Clearing Land

[Newbee]

If all goes well, the missus and I will be acquiring 17 acre's of wooded heaven next to Watts Bar Lake in Kingston, TN.
We will need to do a lot of clearing to get all the pasture space it looks like we want... any advice?

There are a lot of downed tree's, what's standing is mostly younger hardwoods, and some taller pines; was allegedly logged ~60-70 years ago. Tons of leaf litter on the floor, too (so much for my idea w/ Diesel oil and a match...  ). I've got a chainsaw and plenty of experience dropping them, but I'll have to clear out the roots...

Natch, money's going to be tight, so I can't just hire a Dozer to come by. Thinking the V-8 in my F-150 and a chunk of rope/chain to the hitch...? There are plans to acquire an old tractor at some point for the pasture (but don't want to burn it out taking down tree's).

... And this is Tennessee: Thermite, gun powder, and left-overs on July 5th are all options on the table.

Thanks for the suggestions and help!

- Kevin

[Dunkel]

Beautiful area Newbee, congrats on the land.

 I don't envy you on the land clearing part though.  The first thing I would do is identify  the honey making trees I had.  In my area that for the most part would be Sourwood, Lin/Basswood, and Poplar .

 Also the stumps will be twenty times easier to get out by pushing the trees over than doing so after the tree is cut down and trying to pull the stump.  With a dozer the hardwoods will be difficult to push over, you have to cut the root side with the blade and push from the opposite.  If you just have the stump it can take hours if any size, that is where an excavator comes in.

Can it be done with a chainsaw and a truck?  Of course, I would either cut down the tree high enough so I could see the stump when I bush hogged around it or dig down and cut the stump off below ground level. Grinding out the stump would be another option.  In about ten years you can disc it up and sow it down when they rot up enough. 

I don't know the size of you trees and types and how thick the woods are. It can be done on the cheep if time is not a factory. I am just relating my past experiences with anything hardwood,  thigh sized and up.

[Newbee]

Thanks Dunkel, don't have it yet (crafting offer w/ realtor this morning). Fortunately the hardwoods are mostly smaller (thigh-size sounds about the biggest). There were a few mature hardwoods, but it looked like the pine's were transitioning to hardwoods, so nothing too bad. I'm also concerned about the volume of material... there's just a ton of stuff, and not much useable (I'll be needing fenceposts and firewood); much of what's downed is half-rotten, and it would be a mountain-sized pile to have to burn. 'Spose I could just push a bunch of it onto one spot in the corner (I'd hardly miss half-an-acre on a parcel that size.) Can it just sit and rot for eternity (w/o ill effect)?

The only hurry would be clear a spot for the house we have to build... horses and livestock take a back-seat so long as I can still get my beef and pork at Krogers! LOL!

- K

[lazy shooter]

newbee:

I don't know anything about Tennessee law, but in Texas, if one intentionally starts a fire, that person is responsible for any and all damage to adjacent properties.  This has just about put an end to pasture burning for weed reduction.  Were I you, I would check with the local sheriff on burning regulations. 

To fully utilize the land, the stumps and shallow roots have to be removed.  A dozer or a trackhoe would be the way to go, but I too, have been hamstrung on money.  Maybe you can get a portion of the land cleaned this year and work forward from there in years to come.  I do know that the type of land you have bought will be rich in soil microbes and natural fertilizers.  Use this land softly and will produce wonderfully for years and years. 

lazy

[Newbee]

Thanks Lazy! Though more work, I am excited about it being wooded property vs. buying someone else's pasture that's all used up. There is a small clearing and a structure, but it's got that Zosia grass (golfer's grass the realtor called it?) Not suitable for pasture, is what I'm hearing, :lol: At least it's cleared... The falling-down house that's there will make a nice area for a barn... just gotta knock it over and clear it out (lots of re-useable materials).
Here they have a burn season where it is permitted, things are pretty wet most of the year, and the property is near the end of a couple miles of country road, 100-feet from a lake... but I appreciate the warning. I have made friends w/ an ex-sheriff's deputy, so have a good source for such matters.

- K

[brooksbeefarm]

I have been through what your doing a few times and working on one now. I have found that putting off some plans and hiring dozer work is far better than doing it by hand. A dozer can do more in an hour than you can in a month. At least in my case , You can waste a lot of time and effort plus take a chance of injury and many unseen repairs, truck, chain saw, saw chains, ect., and if your going to build a house, you are going to be hard presser for time. I'm paying $100.00 an hour for about 3 days of dozer work now which sounds like a lot of money and it is, but i don't regret it for a moment, been through the chain saw, ax,wedges, truck and tractor, copperhead, thing to many times, at 77 yrs. old i'm a wee bit smarter now and don't feel like going through all that any more.Not trying to talk you out of anything, just some food for thought. Good luck, and just have a good time doing it. Jack

[Zulu]

My neighbor bought an old D6 for around $12000, it's not huge , and it's old , but it does a lot of hard work.

Chainsaw isn't going to cut it long term , ( pardon the pun)

You are still going to have to do earth works if you want pastures , do it in acre parcels by hiring a dozer , or buy a small one.

[apisbees]

Zulu has a good point Buy use and sell when you are finished. here is one for $9000 in Ontario with the strength of the us dollar it is only $6537.61 in your real money. According to google it's only 1200 mile and 11 hr away.
http://www.kijiji.ca/v-heavy-equipment-machinery/guelph/1956-d6-9u-caterpillar-dozer-work-or-play/1083778510?enableSearchNavigationFlag=true#

[Retroguy]

In my   youth I & my bros were the land clearing crew.  Luckily that didn't amount to much except for taking down the occasional dead oak in the yard, not opening up a field.  We did it the hard way but the easy hard way if that makes sense.  The old man had us trench around the base of the tree then cut the roots off with an axe or "grub hoe" (mattock).  We'd try to get the tap root if possible, not always easy or worth the effort.  We then took a steel cable/log chain combination and got as high on the tree as our ladder would take us, maybe 20'.  Hooked the other end to our Farmall M and jerk it a few times until it gave.  Then the trick was to move the tractor out of the way as quickly as possible since the cable never seemed to be quite as long as the tree was tall.

Not sure what they were like but there used to be "stump pullers" that used a team of horses and leverage to twist the stumps out of the ground.  I think the more successful ones used a cable/windlass system which worked better. Found one in a remote corner of our farm when I was a lad.  It was left where it broke if that means anything.   

[tbonekel]

Better be careful admitting you have a ford. Some on here are relentless in admitting their failure in not owning one. You know who you are out there!

Sent from my LG-H811 using Tapatalk

[iddee]

Hey, tbone, I own 5 of them. One actually runs.     

[apisbees]

Iddee I wouldn't admit to that! It gives the ford haters more ammunition.

[Newbee]

Zulu has a good point Buy use and sell when you are finished. here is one for $9000 in Ontario with the strength of the us dollar it is only $6537.61 in your real money.

LOL! I'm quite fond of the Loonies and Twoonies from our northern neighbor's to the north.My liver cut it's teeth on Molson's and Blue (grew up outside Buffalo, rode my bike halfways across the rainbow bridge when I was 16!). Boy do I miss that stuff down here! Funny that you found one in Ontario - 6-mos. ago I lived 5-min from the southern shore of Lake Ontario!

That is something I've considered - buying used, selling when cleared - but money's looking to be so tight... I've gotten quotes from 2-10k per acre to clear depending on the density, condition, and type of wood (currently employed by a tree service company, even got the employee discount).

We're starting to get creative at different ways we can crack this nut, so I appreciate all the great info and idea's. Realtor thinks we can get it for even less than we thought. I'll just be happy when we get it! Imagine how many hives I could keep! 

- K

[apisbees]

Other options to get raising beef would be starting with a breed that can fend for themselves. They will graze bush land and don't require the trees and brush to be cleared and a cover crop to be planted before cattle can be bought. I am talking about Scottish Highland cattle.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highland_cattle
Highland cattle site with information and breeders in some surrounding states from you.
http://www.midwesthighlands.org/
could take some of the rush off of clearing the land.
As far as bees I have seen good crops of honey came from areas that you would wonder where the nectar is coming from. Jonny apple seed the ditches and road allowances and keep in mind bees fly 2+ miles so they may have lots of forage in the area.

[brooksbeefarm]

Apis, i don't know anything about Scottish Highland cattle? but you must not of ever been to S W Mo., i have a 40 acre that is mostly woods and brush that a Goat would have a hard time making a living in it. The oaks are so thick you have to walk through it, no vehicle (except a dozer) could go ten foot in it. I'm going to put bees on it this spring. Would like to put some Goats on it, but bob cats and coyotes would have a field day, the property all around is woods and pasture (Dallas County, Mo.) about 20 miles from where i live and the bees should do good, neighbors don't know of any beekeepers in the area.Like Newbee,this place needs a lot of tender loving care. Jack