My first post!!!

JeepJeep · Mar 25, 2003

I have been lurking for about 2 weeks now and catching up on all the great information in the various forums. Being VERY new to owning any property and never having driven a tractor I’ve come to the conclusion that you are all nuts!!! Well, no more nutty than I am about Jeeps /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

All I can say is WOW, what a great source of information!!! And what great people!!! Of all the posts I’ve read there is a substantial lack of arrogance and sarcasm. This is truly refreshing!!! /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

So at the risk of sounding like a complete noob /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif I’ve got some questions I thought I would throw out, as well as some additional information perhaps not found in my bio:

3.3 Acres in Hamilton, VA (Northern VA) all rolling, not much is flat about an acre of woods, the rest I need to mow.
200 foot gravel driveway
Currently very little landscaping
Kubota BX2200 on it’s way with Turf Tires, FEL, 60” Muching Deck, and a Rear blade.

The questions:
On the edge of the woods are a tremendous amount of vines growing into the trees, these go way way up and are very tangled, some are small others are 2” thick. Is there a good way to get rid of these?

Also on the edge of the woods is quite a bit of brush, most of it prickers and thorns. Is there a good method of either dragging this out or mulching it? Can I drive through it with my 60” mulching deck and still maintain tire pressure? Will this ruin the deck?

Finally, the house on the property is very new, the grass that does exist is very sparse and there are a lot of small rocks strewn about (Golf Ball sized). Is there an implement that can pick these up or do I just need to put my 4 year old to work?

Thanks, Jim

RobS · Mar 25, 2003

Welcome to the forum Jim. You're sure to get all sorts of answers and opinions to your first post, I'll just throw out a couple of things that came to mind quickly...

The vines: Around here they could be grapevines, poison ivy or virginia creeper. All are harmful to the trees but one can be especially difficult to deal with (poison ivy). Mature grapevines can get quite large at the base and have thin, rough bark that runs along the length (much easier to picture than describe). Grapevines don't cling to the tree, they usually hang free. Poison Ivy and Virgina Creeper both have smoother bark and hairy-like features that cling them to the tree. I'm not good enough to tell them apart unless they have leaves. Poison Ivy has three leaves, creeper has five. For all three you'll need to sever the plant at the base to kill it. The vines can then be pulled down with mixed results. Grape vines pull down pretty well but the others will be more difficult. If you're like me, you'll want to stay well away from the poison ivy /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

On the prickers and thorns... they might be wild blackberries which are quite tasty. Remove what you have to but consider leaving some for yourself and the birds.

Welcome again, others will have many additional ideas for you /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

BTW, nice Jeeps on your web-site /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

normde2001 · Mar 25, 2003

As far as the vines in the trees, I would just cut off near ground level with axe or chainsaw, then deal with the stumps with weed killer, or I just found out, spray with salt water. The dying vine in the tree will disappear. If what you are calling a mulching deck is a rotary cutter/bushhog just back it into the thorns, depending on the size of the bush, and the thorns. The thornbush, (blackberry, etc), will eat you up on the tractor, however the thorns shouldn't hurt your tires. I have seen some 1-3" thorns that I wouldn't get near with my tractor. If you have a boxblade and are willing to start over with grass seeding, I would run over the rocky yard with that and pile them up......Now, try not to bother us anymore, we're very busy. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif Almost forgot, I got a small 3 prong boat anchor, (grappling hook), that I tied to a small cable and threw into the middle of my thorn bushes and drug them down to a more manageable size.

WCarlson · Mar 25, 2003

Welcome. On the vines, I have been successful cutting them off at the base, letting them hang in the trees for a few months then putting a line on them and pulling them out of the trees with my tractor. However, in order to avoid nasty surprises, I strongly suggest that the line you use be longer than the tree is high. Sometimes those heavy vines will damage a tree and it will come at you with the vine. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif
Bill

herbenus · Mar 25, 2003

Often when I'm out with fel and see a vine, I'll catch it with fel and keep on going. This cuts it but doesn't take out base which is what you'll have to do. I do this more for fun till I'm finally able to deal with properly. I have the poison ivy and grapevines. Actually I leave grapevines since they don't damage tree that much and we like grapes as do wildlife.

We have another vine that I call saw briar. It gets vines up to 1/2" diameter and maybe a little bit more and is aptly named. Thorns all over up to 1/2" long and will definitely cut you up if you get tangled up in. Leaves that look like a pretty ivy. Gloves help some. When properly dealt with, a large number of tubers that look like mutant potatoes are found in roots. These need to be burned but be very careful not to breath smoke (same with burning poison ivy - don't breath smoke! Just imagine poison ivy rash on your insides).

And welcome to the tractor forum. I agree with you about the lack of arrogance here. But not sure about sarcasm. I pride myself in my abilities as a smartas# and think there are at least a few others here as well. But it's all in good fun.

rockyridgefarm · Mar 25, 2003

welcome Aboard!

OlllllO

/forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

njrqs · Mar 25, 2003

Welcome JJ

Nice to see a lurker convert.

Cheers

chrisjbell · Mar 25, 2003

I've used my FEL with some success when tearing out vines. When have to do that unpleasant stuff I usually try to back on top of them with my brush hog. It sounds like you have a mid-mounted finish mower, though, and I wouldn't recommend trying to use that with thick vines. It isn't designed to chop up 2" stuff - at the very least, you'll be sharpening the blades (and they might break).

A rear blade sometimes works, too. Give it a shot - if it works you're a happy camper. It'll just basically chop 'em off / pull 'em out. You'll still have to come back and kill the vines or they'll be baaaccckkk /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif....

As far as your tires are concerned... Don't know how the turfs will hold up. I've got ags on my tractor and there are some thorns that'll put a nice hole in those. I went through a period where it seemed like I was getting those things patched more than I was using my tractor (wound up putting tubes in all around and that seemed to help). But the good news is that if you do get a puncture they aren't expensive to have fixed. I think my tire guy charges $10 to unmount, repair, and remount the tire.

No easy way to get rid of rocks that I know of. A landscape rake might do it, but you probably would be best off improving your soil and starting over. If the grass is scraggly and has been there for long (say, a year) then you've got less than ideal soil. You'll thank yourself for improving it rather than trying to grow a decent lawn in bad soil.

Welcome to TBN, and enjoy your tractor. You'll get the hang of it before you know it. (Hopefully without discovering that the FEL really does swing wide, especially when you're close to your garage siding /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif - don't ask me how I know about that /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif)...Chris

Bird · Mar 25, 2003

Jim, as the others have said, there are lots of different kinds of vines. I had lots of the briars myself across the back of my property. I've pulled some down with the just the front end loader, but the best success I had (and by no means perfect) was when I made a long choker cable; i.e. a cable with a slip hook on one end. I would run it around a bunch of vines, then pull with the tractor. The harder you pull the tighter the cable would get around the vines.

Anonymous Poster · Mar 25, 2003

Congratulations on the new bx!
Have the vine problems up here too. All of 'em. Generally hack the stem at ground level w/an axe or chain saw, let them die and they will pull off. Once decided to spray poison ivy on a poplar with roundup. Didn't see the branch in the middle of the poison and sprayed it too. Had a half yellow/half green poplar tree for a year or 2. It was a large tree and survived but I wouldn't try it again.
Never tried salt to kill the roots but sounds like a good idea.
The choker idea is another good one. Everytime I get on TBN I learn something new.
Thanks folks,
DaveL

crown · Mar 25, 2003

Your property sounds alot like mine, we don't live to far from each other. I had lots of thorny brush you will probably want a brush hog to cut it then soak it good with round-up. I also had vines in my trees old apple orchard the vines were the hairy type mentioned above yes it was some type of poison my arms and upper torsoe will attest to that /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif I cut mine at the lowest point I could and yanked them down by hand not the best method but with vigilance I succeeded. Turf tires will possiably get punctured I would recommend gettting tubes installed in the fronts. The rocks will be a recurring problem I seem to grow them. I had a guy use a harley rake to get the rocks out when I was ready to seed it worked real well but I have heard they are very expensive. Hope this helps.
Enjoy the seat time. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

jmattox1 · Mar 26, 2003

If poison ivy, cut vines in middle of winter and let die off over a long period of time before pulling out of tree. In spring when new foilage appears brush just the leaves with a weed killer. It will be easier on the plants/trees you want to keep.

Just my two cents worth.

JeepJeep · Mar 26, 2003

Great ideas everyone THANK YOU!!! This definitely gives me many possibilities.

I did confirm that at least one of the vines is poison ivy, got a mild rash on my legs. I guess this is what I get for working in shorts /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif. Fortunately, poison ivy doesn’t spread on me beyond the original contact area. Unlike my brother who needs steroid shots to rid himself of it. You couldn’t imagine the pain he went through when he wiped his a$$ with a poison oak leaf once. /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

Found a decent document to help identify the various vines here:
http://www.friendsofcongaree.org/activityguide/Pages_05-01_thr_05-06_Plant_ID.pdf
Problem is most ID’s are made by the leaves and of course there are none yet.

Thanks again everyone!!!

Jim
/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

pennwalk · Mar 28, 2003

For the brush a rotary cutter / bushhog is amazingly satisfying. You can turn head high brush into grassland just by mowing it from time to time. Some bushes can be popped out roots and all if you can get to them with the fel. I seem to remember several threads in the Kubota forum about bushhogs and the BX. As for flat tires I seem to remember people here having good luck with Slime. About the golfball sized rocks I think it is pretty much hand work. You can try a landscape rake. I don't think that the BX can run a power rake. What you are doing is the kind of work I love. Hope you enjoy it.

Chris

herbenus · Mar 30, 2003

Don't take the poison ivy for granted. Your resistance is reduced with each contact. I could run through it barefoot when I was a kid. Now I get an irritating rash.

Anonymous Poster · Mar 31, 2003

Bill H... I sure agree with you. I live in SW PA and we seem to have an abundance of poison ivy in this area. My mother was an avid gardener and boasted that she never got poison ivy even though she frequently came in contact with it while working her flower an vege gardens. When she was in her mid 60's she was planting flowers around an old pine stump and came down with a severe case of PI. It was so severe that the doctor was considering having her admitted to the hospital. She was miserable for a month. I haven’t had poison ivy for over 30 years but I stay away from it and kill it with spray as soon as I see it. If you do come in contact with it you need to wash you skin as quickly as possible with a strong soap and water. You even need to be careful with your clothes that may have come in contact with PI. They recommend that you wash them separately so that you don't pass the oils to the clothes of other family members. My wife is very susceptible to PI. She breaks out if she gets in the vicinity of PI; doesn't have to touch it.

John

Bird · Mar 31, 2003

John, being one of those who was immune to poison ivy for several years, then very susceptible to it most of my life, I've done a lot of reading about it. All your information is, of course, correct, but I've read that no one knows why some people are immune and others are not, and those who are immune may suddenly lose that immunity, while those who are not may suddenly become immune. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif So whether you are immune, or think your are, or not, I think it's a good idea to follow your advice. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

kensfarm · Apr 1, 2003

They now make special soaps to wash off w/ after having contact w/ poisen ivy. When we were kids.. I remember my sister getting a bad case when my dad was burning yard trash.. seems the smoke carries the stuff pretty good.. my poor sister's face swelled up like a strawberry.. not pretty. I always get a little over the summer.. my double-line weed wacker (lawn trimmer) throws juice everywhere.. by the time I'm done trimming.. the front side of me is yard green!

Soundguy · Apr 1, 2003

It must have some relation to imune function and algery reactions. For instance, I used to be very suceptable to ant stings and wasps... to the point once when I was younger, I even had some short term parylisis <SP> after ant bites.

Now... wasps do nothing but itch for a few minutes then go away.. and most ant stings do nothing.. at most a small blister the next day.... odd.

Soundguy

Anonymous Poster · Apr 1, 2003

Suceptability to certain allergies often changes as we reach different times of our life. To the point of where this thread has gone, I have never had poison ivy in my 46 years, but since we have a lot on our property, I do take proper precautions to insure I don't get it now. (My wife can just think about it and get a rash...)