We have a 4 acre area that is overgrown and I would like to thin the smaller trees out and remove a lot of the brush. I'm not sure on how to approach this and am looking for some help.....once I identify the trees & brush to be removed should I also remove the stumps/rootballs??? If so, what's the best way to dispose of them? [img]/forums/images/icons/confused.gif[/img]
Do you want to turn it into lawn? IF so, then removing the stumps would be a good idea. However, the stumps will rot in time, so just cutting them off at ground level would also be a consideration.
If you can use firewood, then cutting and bucking into firewood lengths would be a way to work your way through the woods. The tops need to be burned or chipped, if you don't want to wait for them to rot on the ground.
Species of wood, pictures, and what you want it to look like in 1 year, 5 years, 10, etc. would help us give some answers to your questions.
What tools/equipment do you have? What tools/equipment do you want to have? [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img] This could be a good excuse to get some tools and equipment for now and in the future. [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]
I just want to make the wooded area look more appealing...was kinda leaning toward leaving the stumps there to rot....would sucker growth be a problem when doing this? The trees are mostly pine and maple with a few oak mixed in for good measure. As for tools....I'm think a grapple for the tractor would be a good idea, I have a medium size chainsaw.....probably will rent a heavy duty chipper......not sure on what type of chipper to get, probably will get the most commercial type they have?
Look around on the internet - a good rule of thumb is take the trunk diameter in inches, add 8, and convert that to feet, that will give you the suggested distance to the nearest tree.
So if you have a tree that is 12 inches in diameter, add 8 to it and convert that to feet, you should have 20 feet around that tree before the nearest tree.
To get the diameter, divide the circumference by 3. So if a tree is 36 inches around, the diameter is 12 inches ( close enough anyhow ).
http://www.wa.gov/dnr/htdocs/rp/stew.../thinning.html
Is a good guide on thinning trees.
Since this won't be a lawn, I would leave the stumps to rot, just cut them off as close to flush as you can so you can run a brush hog over them with no problems.
I normally pile up the limbs and scrap that isn't big enough for firewood and burn it off a couple times a year. A chipper would be a nice idea as well.
I have done a good bit of this in my pasture along a creek and it is really paying off with a nice park like area along the creek, nice spacing between the trees and since I can mow thru it now, no brush to speak of.
The remaining trees are healthier now as they aren't fighting each other so much for sunlight, water, etc.
Thanks!! I doubt anything has been done in our woods for 20+ years so I'll have plenty to do...you're info was an eye opener for me.
Remember the original forests didn't need any help to mature.
Egon
Cutting stumps off flush with the ground is expensive in chainsaw terms as you inevitably get into the dirt with the blade. For stumps less than a 2 to 2 1/2 inches in diameter I have started cuting them off about 12-16 inches above ground and removing any side branches. I can drive over stumps of this height with my pickup or tractor without puncturing a tire. If the plant dies it will rot off at or below ground level in a year or so and subsequent brush hogging will then knock it off at or below ground level. Driving over rotted ones will also break them off at or below ground level.
After cutting brush or small trees off, near ground level or the recommended 12-16 inches above ground, paint the cambium layer (between outer bark and solid wood) with a good brush killer. Some of my friends and I carry a recycled squeeze bottle with a surfactant (wetting agent), a strong dye (so you don't lose track of which are treated and which aren't, and a "cocktail" of herbicide/brush killer (whatever you have faith in or is recommended by your extension agent.) Even brush cut in a fence row with pruning shears, when treated, dies and doesn't have to be clipped again and again.
I say paint the cut end but we don't actualy use a paint brush just a liberal squeeze of the applicator bottle to the right ring on the cut end. A recycled hand lotion or shampoo botle works well as there is no little pop top thingy to lose, just a toggle on/toggle off arrangement which you won't lose. Why the emphasis on not loosing a cap? Strong dyes will make quite a mess if you get a spill in your vehicle (or pocket.)
Good advice is to not thin the area based on current sizes but expected sizes xx years after thinning.
[img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] Pat [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]
"I'm not from your planet, monkey boy!"
Pat,
What is your "cocktail"?
Gary
For me 12-16" stumps would be quite jarring to run into with the gator, truck, tractor, or brush hog when I'm mowing or whatever and the grass has grown up to hide the stump.
I can normally cut several stumps off flush before I dull a saw chain, the local hardware store sends them out to be sharpened for a couple dollars so its worth it to me to cut them off flush. I just do all the cutting I need to and then flush cut the stumps last, then drop the chain off to be touched up if it needs it. I've gotten pretty good at doing it without dulling the chains very much.
But everyone has their own methods. [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]
The spraying of the cut ends on brushy stuff is a good idea, I like the dye marker idea as well, thanks for the info Mr. Pat.
I only cut stumps at the 12-18 inch height if they are small enough to run over (push down) with the tractor or truck tires with no tire damage. This is usually less then 3 inches or so in diameter. As there are numerically many fewer "large" individual trunks to be cut, I can take the time to cut them close to the ground. In special cases I would even dig around them a bit to get good access.
Cocktail? Varies! I'm sure it must matter what species you are attacking but a mix of Grazon P+D, Remedy, SurfKing (surfactant), and a good spray marking dye (Just bought a bottle of GREEN but would like a nice dayglow orange or hot pink) works OK. If I had time to run comparison tests, I'd be trying some of the "brush killers" full strength with some surfactant and dye with maybe some Remedy for good measure. I don't go too crazy with the surfactant as it is only a wetting agent and has no "KILLING" properties of its own although it helps ensure more of the active ingredients get to the cambium and don't just bead up and or run off.
These ag chemicals aren't cheap but are effective, especially at higher concentrations and you don't use or waste much with a good squeeze bottle with a small applicator tip. Grazon P + D is a restricted ag chemical and requires an applicators permit to be able to purchase it. 2-4-D and glyphosphate (generic roundup) are pretty effective too and are of course over the counter. I'm not sure how well glyphosphate works applied to a cut stump. I use it as a foilage spray and infrequently as a basal spray. Haven't tried it in the cocktail.
For particularly stuborn species (I don't know their names but some are survivors) you can cut a groove around the trunk. Angle the cut to try to make a little toroidal basin and fil it with your cocktail. This gives a much larger dose than a topical application to the cut end. Oh by the way... don't waste your time and materials "painting" the entire cut end of the larger stumps. Juat squeeze out a good dose where the outer bark meets the next layer (cambium.) The cambium is the actual target of your application.
If I didn't mention it strongly enough...You do need a strong dye in your cacktail so you can keep track of which cut ends are treated and which aren't. NOt that my short tem memory is all that bad but you get distracted, do other things, then return to the stumps, maybe the next day, and hmmm which ones did I treat??? Use dye.
MUNCYBOB: If you girdle woody plants they sometimes die and sometimes just send up other shoots. If you girdle a small tree or brush and use the angle-reservoir cut method described above and fill the reservoir with herbicides suitable for basal spray application you are very likely to get a good kill. This will effectively thin your wooded area and not require a chain saw. In time the dead trees/brush will rot at ground level and can be easily removed if you don't want to leave them behind to decompose and return their nutrients to the soil. If aesthetics prohibit the above then consider a chipper on the tops.
I recently (a week ago) had help putting up about a thousand feet of 5 wire 4 point barbed wire fence. The help violated the 12-18 inch rule and I ran a stob through the side wall of a quite nice tire. OH, that stob! That is one you cut with the brush hog... Yeah? That's funny... The brush hog never left a pile of sawdust before!
It isn't hard to get good help these days it is essentially impossible.
[img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] Pat [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]
"I'm not from your planet, monkey boy!"
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