Honey Locust after the fact

[BCS]

I have recently dropped 24 large honey locust and 4 black locust in site preparation for new construction. I have been very careful to keep wheeled vehicles out of the area which mean I am stuck doing everything by hand. Don't know anyone with anything large enough that is tracked to really assist and to cheap to shell out cash for renting something or hiring someone.
How long will the thorns have the ability to pop tractor tires after the tree has been dropped?
What is the best way to deal with the thorns that are scattered on the ground around the trees from either dropping it or cutting it up into firewood? Will burning the field take care of any thorns on the ground and allow me to get the tractor and brush cutter back into that area without worrying about picking up thorns?
Thank you for the help

 

[Guswhit]

I realize this is after the fact for you and that I don't have all of the info on your equipment or site, so take what I say as a suggestion only. I cut a lot of locust, both honey and black. I am luckier than most as I am doing it in ravines and fence rows of farmland. I drop my trees carefully and then try and buck all of the useless limb wood and thorns off on the spot. I then hook the logs and limbs I am keeping and drag them to a safer area to cut and split in. I usually try to drop my tree into the woods so all of my mess is in the timber instead of in the field. I have not had any flats caused by thorns on my unimog I use but tomorrow it could happen. One more tip, while splitting, I have found very large thorns that are inside of the rounds, like the tree grew around the thorn and preserved them. They are still very sharp and hard!

 

[BCS]

Thank you for the insight on splitting them fortunately I have a custom build splitter that can handle about anything. Unfortunately, these are all in the middle of a 6 acres grass field so its unavoidable of having to travel where the trees where. I have a John Deere 6 series and a late 70s JD 3020 and have heard nothing but horror stories from farmers in the area about having to replace tires due to the thorns after the trees are cut down and cleaned up. Thankfully this site is clear of any desirable trees so I can burn the entire field if it will take care of any thorns. Same time if the burn won't take care of the lingering thorns not going to waste my time. Appreciate the insight.

 

[midwest_170]

I ringed some locust trees 10 years ago and they still had thorns on them when I cut them up a couple years ago. Thorns will last for several years. I run 10 ply tires on my truck and trailer, have yet to get a flat from a thorn and I usually cut 10 cords of locust every year.

 

[midwest_170]

Thank you for the insight on splitting them fortunately I have a custom build splitter that can handle about anything. Unfortunately, these are all in the middle of a 6 acres grass field so its unavoidable of having to travel where the trees where. I have a John Deere 6 series and a late 70s JD 3020 and have heard nothing but horror stories from farmers in the area about having to replace tires due to the thorns after the trees are cut down and cleaned up. Thankfully this site is clear of any desirable trees so I can burn the entire field if it will take care of any thorns. Same time if the burn won't take care of the lingering thorns not going to waste my time. Appreciate the insight.

If you burn it when the grass is brown and dead and you back burn it so it burns slow across the field it should get most of the thorns. If the field is fescue grass and really never goes completely dormant it will be hard to get a good burn on the thorns.

 

[noshow74]

I think the thorns will last forever...seems nothing short of a nuclear blast will destroy them! I have alot in two of my pastures. I've had many flats on the tractor and had several go thru the soles of my boots. They seem to be worse once the tree dies and they dry.

I plan on renting a big chipper this spring and turning the bastards into mulch. Then pile the mulch around flowers and shrubs where nothing will be driven. I thought about getting them out of the pasture and burning in our garden spots but if they don't all burn then more tractor damage when I plow in the spring.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using Tapatalk 2

 

[mainewoods]

Never seen one up here and hope I never do. I feel bad for you guys.

 

[BCS]

Thank you for the insight midwest_170. Do you "clean" off the thorns as you are bucking it or do you just split it with them still hanging around? Great point about the grass type, I was thinking about use a herbicide to take care of the grass to make sure it is all good and dead to burn well. I intended to use a back burn just to stay as safe and controlled as possible especially when the surrounding 56 acres is all old hardwoods.

 

[kyle1!]

You need to get the thorns out of the way otherwise they will be a thorn in your side literally. Take a hatchet and knock off all the large bundles of thorns, rake them up and burn them. Time consuming yes but that should get most of them out of the way. Make sure you have tweezers...ur I mean pliers... to take the ones out of your skin that do penetrate. I would not want chipped honey locust mulch in my flower beds I can feel all the splinters from here.

 

[midwest_170]

Thank you for the insight midwest_170. Do you "clean" off the thorns as you are bucking it or do you just split it with them still hanging around? Great point about the grass type, I was thinking about use a herbicide to take care of the grass to make sure it is all good and dead to burn well. I intended to use a back burn just to stay as safe and controlled as possible especially when the surrounding 56 acres is all old hardwoods.

I hit them with the chainsaw before I even start limbing the tree. Its the 1st thing I do after the tree hits the ground.

 

[Sagetown]

My experience. I had to change boots to a pair that had steel inner plates. rake up all the thorns you can and toss them into the piles of unwanted debris to be burned. That stuff burns hot and complete. Even at that I've come up with a few thorns in my tractor tires.

 

[turnkey4099]

I've cut over a 100 cord of Bl;ack Locust over the years and never had a problem with those small thorns. I did have a thornless Honey Locust that reverted to type (with thorns) when it was about 4" diameter. I cut that one down the day I saw it and am still getting flats.

Harry K

 

[firebrick43]

Dad and I cleaned an old pasture of 150 honey locust and I am sad to say you have done screwed up. The only way we found by talking a lot with old timers was to cut the tree and let it slowly down directly on to a flatbed farm wagon using long poles with a fork at the end. They were shoved off into a ravine and burned. Can only recall one flat tire after wards but I remember getting stuck by thorns as I was the one who got down under the tree to cut it off.

Get a couple of 55 gallon drums to burn thorns in

 

[unclemoustache]

Dang. Glad I don't have to deal with those. I once saw a honey locust tree about 6 miles from my home.

 

[djones]

Guess I better cut the one tree that is growing in the corner of our field. I did see thorns on it and it's only 1" or 2" dia. now. My neighbor has plenty of locust trees and they keep popping up in my yard and field, garden, stone wall, anywhere you don't want them to be.

 

[zogger]

Guess I better cut the one tree that is growing in the corner of our field. I did see thorns on it and it's only 1" or 2" dia. now. My neighbor has plenty of locust trees and they keep popping up in my yard and field, garden, stone wall, anywhere you don't want them to be.

Take it out with a pick and get the roots out and burn the thing.

 

[kyle1!]

My neighbor has plenty of locust trees and they keep popping up in my yard and field, garden, stone wall, anywhere you don't want them to be.

They are an invasive tree but great firewood if you can get past the thorns.

 

[old_soul]

new construction huh? Have the dozer clean them up when he comes to strip topsoil. Shove together as much as you can and burn the piles. Or bury them and forget about it.

And get out your rake

 

[turnkey4099]

Guess I better cut the one tree that is growing in the corner of our field. I did see thorns on it and it's only 1" or 2" dia. now. My neighbor has plenty of locust trees and they keep popping up in my yard and field, garden, stone wall, anywhere you don't want them to be.

A quart spray bottle loaded with Round-up or other herbicide takes care of that problem but you have to make regular patrols looking for the little shoots. I cut a Black Locust out of my yard and it took about 5 years before shoots quit coming up. The year AFTER I cut it, a shoot came up through a crack in the back porch concrete slab 20' away from where that tree had been

Harry K

 

[treebilly]

I seem to remember removing one if those a long time ago. Didn't have a chipper and had to load all the brush in my truck bed. Oh the blood that was shed that day. I believe old soul is correct. Use a dozer to push the limbs and thorns in a pile and burn it. Send them back to hell.