from woods to lawn

[donn12]

I am in the final stage of converting heavy woods to lawn.

 

[davo727]

Nice, What part of the world is that in?

 

[MacLawn]

I keep running into posts here that are exactly what I need to do! I have about 2 more acres of woods I would like to turn into pasture/lawn. Looks like you have a great start on yours. Just wondering though, yes, where are you? And, I can't get grass to grow under trees like you have there, at least in GA where my place is located.

 

[donn12]

I am in Great Falls Virginia...no grass yet but wish me luck! I am using the shade mix from lesco (JDL) and it does get a fair bit of sun in the morning

 

[EddieWalker]

I really like your fence. I never seen one like it before.

Eddie

 

[doall]

Good looking place you have there. And great looking work. good luck on your grass.

 

[Verticaltrx]

Any pics of the initial clearing and/or the area before? Looks good. :thumbsup:

 

[donn12]

I cant find the other pics right now. Very heavy woods just like behind the fence- I cut down 50 or so trees and then paid someone to drop about 20 that were over 2ft diameter and very tall. I dug those stumps with an excavator and did all the other ones with my BX24. I used a box blade to level and a landscape rake to clear all the roots and debris. I did have to put up a temporary wire fence to keep the dogs out due to mud.
I had several estimates for 40k or more and I paid 4k for the 20 trees and 200 for seed and I now have my second tractor and a lot of toys to go with it.

 

[LostInTheWoods]

I cut down 50 or so trees and then paid someone to drop about 20 that were over 2ft diameter and very tall. I dug those stumps with an excavator and did all the other ones with my BX24. I used a box blade to level and a landscape rake to clear all the roots and debris.

Take extra care with those trees that are still there...not sure how much soil compaction you have from using that excavator in there, but I found out the hard way soil compaction is not good on the trees. Everything's nice and pretty on the surface, but if the soil a little lower is packed down too much, bad things happen. And it may take several years for the trees to use up their energy stores and eventually die off.

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/rural-living/148982-what-what-do-i-do.html#post1723660

I'd think about aerating regularly and fertilizing with the right blend to stimulate root growth.

 

[hr3]

You paid for tree removal ??.. Did they cut them down and take them away??
Looks very nice it looks like you have had some fun too !!!

 

[donn12]

The trees I paid to have cut were too big for me! You should have seen this guy climb up and cut off 8 feet at a time. They cut them down - I moved them to the back of my property.

 

[hr3]

Where I come from big trees bring big money.. 20 soft wood about 1,500,, hard wood it would depend on the species..

 

[wedge40]

That was a lot or, even with someone coming in a taking down the big trees.
I've been working on clearing about 1 acre myself and know what it takes. What got me, is every time I think it's clean I go out and the next day there are more roots and debris. Thought I was done, but still have one more large tree to take down and huge stump to remove.

And like every one else, I sure would like to see some "Before" shots.
Good luck with the lawn. Starting a lawn here in S. Indiana right now would be impossible. We haven't had more the 1.5" of rain since Mid July.

Wedge

 

[SuperCobra]

Where I come from big trees bring big money.. 20 soft wood about 1,500,, hard wood it would depend on the species..

I'm from just a little south of there in Virginia and I was told by a few of my neighbors that for clearing a few acres of land it wasn't worth it for the loggers to come in; they had to pay someone to come in and take down their trees and pay more if they wanted them hauled away. I wish I would have researched it more as I would've thought I had a lot of valuable timber - mainly white oak, chestnut oak, and post oak - but I ended up cutting it down myself. Other than a dog cabin I built, most of it has become firewood.

 

[donn12]

some pics of the grass. I cant celebrate too much but I am off to a good start. I am blowing the leaves off every few days. I got the Gilmour sprinklers off amazon....much cheaper than any of the irrigation systems i had quoted!

I am looking for the before pics...when we first looked at the house I flat turned it down because the yard was so small. Everything behind the original grass was heavy woods. With all of the beech trees you couldn't even see in there! We have about 3.5 acres in the back so I can always add to what I have done so far but we do also like the woods.

 

[LostInTheWoods]

Nice progress. Looks like you've gained a lot of usable space.