Critique my land clearing request

[SkizzlePig]

Tessynae and I are looking to clear some land recently purchased. There's lots of folks we've spoken to that are interested in bidding the work.

I'd love to have your feedback on the attached project brief. I may have forgotten something or included too much ... I may be "too close" to the project.

I also don't want this to come across as "official", but I benefit a lot from writing things down, so I make sure to tell everyone the same thing.

Lil' help? Thanks!

[simi-steading]

You're gonna pay WAY more than that's worth... I'd go rent a dozer for a week and do it myself... Ya know what they say about if you want it done right...

Other wise, I'd buy a fair sized tractor with a front end loader on it and get it done over time..

Just curious what you are gonna do with the land afterwards? That's a whole lotta sand..

[SkizzlePig]

Thanks, Simi ... we might just do that, if the quotes come in too high.

That "sand" is our prized top soil, my friend. Yeah, welcome to Midlands, South Carolina. That sand will be buffed and turned into cattle pasture. I *think* can be done ... that's what the extension tells me and there's lots of cattle pastures around. We'll see, eh?

[TnAndy]

Make sure they have (or you rent) a decent sized dozer (like D-5 or JD 550'ish) with a root rake.....make SURE you get that, not just a blade....otherwise you'll end up with all kinds of that topsoil in your slash pile. With a decent sized dozer, you can pull out most, or all, of the stumps out of that type soil after moving the slash to windrows.

[Gravytrain]

Topsoil? I didn't SEE any topsoil in those pics.

[FarmboyBill]

Never seen that onna blade before, just on a tool bar mounted on the back.

[simi-steading]

Originally Posted by Gravytrain

Topsoil? I didn't SEE any topsoil in those pics.

I thought the same, but I've never been to GA, so I got no clue what their idea of soil is compared to my idea... Looks like a dirty beach to me..

[DEKE01]

I've recently cleaned up 100+ acres with a loader/hoe, a JCB 214 (similar to a JD 310 or a CAT 416) with a 7 ft root rake. I chose that class because at 19000+ lbs, it was the biggest earth mover I could buy and still safely move it with my F-450. If you don't care about removing stumps, which is not needed for cattle pastures, a 50+ horse tractor and root rake would get the job done. The down side is that a good root rake weighs 1200 - 2000 lbs and that over taxes the lift capacity of lighter tractors. From what I can see in your photos, you don't have a lot of big heavy slash, but if you hook the rake on a stump, you can damage a light weight rake or worse the tractor.

All that said, if you want the job done complete and fast, I agree with those above who recommend a dozer/rake. If you've got the time and want to do the work yourself, there are other options that will get 8 acres done in a few weeks with less cost if you are doing the labor.

BTW - once you've got the piles of slash, if you have manure to put on top, you'll get them broken down in a year or less. If you don't have manure, just add soil. I had many piles that did nothing for a year and then someone recommended the soil and within a couple of months the piles were near half the size they started.

[SkizzlePig]

The root rake pointer is great! I knew about them, but didn't put the pieces together to understand how important it was.

I'm not opposed to doing it myself, actually I'd love to. The problem is that I have a full-time job and would need to juggle all of that AND a dozer rental.

We'll see what the estimates come in as ...

[jwal10]

I have cleared a lot of land with a brush rake on a cat. Now days, with only 8 acres, I would remove the stumps and do it right. Trackhoe and thumb to dig stumps and move long stuff. Remove bucket and attach a root rake, 6-7' wide with thumb you can rake and pile what you can reach, no dirt in windrows to burn, or dig trenches and bury. I don't like that if top soil is thin, disturbs it too much. When you are done you level and work it. With stumps you are for ever working around them. This way you can make hay....James

http://www.hiredirect.co.nz/producti...ot-Rake-lg.jpg

[agmantoo]

"That "sand" ....... Is that soil what sandlappers refer to as sugar sand? If so, do you plan on irrigating? Have you had a soil sample tested? What grass do you plan on establishing? IMO you should get the property cleared and graded for under $5000. I would want the task completed by March in order to take advantage of a Spring planting. Four days work should finish the task. A burn permit would turn the waste wood/brush into beneficial ashes and rid you of the future debris

[DEKE01]

If the soil is as sandy as it looks and has a very low percentage of OM, I would recommend not burning the slash. Composting it would be far better in the long run if you can put up with the piles.

[unregistered41671]

Originally Posted by simi-steading

I thought the same, but I've never been to GA, so I got no clue what their idea of soil is compared to my idea... Looks like a dirty beach to me..

You would be welcome to come to GA for a visit Semi but "SkizzlePig" is over in SC.

[jwal10]

I would rather chip but that does take some nitrogen to break down. And more work/money to spread. We have companies here who take small oaks for chips and clean it bare, but they buy and want those chips. If you can bury and replace top soil, burying could be good but those areas settle and leave low spots. We also have heavy ground machines that chip right on the ground stump and all but does not leave good enough to work with farm equipment to plant right away, needs some clean up....James

[just_sawing]

Worrying about the Nitrogen break down I feel is myotic. This project is going to take a while anyway. I would recommend a forestry mulcher to mulch everything. When you run over a stump the mulcher will cut it to ground level but also shatter the root system to rot. The organics put back into the soil will make a marginal land into a top rated. The larger logs left I would stack and burn then spread the ashes. This will raise the PH and help also.
A typical Mulcher will mulch up to a five inch tree and your operation tried to leave nothing that was more than five inches. I figure that it will cost about $3000 dollars to get it mulched (I am figuring a three day job)

[DEKE01]

You can't assume that the sandy soil needs to have an increase in Ph. My FL sand is usually thought to be acidic, but I had to add 1000lbs of sulfur to reduce the Ph to a goal of 6.0 - 6.5 for my 2.5 acres of garden and orchard.

A soil test is probably free from local extension and would help determine if the soil would benefit or not from the ash. However, in the long run, chipping/mulching/composting is going to be better. Whereas clay has the ability to chemically bond with lots of soil nutrients, sand does not. Organic matter is a fix, even if it must be continually replaced.

[just_sawing]

My figuring is that the mulching is going to lower the ph as the ashes will counter act.

[collegeboundgal]

Originally Posted by just_sawing

My figuring is that the mulching is going to lower the ph as the ashes will counter act.

lime is cheep...(er)

[SkizzlePig]

The soil test came saying that we needed 3000 lbs of lime per acre.

... and lime is cheap! $65/ton delivered and spread.

[rambler]

My weather climate and spring time is very different than yours, but it would also want to get it cleaned up soon. Perhaps you catch a slow season waiting until June tho, I don't know, it all depends on local conditions. I find contractors will take advantage of as much time as they are given plus a couple weeks; if they have your job in hand and it is late May and another job comes up they will grab it, jobs in hand is money, you won't go anywhere else if they are 2 weeks late..... So, I'd tighten up the time frame. Don't know if you want a fall or next spring planting, but the more time you have, the sooner the lime can work, and the ground can settle in, and you can get planting.

On the good side you have a nice written preposal, so the fella knows what you want. On the other hand if a person comes off as particular or peculiar the costs go up - contractors know they have to spend more with that sort of person. There is a fine line there to walk....... Your letter is fine, but don't start adding paragraphs, if you know what I mean.

I'd be uncomfortable renting a rig for a third party to operate; that puts you in the middle of liability issues. If the person gets hurt, was it your fault because you supplied the machine; if the machine gets hurt, your name is on the rental receipt, you will be involved. That just sounds like a potential problem. A person not familiar with a machine can take many more hours to do a job, and you have lost control over the rental of the machine now.... It just seems a bad idea for many reasons. If you rent the machine, you do the rough work of using it yourself, and hire stick picker uppers to finish up, not to run the big machine? Or bring in a pro very familiar with his machine and get it done fast and right.

My random thoughts.

Paul