Newbie with many questions

[Semperdog]

Hello! I’m new to the forum, and have a few questions. I have a 2010 NH t1510 4x4 gear shift (approximately 30 hp). I have the 110tl loader (875 lbs full lift @ pin) attached when I purchased it 10+ years ago. I’m trying to reclaim my pasture of 20 acres and turn it back into farmland capable of growing some crops. The surrounding woods have encroached into the fields and I now have a mixture of Buck thorn, crab apples, apples, pine and a lot of goldenrod. The old apple trees haven’t been tended to in 30+ years and will likely need to be removed.
I am in hopes the forum could give me opinions on whether my tractor is powerful enough to convert this back into fields and which attachments may be best suited for the job. I am strongly considering purchasing a W. R. Long RBG3 grapple to pull out the buckthorn and smaller apple trees and the w.r. Long tree spade light to try and remove the larger apple and pine stumps. I think I will need to have additional hydraulics installed. I welcome your thoughts and suggestions, as the local dealer’s suggestion is to purchase another tractor (not possible). Thanks!

 

[ericm979]

My tractor's loader is rated for 2200 lbs at full lift. The grapple is surprisingly not all that useful for pulling plants out of the ground. It's hard to get a good grip on them, and if you manage to do that, it often takes a LOT of force to pull even a small tree out of the ground. More than the loader can provide.

I have done better by digging them out with a backhoe. But that is really slow.

What I often do now is to cut the small tree down, dig out the dirt piled up against the the stump and cut the stump flush with the ground. Then if it was alive I apply some herbicide to the cut trunk to kill the roots. The stumps will eventually rot and leave a hole but it'll be less of a hole than you'd have to fill if you dug them out.

I use the grapple for carrying branches or trees to piles to be chipped or to where I process firewood.

Once the big stuff is gone you can mow anything that sprouts.

 

[SmallChange]

My tractor's not much different from yours. I think ericm979 is right about how hard it is to pull plants out of the ground with the loader.
I've made it work by putting a hitch and hook on the FEL and tying cable or chain around the small tree trunk, which I've cut off about 4 or 5 feet up. This lets the FEL pull it up, and the tractor bend it back and forth. I'll pour water around the trunk with it in various stressed positions, to churn up a little mud around the roots and weaken the bond there. However, this does take some time. I doubt it's an option for much acreage.

 

[arrow]

Hello! I’m new to the forum, and have a few questions. I have a 2010 NH t1510 4x4 gear shift (approximately 30 hp). I have the 110tl loader (875 lbs full lift @ pin) attached when I purchased it 10+ years ago. I’m trying to reclaim my pasture of 20 acres and turn it back into farmland capable of growing some crops. The surrounding woods have encroached into the fields and I now have a mixture of Buck thorn, crab apples, apples, pine and a lot of goldenrod. The old apple trees haven’t been tended to in 30+ years and will likely need to be removed.
I am in hopes the forum could give me opinions on whether my tractor is powerful enough to convert this back into fields and which attachments may be best suited for the job. I am strongly considering purchasing a W. R. Long RBG3 grapple to pull out the buckthorn and smaller apple trees and the w.r. Long tree spade light to try and remove the larger apple and pine stumps. I think I will need to have additional hydraulics installed. I welcome your thoughts and suggestions, as the local dealer’s suggestion is to purchase another tractor (not possible). Thanks!

Old apple trees are well rooted.
Take out the smaller stuff but leave the larger apple trees to renting a mini ex.
You can do a lot of damage with one of them in a day or two.

 

[CliffordK]

There are several threads about clearing land. If you're planning on doing pasture, you could cut the trees and work around them. On the other hand, if you're planning on tilling and planting, you will probably want the trees and stumps gone.

I'm not sure I've tried pulling trees with my ford 1715 which is similar to your NH. However, the bucket is very weak, so I doubt it would do much with a good sized tree.

There are stump buckets designed for digging, but still I think your tractor will struggle with them.

About 30 years ago my parents decided to hire a bulldozer to level a bunch of scrubby pear trees and push them into piles for burning. I don't remember how much labor on the dozer, but perhaps a couple of days. Nonetheless, the time dozing was relatively quick.

Then it took us over a year to burn the piles, perhaps a couple of years. It was a lot of work. Torching the piles. Then using a Pulaski to chop the dirt out of the stumps, repiling, and reburning. Perhaps 3 burns per pile.

Still, we've ended up with an excellent hay field for the last 30 years.

 

[Yander]

Welcome to TBN.

Looks like you have a really nice preemissions tractor with an awesome shibaura engine. I would hate to see you screw that up trying to clear land. Get a dozer in there and pay them for a day of work. It will save you money in the long run I am confident in that.

 

[lman]

I've found that forks can loosen the roots of smaller trees enough to remove them. A set of forks would be multipurpose and would get you started.

 

[oosik]

I would go with Yanders post #6. Tractors - in general - are not designed for land clearing. You could damage your tractor and still not get the job done.

A dozer should be able to clear the land in a day. A grapple on your tractor will be able to straighten out anything the dozer leaves lying about.

If you plan on seeding the entire acreage - first - mow everything down to ground level. Then till with a pto driven rototiller.

Your tractor comes into play here. Cleanup with a grapple - mowing - tilling - seeding - compacting.

 

[Williy]

When you cut the tree's down to the ground you can
drill some holes in them and fill with salt & water

willy