buckthorn!!!!

[proudestmonkey]

Okay, not necessarily a tractor question, but here goes. I bought this property 1 year ago. Prior to that, I always lived in the city. I wondered why we had these beautiful huge old Oaks, Cottonwoods, Cedars and a few elms and maples, and few younger seedlings. As I became familiar with the property, clearing paths through the woods, I kept chopping down all these 8 to 15 foot trees. I did a little research and discovered they were all buckthorn. They've nearly choked out the entire wooded part of my property. I had thought of buying a 25 gallon sprayer to put on top of my ballast box, and running the tractor through the woods with it. The terrain is too steep in many areas, and my BX doesn't have the ground clearance. So, I bought a backpack sprayer (holds three gallons) and learned what kind of herbicide works best for these things from the State DNR site. My question is, assuming I can kill off most of these trees soon, what is the best way to "harvest" all the dead ones? 90% of them will have "trunks" with diameters of less than 1/2 inch, and probably 50% are "seedlings" with stems 1/4 inch or less, but there are thousands of them. Thinning them out a bit here and there will not do, because their root structure will have them growing right back.

Suggestions?

Oh, one last thing, forest fire is out of the question. /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

 

[Sully2]

Once their dead...shove them OVER with the FEL..and if/when the root balls doesnt come out with the "trunk"...get the bucket down and roll it and POP the root ball out.

Same thing Im doing here with "shrub honeysuckle" and "locust" trees up to about 3 inch diameter...with my B3030.

 

[beenthere]

This buckthorn is the scourge of the forest here as well. What herbicide are you using? And when do you spray?

I've killed it with roundup and can slow it down with Amine 400 sprayed on the leaves, but a neighbor who managed to get a grant to treat his woods uses 'Tahoe', and can spray the bark of the buckthorn any time of the year.

Once it is dead, don't know as I want to try to harvest it, as the thorns are something else to contend with. Long, sharp, and very strong. Unfortunately, it is one of these things introduced as an ornamental, that has gone wild. And it will grow well under a dense stand of timber, and is spread with long roots (runners) as well as berries that the birds carry off and 'dump'.

 

[beenthere]

This buckthorn is the scourge of the forest here as well. What herbicide are you using? And when do you spray?

I've killed it with roundup and can slow it down with Amine 400 sprayed on the leaves, but a neighbor who managed to get a grant to treat his woods uses 'Tahoe', and can spray the bark of the buckthorn any time of the year.

Once it is dead, don't know as I want to try to harvest it, as the thorns are something else to contend with. Long, sharp, and very strong. Unfortunately, it is one of these things introduced as an ornamental, that has gone wild. And it will grow well under a dense stand of timber, and is spread with long roots (runners) as well as berries that the birds carry off and 'dump'.

 

[proudestmonkey]

I haven't started spraying yet, but the chemical I am using is going to be Ortho "Brush-B-Gone." It has the chemical in it that the DNR here in Minnesota said was one of the two most effective. I think it can be used any time of year, but they recommend the fall for easy identification. I plan to start using it once the rain quits here. The bottle (and DNR) suggest using it in diluted form on the leaves for smaller trees (e.g. seedlings), and for larger ones, to spray the cut stump on top and on the sides to the ground within two hours of cutting it. My plan is to spray the seedlings, wait until they die (bottle says 4 to 6 weeks until dead), and then see how easy they are to pull up. As to the ones that leave a stump, I plan to leave a good 6" to a foot of stump and then come back in the fall and use my FEL to turn them out, or if there in the middle of the woods, I may cut them down to the ground and then just leave them there. My main concern is the foliage and roots choking out other more desirable species.

I was hoping someone had an assembly line approach for getting rid of the thousands of seedlings after they die.

 

[proudestmonkey]

I haven't started spraying yet, but the chemical I am using is going to be Ortho "Brush-B-Gone." It has the chemical in it that the DNR here in Minnesota said was one of the two most effective. I think it can be used any time of year, but they recommend the fall for easy identification. I plan to start using it once the rain quits here. The bottle (and DNR) suggest using it in diluted form on the leaves for smaller trees (e.g. seedlings), and for larger ones, to spray the cut stump on top and on the sides to the ground within two hours of cutting it. My plan is to spray the seedlings, wait until they die (bottle says 4 to 6 weeks until dead), and then see how easy they are to pull up. As to the ones that leave a stump, I plan to leave a good 6" to a foot of stump and then come back in the fall and use my FEL to turn them out, or if there in the middle of the woods, I may cut them down to the ground and then just leave them there. My main concern is the foliage and roots choking out other more desirable species.

I was hoping someone had an assembly line approach for getting rid of the thousands of seedlings after they die.

 

[proudestmonkey]

As to the thorns, I am used to them. A good pair of sturdy leather gloves seems to protect me from nearly all thorny issues.

 

[proudestmonkey]

As to the thorns, I am used to them. A good pair of sturdy leather gloves seems to protect me from nearly all thorny issues.

 

[midlf]

Same problem with buckthorn here. Our plan is to use the rotary cutter where we can get it in. Chop them up and treat the stumps. Where the rotary cutter can't go we will use loppers and treat the stump. For loppered buckthorn we may have to drag it to a chipper but we are not looking forward to that method. We'll let you know how it works.

 

[midlf]

Same problem with buckthorn here. Our plan is to use the rotary cutter where we can get it in. Chop them up and treat the stumps. Where the rotary cutter can't go we will use loppers and treat the stump. For loppered buckthorn we may have to drag it to a chipper but we are not looking forward to that method. We'll let you know how it works.

 

[proudestmonkey]

I took down about 6 buckthorn trees today with my little piece of junk chainsaw (Poulan "Wood Shark"), a few of the trees were over 30 feet tall. These are some of the biggest on our property. It felt great. I am already starting to notice oak, cottonwood, aspen and even a few cedars struggling to get a foothold where buckthorn had previously choked everything else out. Fortunately, I have old growth (very tall) varieties of many other species, so if I can get control of the buckthorn, and stay on it, the other trees may really take off.

I am not really sure what a brush hog is, but I wondered if that would be helpful. The problem is that there are so many larger trees where the little buckthorn are, I didn't know if it was practical.

 

[proudestmonkey]

I took down about 6 buckthorn trees today with my little piece of junk chainsaw (Poulan "Wood Shark"), a few of the trees were over 30 feet tall. These are some of the biggest on our property. It felt great. I am already starting to notice oak, cottonwood, aspen and even a few cedars struggling to get a foothold where buckthorn had previously choked everything else out. Fortunately, I have old growth (very tall) varieties of many other species, so if I can get control of the buckthorn, and stay on it, the other trees may really take off.

I am not really sure what a brush hog is, but I wondered if that would be helpful. The problem is that there are so many larger trees where the little buckthorn are, I didn't know if it was practical.

 

[midlf]

Brush Hog is a trade name for a rotary cutter. A rotary cutter is like a really big rotary lawn mower for the back of the tractor. On my BX2230 I have a 48" Befco that will cut down anything up to 2" or whatever I can drive over, whichever is larger. For my use on buckthorn I usually back up over the brush. I can get about 1/2 of my buckthorn this way. The other is with the loppers. If there are trees/brush we want to save in with the buckthorn then it is loppers time.

 

[midlf]

Brush Hog is a trade name for a rotary cutter. A rotary cutter is like a really big rotary lawn mower for the back of the tractor. On my BX2230 I have a 48" Befco that will cut down anything up to 2" or whatever I can drive over, whichever is larger. For my use on buckthorn I usually back up over the brush. I can get about 1/2 of my buckthorn this way. The other is with the loppers. If there are trees/brush we want to save in with the buckthorn then it is loppers time.

 

[beenthere]

I think "Bush Hog" is the brand name for rotary cutter, and brush hog is a name commonly used to call a rotary cutter. Most know what it all means, but callin 'em right probably helps the new guys keep 'em straight. Can get confusing. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Here is the Bush Hog site.

 

[beenthere]

I think "Bush Hog" is the brand name for rotary cutter, and brush hog is a name commonly used to call a rotary cutter. Most know what it all means, but callin 'em right probably helps the new guys keep 'em straight. Can get confusing. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Here is the Bush Hog site.

 

[proudestmonkey]

Thanks for clearing things up for me. I checked dealer locations in my area. This should be interesting. The two closest dealers are (1) the implement dealer about 300 feet from my property, which tried to sell me an Agco SubCUT, or (2) the Kubota dealer 20 miles away that sold me my BX2230. I wonder how much these things cost. I would get the smallest one I could for maneuverability and cost savings. Other than Buckthorn, I am not sure what use I'd have for one. I wish I knew a neighbor that had one.

 

[proudestmonkey]

Thanks for clearing things up for me. I checked dealer locations in my area. This should be interesting. The two closest dealers are (1) the implement dealer about 300 feet from my property, which tried to sell me an Agco SubCUT, or (2) the Kubota dealer 20 miles away that sold me my BX2230. I wonder how much these things cost. I would get the smallest one I could for maneuverability and cost savings. Other than Buckthorn, I am not sure what use I'd have for one. I wish I knew a neighbor that had one.