South Texas Brush clearing?

[yotethumper]

Wildlife biologist I’m reading seem to generally advise against dozing as you lose fertility, but spraying, burning and cutting seem most helpful for soil productivity. Can’t you just run a shredder twice a year to keep the bush down after you do that?

That is what I am doing. Controlled burns, spraying, and shredding should keep it under control. All three should be done regularly on any property for routine habitat improvements anyways.

[BrokenJ]

Also soil type?

[BlackHogDown]

Aerial spraying in the most effective IMO.

ONLY way we are able to control Tanglehead in Duval. It wipes everything out though.

[yotethumper]

@yotethumper what do you use to spray? I plan to thin out the brush around my bow blind setup this coming year and looking for ways to accomplish them without using heavy machinery

I used gly on grasses/broadleafs. I hacked and squirt the bigger trifoliate orange and yaupon. I will have to lookup what I used for the bigger stuff next time I am out at the ranch, can't remember it.

[dclifton]

Wildlife biologist I’m reading seem to generally advise against dozing as you lose fertility, but spraying, burning and cutting seem most helpful for soil productivity. Can’t you just run a shredder twice a year to keep the bush down after you do that? Just for clarity, I’m in research mode too so I’m not an expert by any means ��

Needs to be sprayed not just mowed. If not you will have a heck of a stump or root system that will never die.

Now if you never plan to disc it or do anything to it other than drive over it than sure.

[dclifton]

Cut and sprayed the big stuff two weeks before the mulcher came through. Hit the grasses with gly. Didn't take much time and was easily done with a spray rig.

Anywho, I think you are misinterpreting my original post.



I'm not telling him to mulch 1000 acres LOL .

I gotcha! My question I guess is what do you guys plan to do with the underground roots? If you mulch you leave all of roots underground and would make planting difficult true?

Or are y’all just waiting till they rot to plant?

[yotethumper]

I gotcha! My question I guess is what do you guys plan to do with the underground roots? If you mulch you leave all of roots underground and would make planting difficult true? Or are y’all just waiting till they rot to plant?

Leaving all the roots. Sprayed before mulched so they will eventually decompose and improve soil content/organic matter. We are strictly no till so roots will not get in the way of plowing/discing.

[dclifton]

Leaving all the roots. Sprayed before mulched so they will eventually decompose and improve soil content/organic matter. We are strictly no till so roots will not get in the way of plowing/discing.

Gotcha!

[Dirtymike]

I gotcha! My question I guess is what do you guys plan to do with the underground roots? If you mulch you leave all of roots underground and would make planting difficult true?

Or are y’all just waiting till they rot to plant?

Root plow?

Neighbor dozed all the brush, then root plowed a few times. Not sure what he is doing to maintain it besides the cattle but man it sure is a pretty pasture now.

[camoclad]

Leaving all the roots. Sprayed before mulched so they will eventually decompose and improve soil content/organic matter. We are strictly no till so roots will not get in the way of plowing/discing.

The beauty of no till.

I'm assuming the OP is starting from scratch, which in texas means well established mesquite, locust or elm/hackberry forest. How would you get ahold of a feral pasture to get it to a place you could mow/spray/burn? Considering time and cost as the biggest hurdles....

[S-3 Ranch]

Root plow?

Neighbor dozed all the brush, then root plowed a few times. Not sure what he is doing to maintain it besides the cattle but man it sure is a pretty pasture now.

On a ranch I worked on the owner dozed then Rome/ root plowed
All 44,000 acres, but left 25 yard wide brush strips running north / south then East/ west every few miles
awesome deer and quail hunting

[Hughes2009j]

Root plow with D8 and then use a root rake to get big brush into piles. Pick up smaller sticks root balls by hand by using a trailer to make large swaths throw the fields. Did this on 350 acres to get ready to raise crops on. Takes a lot of work but is very effective if you actually want to grow something on it afterwards. Figure $300-400/acre for small brush and close to $1000/acre for “old growth” mesquite and other native trees.

Keep in mind mulching leaves root balls and will those root balls will tear up smaller implements used to prep ground and while planting.

[dclifton]

Root plow?

Neighbor dozed all the brush, then root plowed a few times. Not sure what he is doing to maintain it besides the cattle but man it sure is a pretty pasture now.

I guess you could run one behind a mulcher. Idk If Anyone here can comment on the effectiveness of mulching then running a root plow afterwards.

Shouldn’t be much different then pulling a chain, raking then plowing.

[S-3 Ranch]

Chaining look from above

I guess you could run one behind a mulcher. Idk If Anyone here can comment on the effectiveness of mulching then running a root plow afterwards.

Shouldn’t be much different then pulling a chain, raking then plowing.

Here is a video helicopter view of chaining brush
Don’t listen to the music on the video :confused it’s just terrible

https://youtu.be/zPfiyxhU42E

Probably the most cost effective way to clean up a larger area
Mulching then Rome plowing most expensive

Raking and Rome for reseeding ( depends on type of grass you want to plant)
The Rome plows for a D7-8 weigh about 12,000 lbs per unit

[dclifton]

[QUOTE=pilar;14603403]Here is a video helicopter view of chaining brush
Don’t listen to the music on the video :confused it’s just terrible

https://youtu.be/zPfiyxhU42E

Probably the most cost effective way to clean up a larger area
Mulching then Rome plowing most expensive

Raking and Rome for reseeding ( depends on type of grass you want to plant)
The Rome plows for a D7-8 weigh about 12,000 lbs per unit[/QUOTE




Yep I agree. The guys are lucky they can pull chains over those mesquites we don’t have that luxury in East Texas. The trees are a little to BIG!

I own 2- D7’s, V blades, Rakes, Root Plow and Rome Disc.

I just didnt know if anyone has run root plow after mulching. Then rome or Heavy disc after that.