Brush clearing down steep hill, need advice!

[goeduck]

Let me think.... steep slope..... brush....... GOATS!

West Side Goat Girl - Greater Seattle & Portland Areas

 

[rangerfredbob]

I'm over in Dayton and understand... the string mowers don't work well for black berries, but if you rent or find someone to borrow a self propelled blade brush mower (outback or DR, VERY FEW graveleys over on this side of the country). I happened upon a Outback mower for cheap on craigslist about a year ago and it is a beast but a serious workout since it's too narrow to have an open differential and mine is older so it has the narrow AG tread tires...

A blade on a weedeater does do a number on blackberries but is also a workout...

 

[ddbackhoe]

Let me think.... steep slope..... brush....... GOATS!

West Side Goat Girl - Greater Seattle & Portland Areas

Thats the best eco-friendly move of the moment. Some places even have rental units.
Goats For Land Clearing
https://www.uaex.edu/publications/PDF/FSA-9604.pdf

 

[Ortimber]

Without knowing all of the details, I'd say it's a job for a dozer. Clear a nice path and shape things so you can access it with your 2501.

 

[JerryK]

Like your first answer, brush cutter. You need a good Husqvarna trimmer harness, an Oregon chainsaw helmet, and one of those Amazon 52cc brush cutters. I bought one this year and it quickly destroys anything under 1" with little or no effort. The three blade cutter will chew thru bigger stuff, too. You can put a carbide tip'd saw blade on it if you want, but the three blade works great. I use is for small cherry trees and raspberries. Starts, idles, and runs well, and works GREAT... Another thing is using C4. Had a bunch of that in Vietnam and it will do wonders if you use enough of it.

 

[RalphVa]

New to the forum, just acquired 10 acres and a new L2501- love it all so far!

Anyway, I have a steep hillside along one side of the property that is covered in blackberries and runs down to a nice creek that I'd like to access. So far I've only found one potential path down for machinery and it is THICK with blackberries and other brush. I tried backing the tractor down the hill and mowing it down only to make it 10 ft before the slope changed a bit and got too risky. Even then, I had trouble getting back up the hill with tractor due to traction issues.

What kind of equipment is out there that can be used on steep terrain to decimate brush and blackberries? I'd really like to start with just cutting a path into it so I can get a sense of what's even down there, doesn't have to be super wide at this point. Also, I'm leery of spraying much due to proximity to the creek so herbicides are out for the moment.

What would you recommend in my situation? TIA

The neighbor hired an outfit that had a tracked Cat with a flail mower mounted out front. I cut down all the brush/shrubs/vines between the big trees that were saved. Left a lot of mulch.

Later on, since it does not remove the roots, get some herbicide and carefully spray the invasive stuff leaves that come back or buy a Blackthorn dauber and daub the herbicide onto the leaves. Leave any good stuff you want.

Ralph

 

[RalphVa]

Let me think.... steep slope..... brush....... GOATS!

West Side Goat Girl - Greater Seattle & Portland Areas

Goats still leave the roots. You'll have to later come back and carefully spray new leaves of bad stuff or paint with a Blackthorn dauber.

Ralph

 

[CobyRupert]

View attachment 626665

Bruce

Like your first answer, brush cutter. You need a good Husqvarna trimmer harness, an Oregon chainsaw helmet, and one of those Amazon 52cc brush cutters. I bought one this year and it quickly destroys anything under 1" with little or no effort. The three blade cutter will chew thru bigger stuff, too. You can put a carbide tip'd saw blade on it if you want, but the three blade works great. I use is for small cherry trees and raspberries. Starts, idles, and runs well, and works GREAT... Another thing is using C4. Had a bunch of that in Vietnam and it will do wonders if you use enough of it.

Straight shaft, bike handle, blade type trimmer with shoulder harness. I never know what to call these, so at my house we just call it "The Blade of Death"
These tools can really put a hurting on an area.

I've always used the "4 point" blade. And I've used it on stuff bigger than 1", probably up to 2"+, like sumac trees, but it takes a few whacks.
IMHO, the 4 point blade is the most versatile, handling grass ok, excels in eating vines, prickers, berry bushes and stalks of all types, and ok in saplings up to a couple inches.

IMHO, while some other blades are better for grass, others are better in stalks and bigger saplings, those blades aren't as good once you try to cut something outside their "specialty".

 

[Egon]

You want a trail for tractor access. So, build a side hill trail for your tractor with your tractor.

 

[9973720wb19]

spray it

 

[ericm979]

Check with the county and the fire service that covers your area to see if it's ok to burn now. It's not just California, it's dry in much of Oregon now too.

If it's too steep for equipment the brush cutter is a good answer. If you're going to be using it a lot it pays to buy a good one. The one problem with brush cutters is when the brush is thick and you need to move or pile cut brush in order to keep working. You have to take the cutter off the harness in order to pull or pile brush, then start it and put it back on. That will slow you down a lot. Much of my brush is that thick, so I use a small chain saw. A good battery powered saw might be the best for this.

I have a Stihl FS240 which I use with a saw blade as a brush cutter and with a string trimmer head as a powerful string trimmer. The walk behind trimmers (DR etc) usually have four stroke engines that can't handle operating on steep slopes. Many people in my area have tried them and burnt up the motors due to slope caused oiling problems.

You'll want to remove the cut material and chip it or pile it and burn it in the winter if you have a safe place to do so and it's legal. The roots will still be alive and will send up shoots in the spring. That's the time to hit them with Garlon4. Otherwise the plants will grow back quickly.

 

[CobyRupert]

... The one problem with brush cutters is when the brush is thick and you need to move or pile cut brush in order to keep working. You have to take the cutter off the harness in order to pull or pile brush, then start it and put it back on. That will slow you down a lot. Much of my brush is that thick, so I use a small chain saw.

I often cut a bank of invasive bamboo type stalks that grow 6-7' high.
One technique that helps is to NOT cut the stalk at the base on the first swipe. Then you end up with a pile of 7' stalks that don't easily clear, stay leaning up on uncut brush, and generally get in the way and block future swipes.
I try to have first swipe take off the top of plant. The leaves will get more "mulched" as additional swipes cut the now shortened stalks.
I try to cut so that waste is short enough that no piles are necessary.

 

[ddbackhoe]

Well, goats are first vote. Weed burner is 2nd. Either one, then spray generously in spring with plain white vinegar.

 

[Ziess]

Thanks for all of the suggestions. I'm probably going to pick up a new Stihl FS360 with the blade cutter and attempt to attack it with that for now. I'll post pics eventually.

 

[ddgood]

I spent about 5 hours clearing brush with my Echo SRM-410U brushcutter and a chainsaw on Sunday. The Echo is a beast. I use 9" carbide tipped brush blades off Amazon with it and can easily cut up to 2.5" cedars and yaupon without any problems. As Eric noted upthread, cut brush can be an issue. I used the cutter head to drag smaller stuff to the side in a sweeping motion and use my left hand to pull larger stuff to my left. If I need both hands, I kill the engine and then start back up to cut again.

 

[Diggin It]

Not just for this thread, but for a few of the other steep bank threads .....

Is there such a thing as a mower-on-a-rope? A tethered mower/trailer type thing? Secure the main machine at the top and let the business head down the slope on a winched tether to pull it back up.

Is there isn't, would it be an exceedingly stupid thing to work up?

 

[ericm979]

There are remote control slope mowers. Some are on tracks instead of wheels. They're not cheap and are probably too small for Himalaya berry bushes. Those can get 8' high and very dense.

 

[bcp]

DR brush mower vs tall blackberries at about 6 to 7 minutes.

DR Power Mower "First Drive" and review - YouTube


Bruce

 

[cathy liebchen]

skidder with a forestry head for initial clearing, then maintain it by hand

 

[airbiscuit]

Rent something like this ($40 1/2 day). It is self propelled, but will give you a workout. It will do what you need, won't cost a ton, but you will feel it the next day.