Clearing back field edges

[andrewj]

the only "chipper" solution for wood piles like that is a large commercial shredder and a backhoe with hydraulic thumb to pick up debris and place it in the hopper.

if you are remotely thinking of using a hand place chipper, think again, especially if you are a one man show. doze it, burn it, forget it. (then spread the potash around so your grass will grow.)

 

[cmhyland]

Andrew,
That pile is long since gone... That was two or three burn piles ago.. And it was some heavy nasty stuff. Most of the stuff since has been brush and tree tops...

I'm looking to chip brush and tree tops as I go along the walls...

Thanks,
Chris

 

[Highbeam]

Well heck, If you've already rented a hand loaded chipper and are pleased with the speed and effort it takes to accomplish your tasks then you are much better off buying one than renting one for the long term. Especially if you can only work in spurts such as weekends.

I too am a one man army and have spent a few years now clearing my jungle. I have "evolved" from a small dozer, to a logger, to a tractor, and then to a tractor/logger combination. Money is always a large factor as is time.

In my thoughts about chipping I have decided that it would be wise to attack the jungle with the mower and when I find something too big to mow then leave it until I come back with a saw and chipper to dispose of the larger stuff. It is quite amazing what a raised mower backed into brush can do. Sawed off stumps that are cut low enough can be mowed over until they rot away.

Collecting the material into a pile for burning just makes a huge pile very quickly. Perhaps there is a contractor who can be hired for just the burning phase of the work, one with smaller equipment and insurance. Chippers are expensive and being "economical" I would take the advice from many forum memebers and get one of those chinese 6" models. Keep the debris clean of dirt to help your chipper teeth last longer.

Without a big machine doing the work in one big swoop you should be prepared for years of clearing. I have been doing it for years, still fun to convert jungle into pasture.

 

[Arcane]

I'm with the excavator and burn crowd. Its taken us 2 years of most weekends to clear the stone walls at my place: nearly a mile of them, and the stuff was 10' deep and 20' high in many places. Rose, grape, bittersweet, choke cherry, russian olive, and some poison ivy. (Try not to be downwind of the burn.) Anyway, chipping that much material would take forever, and who wants to touch it? Rotary cut wherever I could, chainsaw when I had to, then used the backhoe to pull most of it away, grub out the stumps, and set up numerous small piles to age for burning season. Small piles aren't as intimidating. I hired a wall builder who uses a 50 hp Kubota excavator with a thumb to rebuild (and in some cases move) the walls, and he helped me take apart some of the piles that got too big, pop the stumps that the bh couldn't handle, etc.

 

[1bush2hog]

Anyway, chipping that much material would take forever, and who wants to touch it? Rotary cut wherever I could, chainsaw when I had to, then used the backhoe to pull most of it away, grub out the stumps, and set up numerous small piles to age for burning season. Small piles aren't as intimidating.

I'm with Arcane on this one - While I would like to have a chipper to utilize the mulch, mulching invasive species is not a good idea as it could potentially spread the problem. Also, with a chipper, I would think one would have to handle the material more.

I also go with smaller burn piles too and don't really worry about when I can burn. The wildlife utilizes the brush piles during the times I can't burn. Since I am also a one man show and my property is 3.5 hours away, I work on it when I can and when I can't I don't worry about it - Lots of time, hard work, money, and patience is required to clear land - no matter what tactic you use.


Another user on here from Goshen, CT - Toy1, has a front end mulcher setup that might be of some interest to you, especially if geographically and financially desireable for the two of you

Good Luck!