Best way to clear small trees. Mulcher?

[indianaEPH]

As soon as the soil dries out I'm going to start(restart) clearing more of my land. I'm looking for recommendations on the best way to approach this project. See the pictures. I have about 6 acres of small trees and brush. IT seems that there are millions of them. I eventually want to till some of the land and have a pasture in the rest. So I think that I need to remove the roots and all. I have (or soon will have) a TLB but I can't imagine using the hoe on this many trees.

When I push the trees with the loader they just seem to lay over with uprooting. Has anyone used a mulcher in this situation? I wonder how long it would be until I can till with a plow if I leave the stops in (they are typically about 4 in in diameter ( I will dig out the larger ones)

 

[Thomas]

Have you consider dozer..quick and clean..follow by tractor w/rake.

 

[SandburRanch]

As soon as the soil dries out I'm going to start(restart) clearing more of my land. I'm looking for recommendations on the best way to approach this project. See the pictures. I have about 6 acres of small trees and brush. IT seems that there are millions of them. I eventually want to till some of the land and have a pasture in the rest. So I think that I need to remove the roots and all. I have (or soon will have) a TLB but I can't imagine using the hoe on this many trees.

When I push the trees with the loader they just seem to lay over with uprooting. Has anyone used a mulcher in this situation? I wonder how long it would be until I can till with a plow if I leave the stops in (they are typically about 4 in in diameter ( I will dig out the larger ones)

Pull them, 1,2,3,4 or 5 per pull setting, roots and all and be done with it.

 

[tech141]

Looks like you need a Ratchet Rake for the loader. Look at your local Treactor Supply Store for them. If your TSC doesn't have them, go to

Ratchet Rake, LLC - Tractor attachment, Bucket attachment, Loader, Skid loader, Kubota, Skid steer, Landscape rake, Brush remover, York Rake, Harley Rake, Rock Rake, Tractor rake attachment, Construction attachment, New Holland, Bobcat, Fire safety,

and order directly.

 

[hydro2]

Yep I have to agree.

 

[Hollow]

A heavy bushhog will eat that like candy. The roots would be rotted enough to disc in a year or two.

 

[Gary Fowler]

I only see a couple in the photos that look like they might be too large for a bushhog. 4" diameter is approaching limit for most hogs. FEL should be able to push those over and uproot them. If they bend over rather than uproot, then just hit them with the shredder and that should pulverize them. You may then need to gather up the trash into a pile. THE BH will sometimes just cut it down by shattering the trunk and then just shred off the limbs on the top side leaving you with a stripped off trunk to pile and burn. I would shred all that the tractor could ride over easily and then pull the rest up by the roots. I had something similar to yours with sweetgum thicket and that is what I did. A few were too big to shred or push over in my case so I just left them in the pasture by my creek as I dont plan to cultivate any of it. I just wanted to thin it out so the grass could grow back and I could walk thru it. Some of the areas you may have to get a weedwhacker with a saw blade to clear out. They work well on the small 1" stuff and vines etc. that you cant get your tractor into, like on those steep hills.

 

[gotacktion]

Try this one UNIMOG BRUSH CUTTING - YouTube - Some of that stuff up to 5 inch at the base

 

[clemsonfor]

You can use those mulching head mowers attached to a skid steer, or just rent like a d4 sized dozer and push and pile it then burn it then spread the dirt piles back out. Then disk with a heavy disk the next year.

 

[s219]

For anything under about 5", you can use a brush grubber on the end of a chain to yank out stumps and root balls. I find this works in cases where you want to do "surgical" tree removal. For instance, I have been doing this to clear a path in the woods. For cutting a bigger swath of land with a lot of brush, I'd use some other approach.

 

[Hollow]

From what I see it looks like most of what you've got is gum poplar or cotton wood, and berch trees. An old Bushhog 305, Bush Whacker or an old tire driven side winder will clear that no problem. Just make sire the clutches are lose. If there's any big oak ash or hickory just drive around them and chainsaw it later. It looks like its an abandoned field so the trees are growing without much competition so they should have big growth rings which means a softer material to cut. I'd loosen the clutch on my BH 286, put it in 1st and drive.

 

[Piston]

A mulcher (if there is one in your area) would probably be the fastest, neatest method. I had one acre mulched and was amazed at how quick it was done. Also left smaller chips than the shredder would. Not sure how long it would take with a dozer or bush hog, but if a mulcher is around, it would be a good idea to get an estimate. Sometimes those guys are hard to find.
I don't know how long it would take to rot out the stumps, but the mulcher could probably chew them right up anyways.

 

[indianaEPH]

Looks like you need a Ratchet Rake for the loader. Look at your local Treactor Supply Store for them. If your TSC doesn't have them, go to

Ratchet Rake, LLC - Tractor attachment, Bucket attachment, Loader, Skid loader, Kubota, Skid steer, Landscape rake, Brush remover, York Rake, Harley Rake, Rock Rake, Tractor rake attachment, Construction attachment, New Holland, Bobcat, Fire safety,

and order directly.

Wow, that looks like it may work. I like it.

 

[hydro2]

It sure does take out the saplings.

 

[tech141]

From everything I've read about the Ratchet Rake, it is the "Stuff" for bushes/tangles/ and the like. Those pics you posted looks like the Brochure Images for the RR.

Good luck clearing your property. Just remember to allocate 3 times the time you initially estimated to get the job done.

 

[Short Game]

I can go through small trees pretty fast with one helper and a Brush Grubber, using a hook on the FEL to pop them out. It only takes a few seconds per tree and the roots come out with the tree, leaving the ground almost like it's been tilled. Takes a lot longer if you have to get off the tractor for each tree.

 

[hydro2]

I got mine for 199.00 but since using I would pay the full $359.00. It pops saplings out of the ground root and all.

 

[Piston]

I took advantage of that $200 dollar sale for the RR as well, I haven't gotten a chance to use it yet but I'm glad it seems like it's worth the price. Not a bad idea to try one out for the small investment.

 

[indianaEPH]

I can go through small trees pretty fast with one helper and a Brush Grubber, using a hook on the FEL to pop them out. It only takes a few seconds per tree and the roots come out with the tree, leaving the ground almost like it's been tilled. Takes a lot longer if you have to get off the tractor for each tree.

I've got to check into that. THe helper part may be a problem though. I'm usually flying solo.