Which Implement

[WishinIwasFishin]

I just had 6 acres cleared for a house site.The dozer and excavator cleared all the stumps and bulit the house pad.There are roots and sticks all over the place that I would like to pile up and burn.I am thinking a landscape rake would be ideal but not sure because I have no experience using one.Can anybody offer any advise? I have a 6ft BB already.I will using my MX5100 for this work.

 

[copndoc3]

A landscaping rake would work good, but the only downside to it would be having to empty it often and somehow picking up all the roots, sticks, etc. A better choice would be a root rake and grapple. That way you could clean up the roots and root matter, grab it with the grapple and dump it in the burn pile. After the root rake operation, then I would go over with the landscaping rake to pick up any stragglers and transport them to the burn pile. Your acreage should then be ready for a soil sample and liming, fertilizing, seeding, etc.

 

[Wolfy]

A landscape rake would work well. Make sure it is wide enough to overhang the rear tires, even if its angled all the way. I usually drive in figure 8s with the rake set straight to level everything. Then angle the rake and start at one end. By driving in straight rows (and backing up on the next row) most of the roots should fall out the short end, into the undriven area. If the roots are real bad you may need to do this more than once. My friends brag about their power rakes but at 6-7 times the cost, its not ideal. An axe would be handy to chop any roots firmly held in the ground. Be paitent and your yard will come out nice.

 

[leonz]

The issue is more of tractor protection
with roots sticking out of the ground
as was/is the case with my fathers property.


You would be money and time ahead by running
the rake in reverse with a wheeled rake model
for what you wish to do as wheeled rake will be
much more useable and will allow you to quickly
clean the lot as it is wider.

The rake will dig as deeply as you allow it to with
the depth gauge on the rake and the deeper the
greater the cleaning.


In your case and many others a hydraulic powered rock
picker would be a better tool for the job at hand.

I would seriously inquire of your neighbors or equipment
dealers as to who might own a Schulte brand rock picker
in your area and contact them and ask if you could hire
the rock picker and the farmer for the job at hand as
a bar grate rock picker will take anything that is in front
of it that cannot pass through the finger grates and the
ground will be ready for grass seeding in one pass and
you will not have the expense of the landscape rake.


The schulte will throw the rocks in the hopper behind the
picker and dump the rocks where you want to get rid of them
or possibly use them if they are nice gravel type landscaping
rocks.