Posted on 06/18/2018 7:33:15 AM PDT by rarestia
Calling all farmers, land owners, and gardeners... yours truly recently took ownership of 4 acres of property in central Florida and has some questions. I'm far from a greenhorn, but I'm learning new things and don't know what I don't know. Please bear with me and correct any misuse of terms herein.
Approximately 3 acres of my land is heavily wooded and was poorly maintained. My last 2 weekends were spent with a rented brush hog clearing the front acre of my property of undergrowth. Vines were everywhere, some as thick as 2 inches (diameter), and it made for very slow going. There were numerous dead logs and some dead trees are still standing. The rest was poison ivy, overgrown deliberately-planted bushes such as oak leaf hydrangea, and oak saplings.
After clearing, I'm left with a lot of thatch, leaf litter, and branches to clear, but I have my sights set on the future. What are my next steps? I could walk the acre and manually pick up the big stuff. I'll either burn, chip, or save felled lumber. How can I make the grounds arable for turf? Should drop a broadleaf herbicide to tame the weeds? Should I rent a power rake or a dethatcher? Finally, should I aerate and then overseed with bahia or rye?
My goal is to have the natural large trees remain intact with appropriate pruning for shade, some winding mulch pathways, and either turf or natural ground cover such as fern, vervain, or juniper filling in the space where a lot of the weeds and brush were previously. I understand this is going to be a very lengthy process, but with the proper machinery and patience, I believe it's all very possible.
My thanks to any and all FReepers who might be able to help.
I have a 20 year old version of this:
https://www.stihlusa.com/products/trimmers-and-brushcutters/brushcutters-and-clearing-saws/fs460cem/
It works great for cutting brush and small saplings. Home Depot sells their own version of Roundup concentrate under their HDX brand that is much cheaper for the same chemical.
As other Freepers have stated goats will eat anything. People will rent goats to clear your property.
Lastly, if you really want to clear it quickly, get an experienced bull dozer or excavator operator. An experience heavy machine operator can do more in two days than you could in a year.
I feel your pain... similar situation here, but with some extras like many old tires, old fencing rolls, etc., and ... drum-roll ... an infestation of Japanese knot-weed.
Several folks have suggested a controlled burn, but I’m not confident in my abilities to control it. I’m of the school of thought that hard work through the use of my own hands will yield the greatest rewards. If I can get the work done with the help of modern engineering, all the better.
Admittedly, I like the idea of burning, as it returns beneficial nutrients to the soil, but I don’t want to be on the hook for burning down a neighbor’s house if it gets out of control.
That how they get rid of it. You can bury it. It cost $500 per 25 yards to dispose. So, get some matches and clear a burn site and let’s have a bonfire.
I bought the professional series Stihl kombi-system core and already have a handful of extensions and tools for it. It’s helped to make quick work of what I felled.
Most heavy excavation contractors stay away from Bobcat and other skid-steer equipment on many jobs for a number of reasons. Parts and maintenance are expensive compared to larger and more capable equipment. Breakdowns and accidents are easier to encounter as well.
Knew an excavator that refused to own one -— said, I will get you to +/1 a tenth and after that, its your hand work.
“He tied the goat to the corner of the barn which only made him mad. He rammed the barn’s corner post till the whole structure fell down.”
ROTFLMAO!
Agreed. I’ve got 54 acres and found a local guy with the same equipment. He’s an artist with it. This past week he took out a big pine tree (40+ feet) roots and all.
Rent a Bobcat that has tracks instead of wheels. Pile up all the debris for future burning. Use roundup to spray the new sprouts that pop up later. Just cleared our grove this spring. Looks great.
Bring in some Haitians. They managed to deforest their half of the large island of Hispaniola.
They have little better industry than to take any wood they can find, render it into charcoal, which they sell for heating and cooking.
I will second the idea of burying stumps, etc. Hence my suggestion of an experienced excavator operator. When I cleared my property, the excavator operator had 40,000+ hours in the machine(20 years). He was amazing to watch. He built me rock retaining walls, buried stump and piled up brush. I let the brush piles sit for a season and burned them after the following winter.
http://www.floridagoatrental.com
Get them in there before you do anything else like further trying to clear the land. Goats love Poison Ivy. As noted, don't ever burn any brush that might have any Poison Ivy mixed in with it. You'll regret it for weeks...
Roundup might not either. Latest published study (Dec 2017)by EPA says not likely to be carcinogenic to humans.
Rather than using regular herbicides that can contaminate your field, try using one cup of Epsom Salts, 1 cup of white vinegar to two gallons of water. It does a good job. By all means be aware of ticks and use something like Cutters.
That’s a pretty handy item. It’s practically already yard-worthy when finished.
How about centipede grass or Bermuda?
The primary reason I don’t own one is expense. I cannot afford $15-35K for it.
Heavier equipment would be much more expensive, which means you’re going the wrong way. I might as well buy vibranium.
Lot’s of small lot clearing business have the bobcats around here, so I guess someone is making a profit with them. The thing is, you use heavy equipment where cost-wise and acreage wise it makes sense to. However, to clear a couple of acres, or a couple hundred feet of fence line? Nope.
And, of course, there’s a huge difference between lot clearing and excavation businesses.
Oh, not Sylvia. It is the last to green in the spring and the first to brown in the winter. (May not be a problem in Florida, though.) Goats are a great idea. They will eat anything. I hear it’s dangerous to burn poison ivy or oak. The fumes in your lungs can cause an allergic reaction.
Both depend on the amount of shade. Neither do well in shaded parts, Bermuda the worst.........
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.