|
| Author |
Message |
taylor_6
Member
|
# Posted: 23 Apr 2014 11:02pm
Reply
My husband and I bought 28 acres in Dearborn County Indiana in January. We are beginning to clear the land for a tent and picnic site. Eventually we will build a cabin. We are not really cutting down to many trees but there are so many fallen trees and vines already down through out the property. What do you do with all those fallen trees? My OCD in me wants to pile up every downed tree and vines and burn them but I know that is not possible. Is there a better solution then burning? How long did it take you to get your land looking like what you envisioned?
|
|
Just
Member
|
# Posted: 23 Apr 2014 11:28pm
Reply
the best thing [ if you have no use for the wood] is to let it lye were it falls . makes for a healthy forest .
|
|
bldginsp
Member
|
# Posted: 23 Apr 2014 11:29pm
Reply
Why can't you burn it? Is burning not allowed where you are? For years now on my place in Calif. I've been cutting, stacking, then burning after the cut wood has had a chance to dry. Here in fire country it's vital to clear the smaller brush to make the property fire safe, and its encouraged by the authorities. If you can't burn, cut it into woodstove lengths, stack it in an accessible location, and advertise free firewood. It will disappear.
|
|
MtnDon
Member
|
# Posted: 23 Apr 2014 11:31pm
Reply
Industrial sized chipper is an alternative to burning. We have a small one, up to 3.5 inch but I wish it was bigger. Big ones can be rented but that was out of our budget.
We have burned an immense quantity of fallen tress, branches and tree tops from trees we have thinned since we began clean up in 2006. It is a lot of work and requires coordination with the county fire marshall to stay legal. And we still have some that we couldn't do this winter because of a lack of snow.
We have cut a lot of trees (thousands if you count everything down to 1.5 inches diameter) to get the forest back to a more healthy state. It was severely overgrown. If you thin your state forester should have advise, may even come out to look firsthand. Ours spent a few hours having a look around and talking.
|
|
taylor_6
Member
|
# Posted: 24 Apr 2014 12:58am
Reply
Thanks everyone - we are allowed to burn and we have started to burn some brush and fallen trees - it just seems like an impossible task to clean up so much land that has not been properly managed in a very long time. I like the idea of a chipper especially to use as ground cover for our trails. I also like the idea of having our state forester out to give us advise. Thanks again
|
|
Gregjman
Member
|
# Posted: 24 Apr 2014 07:33am
Reply
We only have three acres but we had tons of fallen dead trees 2-5" diameter. The first year we made piles. We probably have 15-20 piles with 50+ pine trunks in each. This year were renting a 8" capacity Vermeer chipper for three days to take care of the piles and whatever else we can. Should run just under 400$. We will rent it again next year if needed.
If you want to chip like this with your sized parcel, a used chipper from a tree company or township might be your best bet. Should run from 3-8k and you could resell when you're done with it. Expensive up front though.
|
|
Gregjman
Member
|
# Posted: 24 Apr 2014 07:35am
Reply
I should add that anything but and industrial chipper is absolutely worthless for this task. I wouldn't buy a 900$ Troy built expecting it to do what you want. Those choppers are for homeowners and yard use. Borrow one first and see for yourself. Hope this helps.
|
|
ErinsMom
Member
|
# Posted: 24 Apr 2014 05:42pm
Reply
save the good wood and chip the rest.
|
|
|
cabingal3
Member
|
# Posted: 24 Apr 2014 07:42pm
Reply
taylor_6!congrats on the newly purchased land and welcome to the group.
we live in a wildfire area and we have our property paid off.its taken alot of years.
we need to clean off our property and get up all the trees that have fallen.we are doing it with a chain saw.no big equiptment.
we have cut down some trees and cut wood and stacked it.
we have burnt alot just to try to clean the property.
i would love for us to have a chipper.
we just poke along doing the best we can till we move there in a year.then we are just knowing things wil start looking pretty cleared up.
|
|
MtnDon
Member
|
# Posted: 24 Apr 2014 07:57pm
Reply
I just re-read the subject line and realized I had missed something important. One word; downed. The forestry guys I've talked with here will not, repeat not, chip trees that have lain on the ground for any time. I believe the reason was dirt may stick to the logs and carry rocks into the chipper. That can damage the machine as well as being potentially dangerous. So downed trees here are burned or hauled away and buried.
There is a gardening method that uses whole trees and branches, piled and covered with some dirt. Google hugelkultur .
|
|
TheCabinCalls
Member
|
# Posted: 25 Apr 2014 08:44am
Reply
If you are OCD about it then:
1. Eliminate anything that is unsafe (leaning trees, etc). This also gets rid of the most unsightly things first
2. Chip any leaning trees or ones that don't have dirt or too much rot
- use the chips in your cleared area as mulch
3. Leave anything too rotten to move
4. Cut up and make nice stacks of things you can use for bonfires
5. Burn anything left - that is driving you crazy (I have mixed feels about burning without a need to use the fire so it is used very sparingly.)
Remember there is a stat that says it takes a forest 40 years to produce 1" of soil from leaves and organic matter. So imagine how long it takes trees and vines to disappear...
|
|
rayyy
Member
|
# Posted: 25 Apr 2014 05:01pm
Reply
I just put all my downed tree limbs in a pile in a secluded location and let mother nature take it from there.
|
|
silverwaterlady
Member
|
# Posted: 25 Apr 2014 07:47pm
Reply
We made brush piles in out of the way locations with the small stuff. That is good for wildlife. The logs we cut and stacked for campfires. The wood lasted 15 years. It didn't rot because it was white cedar.
A few years ago we bought a self feed chipper shreader from DR because we got tired of dragging stuff to make brush piles. The area we cleared was just around the cabin a area of about 2 acres of thick bush. The rest of our property is left the way nature intended. We don't have to worry about wildfires where we are.
Cabin site,Before
| 
Cabin site, After
|  | |
|
|
taylor_6
Member
|
# Posted: 27 Apr 2014 12:51am
Reply
Thanks everyone. Sliverwaterlady your cabin looks great. I think I am just overwhelmed by the amount of work there is to do on our land just dealing with the downed trees. We cleared an old road bed (about .5 mile long) of all the downed trees and then two weeks later we went out and there were 3 more big trees down across the road. There are ALOT of trees that are half rotten on the ground that we can't do much about and a bunch more still standing but ready to fall. There is not much underbrush and many beautiful big sycamores so I can see the beauty in the woods - its just all the work that is going to have to be put into clearing the dead stuff out. I like the idea of having a separate area to dump alot of the dead rotten stuff and let mother nature do the rest.
|
|
silverwaterlady
Member
|
# Posted: 27 Apr 2014 06:37am
Reply
TY for the complement on our cabin. It is a lot of work to clear land. Just chip away at it a little at a time. It's taken us decades to get where we are now. DH started in 1972 when he purchased the property.
|
|
TheWildMan
Member
|
# Posted: 27 Apr 2014 11:05am
Reply
it depends, how rotten is it? if its still somewhat solid it will work for firewood, cut it up and stack it under tarps for camp fires. small stuff will rot quick enough over a couple years. bigger rotten stuff can be left on the ground to rot, I pile rotten logs myself, it attracts toads.
|
|
Mainiac
Member
|
# Posted: 24 Sep 2014 08:55pm
Reply
Crush it down so it gets in contact with the earth, It will rot,
Burning is a lot less work than chipping,
WAit for a snow and burn it,A rainy day might, do,
WE sold our chipper,Its a waste of time and a tremendous amoint of work,
SAve the firewood,
|
|
toyota_mdt_tech
Member
|
# Posted: 26 Sep 2014 10:43am
Reply
Quoting: MtnDon Industrial sized chipper is an alternative to burning. We have a small one, up to 3.5 inch but I wish it was bigger. Big ones can be rented but that was out of our budget.
I also have a MTD chipper, up to 3", but have picked up another 20 acres in addition to my original and need to thin and have been looking at the DR Chipper, tow behind, pretty good sized chipper. But about $3500ish
|
|
PA_Bound
Member
|
# Posted: 28 Sep 2014 08:53am
Reply
If I can ask, why do you have so many downed trees? Is this the result of a one-time event (like logging, tornado or other really bad storm), or is something constantly killing them?
If it's a one time event I would probably just clear what I really need to, but otherwise do what I can to encourage rotting and let nature take its course. The good news is this will create a lot of habitat for wildlife while it happens.
It may take a while, but the forest will solve this problem for you in time.
|
|
|
