Brush Pile Project

[Runner]

I have a 4 acre pasture at the rear of my place in which there were two large brush piles. These were created when the previous owner cleared the property and had a dozer push most of the trees from the pasture area into the piles.

My mission over the last two summers has been to get rid of these unightly brush piles, each the size of a house. Since I can't burn in this area, my only option was to haul this stuff out in pickup loads. As you can imagine, this took a bunch of work with the chain saw. However, because this was all pushed into place with a dozer, there was some tractor work involved to dig out half-buried trees, and to do the final grading. Here are some pics of the process.

In the pic of me on the lawn tractor, the first brush pile is in the background, and kind of hard to see because it is so over grown, but it is about 8 feet tall, 20 feet wide and 30 feet long. The other one was about twice that size. I'm just glad to have this project over and see the grass starting to grow in these areas.

I used my loader and box blade for the grading and the pallet forks for digging the half-buried trees out of the dirt.

 

[dirtworksequip]

Just curious...............what was the reason it could not have been burned? Looks like it came out nice for you.

Sincerely, Dirt

 

[marimus]

Did the pile shrink, or did your tractor get bigger?
Nice cleanup job, looks like a nice place you have there.

 

[Runner]

dirt,

Even though the place appears to be "in the country" it's actually inside city limits and they have a fairly strict "no burn" law (even though my neighbors seem to do it quite a bit....).

Also, at the time(s) I was working on getting rid of this stuff, it was pretty dry, and I was afraid it would be difficult to control. So, I bit the bullet and hauled the stuff out.

marimus,

Thanks for the kind words. Yup, after about 15 pickup loads to the dump, that pile got a LOT smaller...

I was very surprised not to find any critters living in there, even though the piles both had been created about 15 years ago. Just a couple of spiders...

 

[Runner]

Incidentally, here's what a typical pickup load looked like. Just slightly overloaded....

On edit: I should add, the dump site for the brush was only about two miles down the road, so I didn't have far to go in this condition...

 

[kossetx]

Runner,

I just can't imagine what kind of varmints you must have encountered in those piles. I know in mine I find lots. Mice, rats scorpions, snakes and spiders of all kinds and who knows.

I leave my remote piles now to give the vermin a place to live.

 

[ampsucker]

some places, if you talk to the fire dept before hand, you can get permission to burn. depends on the weather, the local codes and the local fire dept.

i think i would have done about anything i could to avoid digging all that stuff up by hand and hauling it away pickup by pickup load ;-)

would have been a nice weenie roast!

amp

 

[ultrarunner]

I'm facing the same thing on a smaller scale. I have 1 pile to deal with and burning isn't an option because it too is in the city limit and there is lots of dead poison oak in the pile.

So far, the best option appears to bury it and cover with dirt... is this a smart way to go and did you consider it?

 

[Runner]

ultrarunner,

My second brush pile (the one in the picture with the straw on it) had been pushed into a shallow ravine and there were still several trees under the dirt when I was "finished". Since the final grade worked out to be about where I wanted it, I did exactly as you suggest, and just graded the dirt over the remaining trees.

I realize that this area will eventually settle as the trees rot and the dirt fills in the voids, however, since it's in the middle of a pasture, this won't be a problem. I'm sure it saved me some pretty nasty work by not having to dig up that termite-ridden stuff, cut it up and load it in the truck.

One more thing about this project:

If you look very close a the picture of the spot with the straw on it, you can see that there are two very small saplings sticking up, one is an elm and the other is a walnut. They were growing up through the brush pile and I thought they were about where I'd like to have a couple more trees, so I carefully worked around them.

When I walked out there last evening to check on the grass, I noticed that deer had stripped what few leaves were left, along with the bark, and trampled over the trees. Enough to make me wish we could hunt on this propterty...

 

[dirtworksequip]

I once had a brush pile when I lived in the city.....................dang kids set it on fire(smile) late one night and the whole thing burnt up before the fire department arrived. Sometimes you just have to use your imagination.

Sincerely, Dirt

 

[ampsucker]

well, i wasn't going to relate this story, but once i had a brush pile catch on fire when some delinquint threw a cigarette butt on it. luckly i was there and had some hose to keep it contained until the fire dept could get there. by then, it was just ashes. ;-)

i will say this though. a good brush pile has it's place in a bio diverse ecosystem. it provides cover for smaller mammals and birds and i found they are extremely good at keeping paths into the woods open for many years. a brush pile placed at the entrance to path will inhibit anything from growing there for many years. this is at the entrance where the sun light hits strongest at the edge of the woods. the path once well into the woods will be shaded by the larger trees so it won't grow much very fast once established. but the brush pile at the entrance can keep things down and when you are ready to use the path, burn or move the pile and you'll have a near perfectly cleared area.

amp

 

[rutwad]

runner, good work. Looks like alot of headache and sweat, but you can look back with no regrets.

I'm facing the same thing on a smaller scale. I have 1 pile to deal with and burning isn't an option because it too is in the city limit and there is lots of dead poison oak in the pile.

So far, the best option appears to bury it and cover with dirt... is this a smart way to go and did you consider it?

you could have it mulched.

 

[curly]

Yeah, that's what I was thinking...mulch and firewood.

 

[firemen122]

Man kids can be notorious for lighting piles on fire, if not kids then it is lightning. That is why I always keep a line disced around piles. Them kids are usually out late at night being up to no good...

 

[Runner]

Brush Pile Project Update

With the help of all the rain you southerners are send up here, the grass is up and growing well.

 

[john_bud]

Speaking of brush piles and no burn bans, my dad lived 2 blocks from the police station in a St Louis suburb, and one year he had to drop 3 big elm trees (in the 1960s). He lit one brush pile and sure enough the 15' tall flames attracted the nice men in blue. As they were writting out a ticket, he asked how come you can barbque with out getting a ticket. Officer said that outdoor cooking fires were ok. 1 minute later there was a hotdog on a stick in the ground 20' from the fire... no ticket.

Loopholes are where you find them....


jb

 

[LBrown59]

Why no rops or seat belt?

I have a 4 acre pasture at the rear of my place in which there were two large brush piles. These were created when the previous owner cleared the property and had a dozer push most of the trees from the pasture area into the piles.

My mission over the last two summers has been to get rid of these unightly brush piles, each the size of a house. Since I can't burn in this area, my only option was to haul this stuff out in pickup loads. As you can imagine, this took a bunch of work with the chain saw. However, because this was all pushed into place with a dozer, there was some tractor work involved to dig out half-buried trees, and to do the final grading. Here are some pics of the process.

In the pic of me on the lawn tractor, the first brush pile is in the background, and kind of hard to see because it is so over grown, but it is about 8 feet tall, 20 feet wide and 30 feet long. The other one was about twice that size. I'm just glad to have this project over and see the grass starting to grow in these areas.

I used my loader and box blade for the grading and the pallet forks for digging the half-buried trees out of the dirt.

 

[Runner]

"Why no rops or seat belt?"

Truthfully, I think in those first couple of pics, I had to lower the rops to get into the barn to get the box blade and forgot to put it back up. Since the actual area I was working on was flat, I wasn't too worried about it.

This place is so hilly, I normally do make a point to use them.

You can't see it, but in the pic where I'm using the forks for digging, I did have ROPS up and belt on. That area had a pretty good side slope as well as some soft spots that tended to be a little tippy.

If those pics bugged you, this one really will.

OK, actually, this one was kind of a fake, the tractor was sitting still and I accidentally took the picture while moving the camera. Still kind of spooky looking though...

 

[POC]

Most places you as the landowner could have been charged for the FD to come to your fire.

I once had a brush pile when I lived in the city.....................dang kids set it on fire(smile) late one night and the whole thing burnt up before the fire department arrived. Sometimes you just have to use your imagination.

Sincerely, Dirt

 

[have_blue]

Runner,


I leave my remote piles now to give the vermin a place to live.

Me too. I used to burn, but decided to give the wildlife a break. The piles aren't visible from the road, and really do provide cover for the critters.