Field clearing

Here you go, try this. very organic way to clear off a lot http://www.goatworld.com/articles/brushcontrol/brushcontrol.shtml

 

This would be helpful

 

Does anyone do slash burning anymore?

 

cherry pie...

 

Maybe after U get the waterline in the barn for Mrs. Gasifier, she'll make the above 4 U.

 

Oh yes I do.

With burning you end up with a chemical reaction that ends up as potash, a pretty major ingredient in fertilizer. Today potash in fertilizer is synthetically made, but in my ancestors day, they found burning the resulting wood produced potash, and in fact settlers in New England supplemented their incomes by exporting it to depleted-soil-England. This was no minor export...it was HUGE back in the 1800's!

The other thing fire does is reduce the time delay of the nitrogen cycle. In regular decay you have the soil being robed of nitrogen in order to break down the woody matter. This takes place for about 7 years, at which time the roles switch, and with the wood sufficiently decayed, it starts adding nitrogen to the soil. We combat this on my farm by adding tons of nitrogen to get our crops to grow, in our case sheep and cow manure. But we know this extra nitrogen will only be needed for the first few years, after that we know our reward will be less nitrogen inputs to get the same yield. This is nothing unique to old world farmers, and is why they used well decayed wood for cheap fertilizer. Fresh wood would have a delay of several years and no one wants that...they want abundant crops now. However, burning debris speeds up this process because its basically rot at an accelerated level, both physically and chemically.

For the southern states, using fire is dangerous, in particular burning stumps as once started they will burn for months. For us in the Northern states, we set fires to stump piles after the first snow and thus can use fire with a little more safety. By the time fire season rolls around, they have burned themselves out.

 

Yes I was referring to the idea of using a weedwacker type of brush saw. I have never done it, my back is just not up to it, but I have watched it done in forestry. A lot of over-logged areas grow up into popil thickets that are too dense and foresters will prescribe pre-commercial thinning where guys go in and cut out the small saplings and leave only so many per acre. Its looks amazing when done, and the weedwacker saws are reasonable, but are very exhausting.

 

I'll be up that way Columbus day weekend, and I got a lot to do get camp ready for the winter. Hopefully we can get together and I can at least help you clear and haul brush. I'm trying to to get over to see you, but "busy" keeps rearing its ugly head.

 

I'll give you a yell, and TRY to make something happen.

 

I " Saw" how you did that! See, "Saw" knuck, knuck. " I shoot an arrow in the the air, where it lands I do not care" "I get my arrows wholesale" Knuck, Knuck. That's from Curly for those of you who are wondering.

 

I just put in a request for a turkey dinner with all the trimmings. She said, "Hello. It's called Thanksgiving and it's in November." I have a feeling she is probably going to make it for me sometime soon. I think TWO full months is far enough apart.

 

Nothing better the a Turkey dinner with all the fixings, I crave it over all else, except maybe, steamers and lobsters.

 

I'd like to stop in and see you as well Well Seasoned. When I get up that way I will let you know, we drive right past your house I think on the way to our other home. I get along well enough with my inlaws, but it can get dull too, so maybe I can steal away for a bit and come and see you; again if you don't mind. I am never one to invite myself.

 

I got a tractor with 6 foot brush hog... now the challenge no trailer or truck... darn it wrong side of VT... not sure what you got up that way for rental but brush hog then Harley rake .. you got a field back