Brush, what to do with it?

[Smokeydog]

We generate a tremendous amount of brush. 140 acre Tennessee foothills farm with about 40 acres cleared. 1/2 mile driveway thru the woods with miles of other trails. Much brush from keeping the roads, pastures and fields cleared.
Have done some burn piles. Getting harder with permits and increased area population.
Chipped some but the amount and size of what I do adds lots of work.

Property is a “hallar” and own most of the watershed. About halfway down the driveway I have a gully, rather large gully.
Big enough to push several house size brush piles into. Brush is moved via tractor grapples mostly. Most years 1-2 house size amounts are added. Some years 10-12. I had it piled up with trees thinking it’s going to take forever to rot. Amazed how fast it gets digested. The gully can take brush any time of the year. No fire worries. No chipping effort.
This gully is scar left by over cutting, over grazing and over use in the 300 year homestead history. Now hidden in mature forest again. It is now a valuable farm asset. Tree/brush recycler. 1/4 mile from were the trees are added the gully ends in low slope woods and pasture enriched by what was once waste.
Some of my northern farmer friends say this doesn’t work in cooler climates. Maybe they don’t have a proper gully. Maybe some gully scientists can enlighten us. I’m not so sure.

Never underestimate the value of a good gully.

 

[deezler]

Wish I had a gully. Most of the brush from clearing my homestead went into unsightly windrows. Where I could, I would drive it around a corner int he woods to a hidden pile. 5 years later much of it is gone, would like to clear it and smash it out, but I feel bad for the critters who have taken up residence within. I toss dirt over the fresh brush piles to make more solid berms where I can.

 

[Thomas]

Could always put brush in gully somewhat pile and once year burn it and what doesn't burn will rot.

 

[ddbackhoe]

We generate a tremendous amount of brush. 140 acre Tennessee foothills farm with about 40 acres cleared. 1/2 mile driveway thru the woods with miles of other trails. Much brush from keeping the roads, pastures and fields cleared.
Have done some burn piles. Getting harder with permits and increased area population.
Chipped some but the amount and size of what I do adds lots of work.

Property is a 塗allar and own most of the watershed. About halfway down the driveway I have a gully, rather large gully.
Big enough to push several house size brush piles into. Brush is moved via tractor grapples mostly. Most years 1-2 house size amounts are added. Some years 10-12. I had it piled up with trees thinking it痴 going to take forever to rot. Amazed how fast it gets digested. The gully can take brush any time of the year. No fire worries. No chipping effort.
This gully is scar left by over cutting, over grazing and over use in the 300 year homestead history. Now hidden in mature forest again. It is now a valuable farm asset. Tree/brush recycler. 1/4 mile from were the trees are added the gully ends in low slope woods and pasture enriched by what was once waste.
Some of my northern farmer friends say this doesn稚 work in cooler climates. Maybe they don稚 have a proper gully. Maybe some gully scientists can enlighten us. I知 not so sure.

Never underestimate the value of a good gully.

Maybe great, maybe not. It will really depend on whether or not you're in compliance with your states soil and erosion control plans. You may never get caught, but, it may end up with haul away, restoration and fines.

 

[oosik]

Twenty years ago I had my 80 acres selectively logged. Ended up with four - house-size piles of limbs. I was going to chip it all. However, when I went out to do the job - the quail had taken over the piles. The piles are now less than half the original size and still provide shelter for the quail.

 

[mred2]

I had about 30 acres cleared about 15 years ago. I went in with a dozer and piled the brush. 4 to 5 years later, I thought that I wanted to combine come of the piles. They were 80 percent dirt. I don't have a hole to put brush in. I am in the process of clearing more land. I leave the really large trees. Brush get piled to rot and the animals have a place to get for awhile. I also leave small areas that I don't mow for the animals. Wish I could get the quail to come back, but for now there are turkeys.

 

[Avenger]

I recently logged my property. The loggers left 4 HUGE piles of slash. Now that the piles are perfectly dry, I plan to burn these piles come snow. However...

I see the value in wood chips. I am saving my pennies for a 3pt chipper. I dont plan on chipping these piles, that would be too much. But maybe enough to cover the garden and flower beds with a few inches of wood chip mulch. Living in the forest, the amount of brush never ends. Even after I burn these huge piles, the chipper will always have something to eat.

 

[dalola]

I also subscribe to the "push it to a remote area" if you have the space. Makes great wildlife cover, and provides a good natural habitat.

 

[RalphVa]

We declared war on our invasives last fall and have them and fallen trees down and cut up now. Fallen tree parts and some brush got put into 2 or 3 gullies on our 8.5 acres. Shredded up some with the chipper/shredder and some other with the bush hog.

The cut trees/brush will slowly degrade over time and collapse in the gullies.

Last year, we had to remove about a 100 yard long debris pile made by the huge storm May, 2018. Could not actually get down there to do anything until about mid year last year. Some of that got hauled and placed along trails that I maintain and other pieces along the property line between us and the very territorial neighbor to the west. (Neighbor to the east: what line?) Did gobs of chipping/shredding. Wore out 2 sets of chipper blades and 1 chain saw on that pile. Wore out another chain saw on the downed trees. Got a 3rd now, Stihl 36v, saw.

Ralph

 

[LRover]

I too have some brush piles. Mine are in a couple different out-of-the-way locations on my farm. One of the piles forms an erosion dam in a series of old runoff gullies and it seems to have helped. I am constantly adding brush to the piles and they seem to rot down pretty quickly. A family of rabbits moved into one of the piles this spring so I have been careful about adding brush to that one.