I better off just doing it by hand? I was thinking the loader and bucket might work, but not sure if there might be something better I could rent for a day or two?
. . .

My first "attachment" was a tooth bar for the FEL that I bought as a "poor man's grapple". I could push brush out of the way although I could not grasp brush as a grapple does. As the teeth extend forward of the sides of the bucket, I could "carry" items longer than the bucket width by rolling (curling) the bucket back. The spacing of the teeth, being wider than the spacing between tines on a landscape rake, allowed smaller material to sift through and not clog the bucket as quickly. Being on the FEL I could adjust the height not to snag roots, stumps, and rocks more easily than with the (later purchased) rake, and the teeth are more robust than the tines on the rake. The tooth bar has shown some other advantages. By effectively enlarging the bucket I can carry almost twice as many logs as without it. The teeth provide numerous lifting points when using the FEL as a hoist. And finally, the tooth bar is well suited to its designed purpose--more aggressive soil working.

After viewing the photos, I would be inclined to let the small stuff stay there. It should rot fairly quickly and even faster if incorporated into the soil. That would leave you with the brush piles in the background. Go for a tooth bar, ratchet rake, forks (also another multi purpose attachment), or a grapple as money allows.

HokieMS · Jun 8, 2017

My brother and I share a cheap landscape rake, and it does a great job cleaning up debris exactly like that. In hindsight, I'd like to have a more heavy duty rake, but for what we paid I can't complain.

I vote landscape rake. Get the nicest/heaviest one you can afford.

N80 · Jun 8, 2017

I think there are trade-offs with a heavy landscape rake. It would certainly engage the soil better and its weight might help it from riding up over the debris. But, if it is heavy it needs to have heavy duty tines because it isn't going to ride up and over a stump or a rock, its going to engage it. I'd describe mine as medium duty. It is a Leinbach. I've broken two or three times already............but I do have a lot of stumps and rocks.

The other thing I like about it not being too heavy is that cleans without engaging the soil too much. This is how I'm able to use it as a harrow.

Another great use for one is spreading gravel. I find it works much better spreading crusher run than my box blade. Way better in fact.

TractorGuy · Jun 8, 2017

Another vote for a landscape rake.

You probably want a larger one. They need to be wider than your tractor and as large as you think it will pull.

This is an inexpensive 5 footer from Agri Supply. I am planning to add gauge wheels to in in the near future to assist with leveling. Mine has every other tine removed in this picture but I have them all back in for smoothing ground now.