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#432144 12/20/15 07:01 PM
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On our 12 acres we purchased in Sept 2013, there is a fence row near the south side of the property. It is no where close to the surveyed property line, and looks like the fence was put in maybe 30 years ago to contain cattle in the field portion of the property. It is hog wire topped with two strands of barbed wire overgrown with Japanese honeysuckle, poison oak (not allergic), grape vines, greenbriar, trumpet vine, blackberry, and wild roses, which are entangled in the fence along with numerous cedars, wild plum, elm, and privet bushes. What a mess! We have been working on it about 3 to 4 hours almost daily for about three weeks now and have cut out about 100 feet, with about 300 feet to go. I need to do this to clean up the place, and make a good place to spread the sludge that came out of the pond. Right now the sludge is covering about a third of an acre about two feet deep in what used to be a hayfield. It will probably take about another 8 or 10 months to dry out in order to be spread with a dozer. I don't have equipment other than a DR brush mower, chain saw, loppers, bow saw, etc. The DR will give a person a beating after an hour or so. It's not worth buying a tractor for a project like this when it might sit months without much use afterward. Going to burn the brush on top of the sludge field. I guess it is good exercise. Thanks for letting me vent. Suggestions would be welcome.

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John,

Sounds like a big project clearing that fence row. Can you wait for the dozer? I would think that big job turns into a 30 minute job if you can.


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Dozer......he will do in an hour what it will take you 3 weeks by hand and it will look better.

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Talked to our dozer owner a few weeks ago. He said it would make a huge mess with the fencing wound up in the bushes, plus it is a wet and boggy area except for late summer. I want to leave the several medium to large cedars, elms, and oaks, and the dozer would tear up the ground, killing them eventually. Several of the large trees have fencing wire grown into them.

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Then you're probably doing the best you can. I do recommend a three sided brush blade on a straight shaft trimmer...it works wonders.


"Forget pounds and ounces, I'm figuring displacement!"

If we accept that: MBG(+)FGSF(=)HBG(F1)
And we surmise that: BG(>)HBG(F1) while GSF(<)HBG(F1)
Would it hold true that: HBG(F1)(+)AM500(x)q.d.(=)1.5lbGRWT?
PB answer: It depends.
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+1 The brush blade works great! Unwanted growth is demolished. Only problem is it will come back. I had areas similar to what you are describing and hit them with a 41% glyphosate laced with 2-4-D cocktail first (recommended by the glyphosate manufacturer). I wacked them after they died off. That cocktail is now my go to mix in areas away from the pond.

FWIW Near the pond I use Aqua Neat and it has proven effective. There are several approved herbicides for areas near ponds.

Last edited by Bill D.; 12/20/15 08:46 PM. Reason: Clarification

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Dragging the brush out by hand is a pain. Maybe I can hire a neighbor with a tractor to help drag some of it. The huge brush pile with 10 inch thick logs (not firewood species) from dozing the 30 to 40 years of growth off the pond banks is something I don't want to deal with again, if it can be avoided. I had to cut them up and burn them again after the first burn fully cooled. I really had no choice with the brush and trees there, to make the pond viable again. That old D-R brush mower I have is an amazing beast, and will deal with all the brambles once I get all the wire and small trees out. It literally pulverizes blackberry bushes and all types of vines into little pieces, and keeps on going. It cuts from the front, and I can run it way up under a rose bush or overhanging blackberries, and cut them off. One of the rose bushes had bases almost three inches in diameter and branches over 15 feet tall. The dozer took that one out for me last summer. Fortunately none of the others were/are nearly that big. Here is a pic of the area I already cleared of vines behind the fence row with the D-R. The fence row is on the right. Property line on the far left.

I have a straight shaft trimmer with a three sided brush blade. The frontal cutting D-R brush mower makes it look like a kid's toy in comparison.

BTW, the pond area is clean now after dozing. I can easily maintain it with the D-R.

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Last edited by John F; 12/20/15 09:01 PM. Reason: added sentence
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is there any chance that the fence is in good enough shape to contain goats? i once was fighting a losing battle with kudzu and privet hedge. i installed an electric fence, bought a few goats and they did a super job. also made great pets.

i kinda have a similar situation here. i have 46 acres here and most of the woods are pretty thick. i broke down a bought a john deere 3038 last week. it has a 5 ft bush hog and a front end loader. i also have a caterpillar skid steer with bucket and grapple bucket. right now all i have is a bunch of trails that lead to no where. i want a road all the way around my property. but it is going to be pricey. surveyor wants $2200 to mark 3 sides of my property. one side is road frontage. probably another 10k to doze the fence line.


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Surveys are expensive. This place did not have a valid survey. Previous owners had to provide one before selling, since they did not know within 50 feet where some of the lines were. If you have a survey, make sure you mark and protect the corner markers. I set T-posts just inside of each corner marker and keep them flagged with survey flagging. I think the survey of this 12 or so acres cost them over $2,300. Not something you I would want to repeat.

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This job sounds like a project for a small tractor with front end loader and bucket forks, chain saw, your DR, wire cutters and some chain. Although you don't have the tractor, you may find them for a reasonable day rate at the local rental agencies. Several rental shops in our area offer John Deeres and Kubotas. Even a mini track hoe would help tremendously.
I'd cut manageable sections of the fencing, hook on to it with a chain, and yank the pieces out with the equipment. I'd have my saw ready to cut the trees and other vegetation grown in to the wire, freeing up the works before I pulled the mess out. Then I'd pile and burn, sorting out the fencing after the ashes cooled.
Look on tractorbynet.com and tractorforum.com for many described projects with pics.
If you're like many of us, you'll get the itch and then buy your own tractor. I try to drive mine nearly every day, because I can!
And, keep the tractor out of your pond. I believe Catmandoo and I have some first hand experience with what a pond tractor looks and feels like. :-)

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I think a mini track hoe with a thumb would work great. It would allow you to scrape the junk away from the fence, pile it and burn it without compacting the soil around or disturbing the mature trees. Cut the fence out by hand once the nasties are removed from it.

OR

Use the track hoe to remove enough junk from around the good trees to keep them safe from fire. Burn the fencerow then remove the fence wire.

A pump up sprayer with a 75% diesel/25% gasoline mixture works pretty well keeping a line of fire going.


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Originally Posted By: 4CornersPuddle
....(text deleted)......
And, keep the tractor out of your pond. I believe Catmandoo and I have some first hand experience with what a pond tractor looks and feels like. :-)

I almost found out what a pond ZTR mower looks like last summer when i was mowing a neighbor's pond bank in prep for a kid's fishing derby. I got too close to the pond side of the bank and almost slid all the way down to the water. Fortunately, another guy was there and helped me pull it out.

Tractor rental costs here are well over $100 per day. I would be better off hiring an experienced local operator with a small tractor. I have not driven one for about 20 years (used to brush hog some). With our usual traffic and the distance involved it would take a couple hours round trip to go get one and almost as long to return it.

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If the fence isn't on the correct property line why rush to get the old fence cleared. Any chance the old fence is actually on the neighboring property?

If you must continue clearing the brush on the old fence, consider renting or hiring someone who has a forestry mulcher. The mulcher won't help with the wire removal but will clear both sides and the growth above the fence. The mulcher can be selective to keep the trees you like.

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The property has a certified and recorded survey. The old fence being removed is well within my property boundary. It was never meant to be a line fence, only to control cattle within a field. I found a few remnants of the original line fence, and it is almost right on the property line.

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I agree with JDM, a bobcat Mulcher is the way to go. Nothing to it. cost is pretty reasonable and I am sure there are a few operators with a mulcher around. I used one for a job of clearing out about 5 acres. Better off to get the operator and equipment over purchasing one. Breakdown repair on these bobcats are not cheap or easy, and I would never buy one after seeing the mechanical problems encountered. But when running they will mulch up some of the thickest stuff you will ever see and they leave the top soil where a dozer takes it away.

Tracy


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I am of the opinion that nothing worthwhile gets accomplished on your own piece of property that doesn't involve losing blood and sweat. That's just how it is. The desire to look and search for ways to simplify the task will always be there, but in the end it always comes down to just jumping in and getting it done.

I have a couple tractors, three point finish mower, brush hog, DR brushcutter, six chainsaws, ZTR, straight shaft trimmer with brushblade, DR high wheel trimmer, gas powered and manual polesaws, assorted pushmowers, and a pickup bed full of hand cutting tools. But in the end, I usually end up with the brushblade on the trimmer. When you figure out the technique, it's hard to match its versatility, control, maneuverability, and even its speed. Yes, it will work you, but not as bad as wrestling the DR. And there will be the aforementioned blood and sweat. But in the hands of an experienced operator, I've found nothing else comes close.


"Forget pounds and ounces, I'm figuring displacement!"

If we accept that: MBG(+)FGSF(=)HBG(F1)
And we surmise that: BG(>)HBG(F1) while GSF(<)HBG(F1)
Would it hold true that: HBG(F1)(+)AM500(x)q.d.(=)1.5lbGRWT?
PB answer: It depends.
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Spark, I agree about the blood, if I walk on the property. I know I will be bleeding sooner or later. Someone will always say "you are bleeding" and I say "I know".

Tracy


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+1 First stop when I come in from working outdoors is typically the bathroom to wash off the blood.


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Originally Posted By: John F
Tractor rental costs here are well over $100 per day. I would be better off hiring an experienced local operator with a small tractor. I have not driven one for about 20 years (used to brush hog some). With our usual traffic and the distance involved it would take a couple hours round trip to go get one and almost as long to return it.


If you do decide to rent a machine and operate it yourself, check with them to see if the delivery/pickup costs are more than the hourly rental fee you'd be spending doing the pu/delivery yourself.....

I agree on the forestry head, and getting an operator to do it for ya. If you make a mistake, wrap the fence on the head, you will spend a lot of time getting it cleared.

Tracy, send me a PM on what they run down there. I'm curious to price compare to up here.


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esshup, pm sent


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Originally Posted By: TGW1
I agree with JDM, a bobcat Mulcher is the way to go. Nothing to it. cost is pretty reasonable and I am sure there are a few operators with a mulcher around. I used one for a job of clearing out about 5 acres. Better off to get the operator and equipment over purchasing one. Breakdown repair on these bobcats are not cheap or easy, and I would never buy one after seeing the mechanical problems encountered. But when running they will mulch up some of the thickest stuff you will ever see and they leave the top soil where a dozer takes it away.

Tracy


One other advantage of hiring it done as opposed to renting a skid-steer (Bobcat), those things will beat you to death. They are a young mans machine to run on all but smooth surfaces.


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Good progress today. Only 300 feet to go.

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Originally Posted By: TGW1
Spark, I agree about the blood, if I walk on the property. I know I will be bleeding sooner or later. Someone will always say "you are bleeding" and I say "I know".

Tracy


Yep. Don't misunderstand, I am all in favor of working smarter rather than harder. Still, there is a certain supreme satisfaction I gain from just wading in and going at it. Maybe, were I financially able, I might get the same satisfaction from signing the paycheck at the end of a hard day of watching someone else sweat. After all, they would be implementing my ideas and my vision. But it doesn't seem quite the same.

I need to sweat and bleed, in order for the improvements to provide me the greatest satisfaction. That's me putting my stamp on it, making it mine. Anyone can write a check.

As part of our remodel project, I mixed concrete yesterday. 40 bags, 80 lbs apiece, mixed in a wheelbarrow, rolled in, poured and finished, by myself. I could've had a truck bring it out for a small fortune, or rented a mixer, or even asked for help. But then it wouldn't have been mine. I need to own it, not so much in the financial sense, but as a matter of pride.

If I think it's possible for me to do something, I'm going to try. I do recognize that I simply don't know how to do everything I need done, and will grudgingly hire those jobs out. But you can bet I'll be watching when the contractor shows up to do his/her part.

Sounds strange I'm sure. Just another, curious perspective. smile


"Forget pounds and ounces, I'm figuring displacement!"

If we accept that: MBG(+)FGSF(=)HBG(F1)
And we surmise that: BG(>)HBG(F1) while GSF(<)HBG(F1)
Would it hold true that: HBG(F1)(+)AM500(x)q.d.(=)1.5lbGRWT?
PB answer: It depends.
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Spark: Me too. If I think I can do a project, and do it fairly safely, I will do it and own it. We are fairly healthy, retired, and have the time, especially in fall and winter. If we were rich, then I would hire things out more, but I would still be watching the work to make sure it was done like I wanted. We will finish this little project in due time. My goal was by spring, but it might be sooner, depending on weather. The original post was just venting about how impossibly grown up the fence row is, with an amazing variety of bushes and brambles and how frustrating it is that someone would build an arbitrary fence like that, and leave it to grow over. BTW, I have done a few concrete jobs with many 80 pound bags of concrete mix in a wheelbarrow too. (Three in the past 26 months). I hired the pond renovation job, and the minnow pond job because I knew it was impossible for me to do by myself. I don't do my own metal roofing any more either. A man has to know his limitations. (Where did I hear that?)

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Nice work John. Stay after it.


"Forget pounds and ounces, I'm figuring displacement!"

If we accept that: MBG(+)FGSF(=)HBG(F1)
And we surmise that: BG(>)HBG(F1) while GSF(<)HBG(F1)
Would it hold true that: HBG(F1)(+)AM500(x)q.d.(=)1.5lbGRWT?
PB answer: It depends.
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