10 acres - Need guidance

[MrSchaeferPants]

So a year ago we bought 10 acres here in central Arkansas. It was old Weyerhauser logging area, clear cut 10-12 years ago, 2nd growth, planted lobloly pine rowes. And not being kept up with, is now a horrible mess of vines, brush, invasives so thick you can't see 20' into it.

There are some spots I've been working on, the house/yard area as well, so perhaps 8 acres looks like the wild jungle. I just can't do it myself, when we bought the property I though sure I'll hack at it for a while, eventually get done, one day, nope.

So, I don't want to doze any of it. I don't have plans for the property, other than to clear it out, thin the trees (4-8" diameter mostly), that asthetic park look, space/thin the trees so when they're fully grown the crowns just barely touch. I'd like to get a forestry mulcher in, and chop and shred it all, but no idea how much that'd cost. I know it can vary, widly. And I've found 1 or 2 companies online to put in information and get quotes, but it's rural out here, no cell service, no cell service at work, no land line service, playing phone tag, specifically asked them to EMAIL the quote.

Anyone do this for a living and can give me a very rough idea, you know, hundreds, thousands, 10s of thousands, etc. Just so I know if it's possible to get some done, how much to save up to get it all done. Normal guy, not rich, I will have to save.

4-8" diameter oak/hickory/pine mix - those are the big ones, the rest are sapplings
how many per acre? No idea, could be 20 trees in 40 sq ft, could be 5 in others, could be 1 in some places. A lot.
8 acres
where there is not a tree, is vines, brush, thin stuff, but a lot of it. A LOT OF IT
one gentle slope down that levels off
can be soggy with heavy rains, standing water in areas

 

[MrSchaeferPants]

Here's a link to my photobucket, tossed some random pictures in there. At the end is two google maps, before it was developed, and as it sits now.

http://s195.photobucket.com/user/neogenesi/slideshow/arboristsite


Thought about renting equipment, but all anyone has is a skid steer with brush attachment. Sometimes after spending an entire weekend out there and see how little I've done, I think about dozing the entire place, grading, and starting over with replants, but I don't want to lose the 10 years or so of growth. I'd kinda like to see this place with mature trees before I die. I think mulching would be best.

 

[zogger]

Is it fenced? If so, could run some goats in there. Make the thinning pay you!

 

[HD2010]

Looks like some nice property. I am helping a friend thin a 20 acre site. When we first started 4 years ago overgrown with Honeysuckle bush. Thought we would never get done. But just kept going through entire property and is starting to get like the park look we desired. It's been a lot of work and glyphosate.
You can do this, I'm sure it seems overwhelming right now but it ca be done.

I would suggest a brushcutter type trimmer with a blade on it for starters. Then a smaller chainsaw 30-40 cc. Anything you cut, cut at ground level and spray with 50/50 glyphosate that way it won't come back. The smaller stuff you can just spray. We did not do the entire property to the park look, we worked in sections. Smaller stuff to bigger stuff. We can now drive in most of the property. Stack brush and burn at a later date. Stack brush so that it will not injure other trees. We also did a controlled burn on entire property. 5 acres one time and the other 15 later. The burn will kill smaller stuff and open up ground for new growth. I would suggest getting friends to help when burning.

It has been a blast for me to be involved with this project. Lots of firewood, selling firewood and get to buy lots of saws.

Don't get discouraged this can be done. You greatly appreciate it when done. I enjoy starting with a messy are and at the end of the do smile with my accomplishment.

Here are some before and after pictures.





Random pic.

 

[fuzz1500]

Great advice . My property was an over grown field that burned up after a careless neighbor left a burn pile going on a windy day . Anyway..that was 25 years ago..so I had think underbrush....and and endless supply of grapevines and multi-shoot maple and ash tress . I literally started crawling on my hands and kness clearing with my Shindaiwa weadeater with blade on..and my Husky 350 chainsaw . I picked a tree to get to...and cleared into it..and around...and had me a good starting point to work out from..and survey the area to be cleared for a house . Now after 8 years...it looks like a park . Once I got a driveway in there.....I was able to get my Ford 8n and brush hog in..and was able to uproot alot of tree and brush with the skid steer . And oh yea..lots of brush fires too !! Now I have a pole saw as well to help keep the trees in check !

Even had the right spot for a new pond...which Im still moving dirt from !!! Its amazing how much dirt comes out of a hole
Of coarse..some firewood !

 

[HD2010]

Great advice . My property was an over grown field that burned up after a careless neighbor left a burn pile going on a windy day . Anyway..that was 25 years ago..so I had think underbrush....and and endless supply of grapevines and multi-shoot maple and ash tress . I literally started crawling on my hands and kness clearing with my Shindaiwa weadeater with blade on..and my Husky 350 chainsaw . I picked a tree to get to...and cleared into it..and around...and had me a good starting point to work out from..and survey the area to be cleared for a house . Now after 8 years...it looks like a park . Once I got a driveway in there.....I was able to get my Ford 8n and brush hog in..and was able to uproot alot of tree and brush with the skid steer . And oh yea..lots of brush fires too !! Now I have a pole saw as well to help keep the trees in check !
View attachment 327942
Even had the right spot for a new pond...which Im still moving dirt from !!! Its amazing how much dirt comes out of a hole
View attachment 327944 Of coarse..some firewood !
View attachment 327945

Absolutely beautiful Fuzz. Great job.

 

[fuzz1500]

Absolutely beautiful Fuzz. Great job.

Hey thanks for that..its greatly appreciated !! Its kinda nice knowing Ill always have somewhere to go...and something to do !!!

 

[HD2010]

Hey thanks for that..its greatly appreciated !! Its kinda nice knowing Ill always have somewhere to go...and something to do !!!

It gives me great peace to be out in the woods, weather I'm working or not. And you get to wake up to that view everyday.

 

[fuzz1500]

It gives me great peace to be out in the woods, weather I'm working or not. And you get to wake up to that view everyday.

Amen !

 

[fuzz1500]

Scrounged up some more pics...I really need to organize my pics on my computer !
Using my dirt for a privacy mound....thinking of planting some evergreens on top after the dirt settles down !

Had to clear about a 400 ft landing strip first !! I dont need too many excuses to make a fire !!

 

[fuzz1500]

Oh...when I had a young mans body !!!! This was early on in the process.....got a little ambitious with the old Husky 350 !! Thought I was Edward Scissor Hands !!


Again..like my fires !!

I was getting a weird feeling that I was being watched ! Trust me..thats one big scary wild cat !! Ok..Ill quit postin pics..just having fun going back through them..seeing the transformations !

 

[HD2010]

Awesome. It easy to get carried away with pictures. I think we could start a thread called "Transformations".

 

[fuzz1500]

Awesome. It easy to get carried away with pictures. I think we could start a thread called "Transformations".

Great idea !!

 

[MrSchaeferPants]

Those are some good pics, that's exactly why I bought land, and wanna get the work done. I have plans for a pond as well, looong time from now though, hell still working on getting a tractor.

I do have goats, they're fenced in with an electric fence, about 1/4 acre or so. I would like to get the whole property fenced off with some permanent fencing eventually, been talking to a local guy about dozing the property line so I can do that. Even with goats, that leaves me with stalks, vines, all the hard stuff, this one invasive bush tree thing that grows in clumps.

 

[fuzz1500]

Those are some good pics, that's exactly why I bought land, and wanna get the work done. I have plans for a pond as well, looong time from now though, hell still working on getting a tractor.

I do have goats, they're fenced in with an electric fence, about 1/4 acre or so. I would like to get the whole property fenced off with some permanent fencing eventually, been talking to a local guy about dozing the property line so I can do that. Even with goats, that leaves me with stalks, vines, all the hard stuff, this one invasive bush tree thing that grows in clumps.

Just be patient...and keep your vision in your head always . Nothing good happens fast I have found . Dozing the prop lines sounds like a good start...then you can work your way in from them . And you will have clearing to make lil brush fires in too . May not be able to see in my pics of the cleared property line where my dirt mounds are going.........I have the property line marked every 50 ft with 6ft high t-posts . Only cost a little more to have it flagged that way when it was being surveyed . I spent alot of time on the family spread looking for corner posts and "guessing" where the line was when I was growing up.. I said why not make this easier for me..and my kids..and anyone else needing to know in the future ! It was money well spent !!

A tractor will help you a great deal . I got a Ford 8n .. a late 1950 model with the side mount distributor . I worked it for one year . Then I stripped it down..painted it and shored up the positive ground electrical system..upgraded to electronic ignition . I kept it 6 volt...and that thing would start on the coldest days..and sounded cool crankin too !! I brush hogged stuff that that tractor and hog had no business doing ! I dragged logs..pushed dirt and brush...and used it to tidy up my fires . I beat the livin crap out of it . I sold it for a profit last year...as I eventually needed a front loader more. But that tractor worked...look at me..Im just blabbin away !! A lot of good times and memories...still making them every day . Enjoy !!

 

[Woody912]

So a year ago we bought 10 acres here in central Arkansas. It was old Weyerhauser logging area, clear cut 10-12 years ago, 2nd growth, planted lobloly pine rowes. And not being kept up with, is now a horrible mess of vines, brush, invasives so thick you can't see 20' into it.

There are some spots I've been working on, the house/yard area as well, so perhaps 8 acres looks like the wild jungle. I just can't do it myself, when we bought the property I though sure I'll hack at it for a while, eventually get done, one day, nope.

So, I don't want to doze any of it. I don't have plans for the property, other than to clear it out, thin the trees (4-8" diameter mostly), that asthetic park look, space/thin the trees so when they're fully grown the crowns just barely touch. I'd like to get a forestry mulcher in, and chop and shred it all, but no idea how much that'd cost. I know it can vary, widly. And I've found 1 or 2 companies online to put in information and get quotes, but it's rural out here, no cell service, no cell service at work, no land line service, playing phone tag, specifically asked them to EMAIL the quote.

Anyone do this for a living and can give me a very rough idea, you know, hundreds, thousands, 10s of thousands, etc. Just so I know if it's possible to get some done, how much to save up to get it all done. Normal guy, not rich, I will have to save.

4-8" diameter oak/hickory/pine mix - those are the big ones, the rest are sapplings
how many per acre? No idea, could be 20 trees in 40 sq ft, could be 5 in others, could be 1 in some places. A lot.
8 acres
where there is not a tree, is vines, brush, thin stuff, but a lot of it. A LOT OF IT
one gentle slope down that levels off
can be soggy with heavy rains, standing water in areas

Spike will knock the crap out of everything that is not a pine tree including privet hedge if you wish to clean up your pine area. Tordon on your stump collars will help prevent sprout regeneration. Controlled burn if conditions are right

 

[NCTREE]

Call the local forester see if he can give you some ideas. If it was my property i'd take it slow, selectively thin it out and clear the brush by hand. I don't think you want a dozer in there disturbing the soil. The trees look a little young for a prescribed burn i'd be worry they'd get damaged.

 

[MrSchaeferPants]

Spike will knock the crap out of everything

Who the what now?

Call the local forester see if he can give you some ideas. If it was my property i'd take it slow, selectively thin it out and clear the brush by hand. I don't think you want a dozer in there disturbing the soil. The trees look a little young for a prescribed burn i'd be worry they'd get damaged.

Last year when we moved here I did call a forester from the Arkansas Forestry Commission, he was helpful in telling me what trees are what, said I had a good plan (to selectively thin), but didn't give me tips on doing the work, nor gave me any local companies to call. I don't want to doze for that very reason, just the property line to set up a fence, just saying sometimes after working so long I see how little I get done and dozing creeps into the back of my mind. I too think a prescribed burn won't work for that reason, it's too dense, too many ladder fuels, trees too small.

 

[HuskStihl]

Could you rent a tractor with a bush hog? A 50+ hp tractor with a 72" bush hog will make amazingly short work of anything under 3-4 inches and leave the soil mostly undisturbed. Not much burning/piling required, and you can use the bush hog to turn piles you made into mulch

 

[MrSchaeferPants]

I borrow a 36" walk behind DR brush hog from work every now and again, and it works ok. I've borrowed a 4wd kubota and 4' brush hog from a neighbor before, and it gets rid of the small stuff great... but, those privet/hedge bush things are everywhere, the single trunk itself isn't a problem for a brush hog, but when they're grouped in 3-6 clumps the brush hog can't do it, and then a lot of the clumps stem from one trunk that's 5-6" high or so, that makes one big stump, definitely can't do that. I know, chain saw it down, then go over it, but when a 500sq ft area has 250 of them. And to top it off, you cut it at the base, and the vines are intertangled between what you cut, and the adjacent 5 other ones next to it, so it remains standing, and you can't pull it out and toss it aside, because there's no room.

The pics don't do it justice on how thick it really is. Those before/after photos someone posted, I would KILL for my property to be what those "before's" are. That I can knock out no problem.

I know how to do it, mechanically, by hand/tractor/chainsaw/shears/loppers/surveyors axe/etc. Been doing that lol. I cut, pile, burn, bush hog what I can when I have access to one, even have goats now (wish I would have gotten them a year ago) It's been a year, and I've only made dents, granted it's not a full time job, and I don't do squat during the summer months. Was just wondering if anyone had a ballpark figure for forestry mulching services, I've searched the internet for a year and found nothing, I think because the average person can't afford the services, or chooses to do it themselves. The former is what I fear. I have read $3000-6000/acre, but those were who knows what guesses, from where ever in the country, anywhere up to years ago. Things change, prices change, it's a more common piece of equipment, more manufacturers. I guess I'll play phone tag with this one company, get a quote and post back for a future searcher.