[keith204]

I'm buying 2 lots adjacent to the 2 I own, and would like your critiques on my daunting project. Objectives:

1. Remove brush and vines from around trees
2. Smooth land: So kids can run on it without tripping on unevenness

Tools/equipment I'll have handy:

• Chainsaws, Pole ChainSaw
• Tractor w/ front bucket (borrowed, I've used it less than 5 times)
• Bush hog for tractor
• Box blade for tractor
• Riding lawn mower, Walk behind mower
• Matches

My current rough plan:

1. Bush hog: lower onto brush around trees, trying to avoid thick stumps
2. Chainsaw: Cut down thicker stuff
3. Scoot stuff to a burn pile (& coordinate with town fire department)
4. Pull down upper vines where possible
5. Cut down unwanted trees
6. Bush hog land as low as possible, scalping if necessary
7. Box blade: Give it some aggressive forward lean, and drag it around the land several times to loosen the soil (clay like) and start smoothing it out
8. Roll using water-filled roller behind lawn tractor (possibly?)

There's one notable thorn bush with super long thorns w/ barbs on them.

 

[aquist06]

The other idea would be to get all of the small trees and brush cut, then rent a chipper for the day and grind it up. To me that would be the best way to deal with it. As for the ground, the box blade will work, it will bring up tons and tons of roots though, so that will create a whole new problem. Running around with the brush hog is a great idea, just be careful of stumps and flying debris if you try an lower it on bigger brush. On rough land we have used a power rake which attaches to a tractor to level things out, I don't think there is an attachment that works as well.

Good luck

Adam

 

[TUDOR]

Coordinating with the town fire department is an excellent idea. They may even be interested in the possibility of using your burn piles as a training exercise. They will definitely have advice as to the size of the burn piles and the clearance to nearby combustibles. :fing32:

Depending on the size of the thorn bush, an appropriately sized tracked excavator might be a better option than rubber tired tractors. Tear it down, bust it up, scrape it into a burn pile all its own and dig a deep hole to rake into for the remains, including any thorns left on the ground in the area. The rubber tired tractors could backfill the hole later without worries of thorn induced flat tires.

If the ground is level and has no major humps and bumps, a LT should have no problem with a water filled 48" roller. It's rolling weight as opposed to dragging weight. I have pulled my 17 cu-ft trailer, on 2 16x6.50-8 tires, full of dirt (about 2000 lb) on lawns with no problem. A 48" roller has almost 4 times the footprint and half the weight, and is larger in diameter besides.

 

[keith204]

Thanks for the good advice.

Tudor - Without a tracked excavator, is there another option? Possibly, remove carefully & burn?


re: box blade usage: With clay-like soil w/ rocks in it, is it better for me to just go ahead and assume I need a big pile of fill dirt to spread over unevenness and box blade that? Or is a box blade good enough at tearing up land to smooth existing land out?

 

[CADplans]

Your description of how you plan to use the tractor clearly shows that you are borrowing the tractor,,,:dunno:

Please be respectful of the tractor and plan on returning it in the same condition as borrowed.

Scalping the ground with a bush hog is something you save for a rented machine.

Then the rental store will charge you for damage when you return the equipment.

 

[Diesel Powered]

I concur with the track hoe. For $1k, somebody could make easy work of that; if you go with your current plan, you could easily spend at least that much repairing damaged equipment that you borrow. I'd recommend saving the tractor and box blade for final grading after the hoe gets done. :fing32:

 

[keith204]

Your description of how you plan to use the tractor clearly shows that you are borrowing the tractor,,,:dunno:

Please be respectful of the tractor and plan on returning it in the same condition as borrowed.

Scalping the ground with a bush hog is something you save for a rented machine.

Then the rental store will charge you for damage when you return the equipment.

This is good to know. The person who volunteered their tractor to me actually recommended this for taking thorny bushes to the ground. I guess, it would probably have a similar blade dulling effect of driving an axe into the ground...lots of times.

 

[TUDOR]

Tudor - Without a tracked excavator, is there another option? Possibly, remove carefully & burn?

I don't know. While we have a few small thorn bushes in this part of the world, they aren't much bigger than the size of bushes used to landscape the flower bed at the front of a house. The thorns on those are about an inch long, not the size of the spears that I've seen pics of on the forum.

I try real hard to keep my loaded tires away from large, sharp, pointy objects! I've collected more than enough nails lately. isgus:

 

[keith204]

Hey good news!

The city was out here today with a bulldozer with tracks, and they volunteered to dispose of the thorn trees for me.

So that's done.

 

[TUDOR]

Now that's a good piece of news! :thThumbsU

 

[keith204]

Better piece of news: We hired a neighbor with an excavator to take out the brush and about 6-8 trees and create 2 burn piles.

Now, things are relatively straightforward.

 

[deereboy55]

The city is probably happy some one is going to take care of the property,,,,,,,of course improved land usually,,,brings a higher tax bill:dunno:

 

[3v0]

You might now be in a position where you can do something with the boxblade. On hard ground you will want to lower the rippers one notch and load it up with some weight.

How many HP is the tractor?

I have been doing similar to a scrap dealer's 1 acre property we purchased about a year ago. We removed the junk and trash, took down the fences, and cut the junk elms at or below ground level. This made a big improvement. Since then I have been filling in low spots with scrounged dirt. It is surprising how much fill dirt it takes to fill even a small low area.

It is doubtful that you would find a small roller to be very useful. Level it as best you can with the loader and box blade, then use some sort of a drag to smooth it for seeding. It may take some time but you can do it.

 

[keith204]

Yep. I'm working the box blade now. It's quite fun.

Just don't look at my post in the Case subforum. It will make this sound less fun. Moral of that story: when using a box blade, also be sure to watch in front of the tractor.

 

[rockford]

I was hoping to read that you bought a goat. The love to eat vines, especially Poison Ivy.

 

[keith204]

I was hoping to read that you bought a goat. The love to eat vines, especially Poison Ivy.

That's what I keep hearing. But, I know zero people who have goats for this purpose. How much do goats cost? And, how do you keep them around trees and off the streets?

 

[rockford]

That's what I keep hearing. But, I know zero people who have goats for this purpose. How much do goats cost? And, how do you keep them around trees and off the streets?

Where I live goats go for around $200. LOL, I'm used to getting them for free, or $35 at most. If dogs are not a problem you can tie the goats just long enough to reach your border.