Reclaiming land

[Michael]

On my property there are several heap piles where the previous owner had the timber cut and the leftovers pushed into piles scattered about the property. He never got around to burning the dead piles and they have all been taken over by privy hedge and other greenery that refuses to burn. Is there anything that will kill this growth so that I can get the piles dry enough to burn? Roundup will kill the small stuff, but it will not kill the hedge and some of the small trees that have started to grow.

[jml755]

Can you use a tractor with loader to push around the edges and break up the piles? It just seems that trying to chemically kill ALL the stuff would be harder/more expensive than breaking it up mechanically. How big are the piles? Picture?

[Michael]

I've pushed most of it up as much as I can considering the piles were growing for a few years before I bought the place.

[Michael]

Another pile. For reference the tractor to the right is a 325 hp John Deere 9200

[Michael]

Another.

[Michael]

These are some of the smaller piles and most of them are gone as I am doing some farm expansion and they were in the way of the dirt work, but it should give you an idea.

[Toadhill]

You can use a spray called Garlon. It will kill trees up to 6" DBH it used as directed.