Best way to clear unwanted trees from pasture

   / Best way to clear unwanted trees from pasture
  • Thread Starter
#161  
Will those stumps rot out fast? Or are you still going to grind the stumps?

The stumps are at ground level and painted with herbicide. I will not grind them. They will eventually rot out. Most are 2-10" in diameter, so should only make a small depression, which I can grade or fill in with my front loader.
 
   / Best way to clear unwanted trees from pasture #162  
The stumps are at ground level and painted with herbicide. I will not grind them. They will eventually rot out. Most are 2-10" in diameter, so should only make a small depression, which I can grade or fill in with my front loader.

I'm not familiar with that particular tree type. Here if you shear or cut a stump level with the ground, next year it's protruding above ground.

I'm not a fan of shears or saws because of having to come back and deal with the stump.
 
   / Best way to clear unwanted trees from pasture #163  
"The root system of a Bradford pear consists of an abundance of shallow roots. Shallow roots can break the surface of the soil, making walking and mowing miserable. Shallow root systems also pose problems around sidewalks, foundations and driveways."


Since the bradford pear does not have a large tap root there should not be a depression when it rots. The roots should breakdown quickly since they are typically small and shallow. Rocking forward and backwards with the saw dropped on on the ground will cut the stump slightly below ground level and cover the stump with dirt promoting rot.
 
   / Best way to clear unwanted trees from pasture
  • Thread Starter
#164  
"The root system of a Bradford pear consists of an abundance of shallow roots. Shallow roots can break the surface of the soil, making walking and mowing miserable. Shallow root systems also pose problems around sidewalks, foundations and driveways."

Very true. When I cut these trees at ground level, often I am also shaving off the top of some ground level roots, which helps get more herbicide down into the root system when I paint the cut stump and roots.
 
   / Best way to clear unwanted trees from pasture #165  
I'm not familiar with that particular tree type. Here if you shear or cut a stump level with the ground, next year it's protruding above ground.

I'm not a fan of shears or saws because of having to come back and deal with the stump.

That's the same way it is here. Stumps are a problem for working the soil or planting,.... and probably not good as horse pasture. Might work for some other livestock. I wonder what Ed27 is planning to do with his new cleared land? Maybe stumps are OK for whatever he's doing. We've got a lot of ground level stumps here from a flood that killed a lot of our trees. Surprisingly, stumps in a lawn don't bother me as much as stumps in a field.
rScotty
 
   / Best way to clear unwanted trees from pasture
  • Thread Starter
#166  
That's the same way it is here. Stumps are a problem for working the soil or planting,.... and probably not good as horse pasture. Might work for some other livestock. I wonder what Ed27 is planning to do with his new cleared land? Maybe stumps are OK for whatever he's doing. We've got a lot of ground level stumps here from a flood that killed a lot of our trees. Surprisingly, stumps in a lawn don't bother me as much as stumps in a field.
rScotty

We are currently cutting trees so we can see exactly what we have and then we will develop a good land plan. The property has never been developed. The previous owner used to run cattle on parts of it, but that was probably over 10 years ago. We will build a house, barn, equipment building/workshop, have horse pasture, mow hay, some fruit trees, garden, perhaps some crop plots. These small stumps (most 2-10") cut at ground level and treated with herbicide should not be a problem in most places, and where they are a problem we will dig them up. The tractor saw does the least disturbance to the property right now and is something I can do myself, and a lot cheaper than hiring an excavator operator. At the end I also own a tractor saw so I can clear some horse/people paths in the 15 acres of mature woods that will remain on the property. This may or may not be the best approach. Time will tell!
 
   / Best way to clear unwanted trees from pasture #167  
That's the same way it is here. Stumps are a problem for working the soil or planting,.... and probably not good as horse pasture. Might work for some other livestock. I wonder what Ed27 is planning to do with his new cleared land? Maybe stumps are OK for whatever he's doing. We've got a lot of ground level stumps here from a flood that killed a lot of our trees. Surprisingly, stumps in a lawn don't bother me as much as stumps in a field.
rScotty

His response was that he is going to grind them down. The herbicide is to kill them.

EDIT Whoops, I read him wrong. I went back and looked. NOT going to grind them :shocked:
 
   / Best way to clear unwanted trees from pasture #168  
We are currently cutting trees so we can see exactly what we have and then we will develop a good land plan. The property has never been developed. The previous owner used to run cattle on parts of it, but that was probably over 10 years ago. We will build a house, barn, equipment building/workshop, have horse pasture, mow hay, some fruit trees, garden, perhaps some crop plots. These small stumps (most 2-10") cut at ground level and treated with herbicide should not be a problem in most places, and where they are a problem we will dig them up. The tractor saw does the least disturbance to the property right now and is something I can do myself, and a lot cheaper than hiring an excavator operator. At the end I also own a tractor saw so I can clear some horse/people paths in the 15 acres of mature woods that will remain on the property. This may or may not be the best approach. Time will tell!

I think the saw sounds like a reasonable approach.... at least I can't think of one better for dealing with a lot of trees efficently. Wish I could.....I'd have done it here. After a recent flood we had to deal with about 40/50 fully mature trees that drowned. Most were in the 18" diameter at ground level - some much larger and a lot of smaller. We ended up doing two different approaches. For reshaping the land and dealing with brush and small trees up to maybe half a foot in diameter we simply hired an old guy & his old bulldozer. Those dozer pushed small trees, rocks, & flood debris into the ravines cut by the flood.

Great!... after the 'dozer, what used to be corrals & pasture look like a war zone with big dead trees sticking out. And it only works when you have a place for the bulldozer to put things. Like ravines.....

Plus it still leaves the larger trees to deal with. Some of those I made the mistake of cutting off at ground level - which did get rid of the dead trees, but it turns out that the ground around a ground-level stump tends to compact and shrink, while the stump just stays there & becomes somethng of an obstacle pretty quickly. I didn't know that about stumps, but sure do now. BTW if a herbicide is necessary to prevent regrowth, you might consider doing some research into finding one that will not ****** rotting. So far when a stump rises up enough to be a problem I take out the backhoe & dig it out along with the associated rootball. That's a lot of work and really hard on machinery.

Like I said, the way I am doing it sure could stand some improvement. There has to be a better way. Next thing I'm going to do is try digging around the stump and cutting it off below ground level.
rScotty
 
   / Best way to clear unwanted trees from pasture #169  
Your experience with stumps eventually protruding mirrors mine. No saw or shear for me on any land I plan to run equipment on.
 
   / Best way to clear unwanted trees from pasture
  • Thread Starter
#170  
Your experience with stumps eventually protruding mirrors mine. No saw or shear for me on any land I plan to run equipment on.

What kind of tree(s) and what was the diameter of the stumps?
 

Tractor & Equipment Auctions

2012 Ram 1500 4x4 Crew Cab Pickup Truck (A49461)
2012 Ram 1500 4x4...
100 GAL FUEL TANK (A50854)
100 GAL FUEL TANK...
1262 (A50490)
1262 (A50490)
2018 FREIGHTLINER CASCADIA TANDEM AXLE DAY CAB (A51222)
2018 FREIGHTLINER...
2014 UTILITY 53X102 DRY VAN TRAILER (A51222)
2014 UTILITY...
2021 Cat D5 LGP Dozer (RIDE AND DRIVE) (A50774)
2021 Cat D5 LGP...
 
Top