Poplar Regrowth

[MNAaron]

Downing the trees isn’t the hard part it is cutting paths and clearing areas in the downed trees is what takes forever


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[Foggy47]

Just a FWIW.....but those popple shown above would get ground up fine with a flail mower on my three point.& tractor (or with a forestry mulcher). It can be hard on a tractor if done without care.....even so it may take out front wheel seals.....and such things. Lowering the bucket close to the ground and going slow helps allot tho.

 

[rocksnstumps]

I use a Stihl FS 560 in the winter, usually on snowshoes as I often have at least 1-2' of snow by the time deer season ends here on December 15th. I don't recommend doing it this way for safety/productivity reasons, but I try and stay out of my property until the gun season is over just so my resident does don't get blasted by neighbours. The pain in the ass with this method though is it makes a tangled mess of everything so unless I don't want deer to be in a certain area I have to go back in during spring and chainsaw most trees into 2 or 3 pieces so they sit flat on the ground instead of a 2-3' high interleaved pile of logs.

Here's a video from 2022 I recorded of part of a 3/4 acre cut I did with my 560. I did piece work pre-commercial thinning 15+ years ago (was also less fat and out of shape) and I'd estimate productivity would be 2-3x higher in the spring/summer/fall for just outright smashing down these types of trees. 4" would be a single tap with this saw to push over, 9" would require repositioning once to saw more around the tree. Stumps in this cut after the snow melted were 2-3 ft high, so I was constantly snagging my snowshoes, etc... blades stay sharper way longer though in the winter as not as much risk of hitting rocks and the bottoms of trees usually have more dirt content from rain/etc splashing it up.

I do similar work in winter to stop the ongoing march of prickly ash in places. My Stihl is a bit smaller unit but does have handle bars and trigger like that

Curious what blade you find works best. Been using the cheapo 80T forestry blades as have rocks everywhere but feel there is probably something better. Anything over 1" dia usually takes a couple whacks. Thx for any input

 

[rocksnstumps]

Just a FWIW.....but those popple shown above would get ground up fine with a flail mower on my three point.& tractor (or with a forestry mulcher). It can be hard on a tractor if done without care.....even so it may take out front wheel seals.....and such things. Lowering the bucket close to the ground and going slow helps allot tho.

Flail mower and rotary brush cutter probably could work fine but many properties like mine are just landmines of rocks and boulders. My trails on property were marked in the spring to see rocks the best right after snow melted but still hit rocks on occasion while brush hogging. Get off the trail and would destroy a flail mower in what, maybe 50 ft. Would guess might be similar in terrain of video above (minus the snow)

 

[Brian662]

I do similar work in winter to stop the ongoing march of prickly ash in places. My Stihl is a bit smaller unit but does have handle bars and trigger like that

Curious what blade you find works best. Been using the cheapo 80T forestry blades as have rocks everywhere but feel there is probably something better. Anything over 1" dia usually takes a couple whacks. Thx for any input

Dang, how close can you get into a nest of prickly ash without getting tore up? Everytime I've wrestled that stuff my arms are cut up for weeks.

 

[rocksnstumps]

^^^that is why only winter work so can wear insulated coveralls and wade into that stuff. A good thick hat and leather gloves and have at it. Best on days when single digits and sunny else you work up too much of a sweat and taking off layers is ill advised. Or you will regret it!

 

[3I0]

I do similar work in winter to stop the ongoing march of prickly ash in places. My Stihl is a bit smaller unit but does have handle bars and trigger like that

Curious what blade you find works best. Been using the cheapo 80T forestry blades as have rocks everywhere but feel there is probably something better. Anything over 1" dia usually takes a couple whacks. Thx for any input

I run the 225 mm diameter Stihl "Maxi Blade" when I am doing trees (P/N 4000 713 4201). With these blades, and I am assuming the ones you are using, it's all over for that blade as soon as you hear even the faintest "ting" from a rock until you resharpen - and when re sharpening you have to inspect each tooth and file back past the point the few that made contact with the rock are rounded over on the top edge otherwise it'll never cut like anything resembling new. I am cutting 95%+ extremely soft wood here so even when I am down to almost no steel left to sharpen I don't have to mess with the "set" of the teeth but may be different where you are. Summer time cutting lower to the ground I find I have to give a blade a touch up on each tooth usually every 2 tanks of gas to keep it cutting fast, but in winter I get 4+ tanks of good performance.

Just a FWIW.....but those popple shown above would get ground up fine with a flail mower on my three point.& tractor (or with a forestry mulcher). It can be hard on a tractor if done without care.....even so it may take out front wheel seals.....and such things. Lowering the bucket close to the ground and going slow helps allot tho.

I have used my bush hog on some 2" minus regrowth areas that were previously hit with a mulcher a few years ago and it works pretty good, albeit noisy. Most of my previously logged off areas (~20 years ago) though have just enough 4-6"+ diameter poplar that it is effectively impossible to drive my tractor through them. I've done a bit of clearing with my loader bucket and after about 10ft of pushing the front end of my tractor (MF 135 - loaded rear tires, loader, implement on back.... 6000lbs+) will be lifted off the ground propped up on 45 degree leaning trees while my back tires start simultaneously digging themselves into my bottomless clay.

Also as rocksnstumps alluded to, outside of a small area on my property I have a large amount of bedrock and boulders (softball sized to ~6ft diameter) plus a lot of hills and areas that stay just wet enough to swallow a tractor. When I had a mulcher open up some old skidder trails in the rockier areas after the guy was done he said he'd never go in there again as he figured at $180/hr he might be losing money on carbide teeth. I had my neighbour open up a new trail in the same area with a 15t excavator and he said he'd never been in ground like mine before - more boulders than soil (clay), had a hard (expensive...) time grading out the trail afterwards as there was nowhere to borrow backfill from nearby.

One of the fully hydraulic flails they use to maintain the road shoulders here with a 100hp+ tractor would be awesome and probably chew through even the bigger trees, but since deer are almost endangered at my place now it's getting hard to justify spending money on these types of projects. Also to some extent even though I have "feller buncher" dreams I only have a "feller" budget lol.

 

[SD51555]

I don’t like the big machinery for this work. I get the scale side of this. I’m on a 40. I like to go in and do it by hand so the desirables aren’t chewed up.


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[Foggy47]

I don’t like the big machinery for this work. I get the scale side of this. I’m on a 40. I like to go in and do it by hand so the desirables aren’t chewed up.


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However.....if you were to triple your work-load(in acres).....and double your age.....how would you feel about that? Grin. We all got different situations......and it's all good.

 

[SD51555]

However.....if you were to triple your work-load(in acres).....and double your age.....how would you feel about that? Grin. We all got different situations......and it's all good.

There is an inverse relationship between age and ability. As we age, we should replace effort with income and accomplish the same.

I still have the ability, so the income ain’t there yet.


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[Foggy47]

There is an inverse relationship between age and ability. As we age, we should replace effort with income and accomplish the same.

I still have the ability, so the income ain’t there yet.


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I'm considering a trade. My wealth for your youth. In? (lol).

 

[SD51555]

I'm considering a trade. My wealth for your youth. In? (lol).

Can't do it. I couldn't find anyone to mulch my place the way I'd want it done. I'm too picky about saving every little conifer, dogwood, birch etc. The area I'm working on this week is pretty light on save-species, but there are some there.

 

[Tree Spud]

Not sure if it was mentioned, but best time to cut for regenerative growth is when trees are dormant. Usually by February (assuming you are i the north) all of the trees energy stores have moved down into the root system. This energy is needed for the spring root system sprouting and growth.

 

[sandbur]

Not sure if it was mentioned, but best time to cut for regenerative growth is when trees are dormant. Usually by February (assuming you are i the north) all of the trees energy stores have moved down into the root system. This energy is needed for the spring root system sprouting and growth.

A popple cut on my place will probably be in February. Some are too mature all ready and the consulting forester says to get them out of there.

 

[4wanderingeyes]

I have huge poplars (Aspen), and I usually start cutting about 3-4 a week starting in late January until around April when things start greening up. The buds on the tree tops feed the deer for 3-4 days, then the next 4 years or so the stem count from the trees really take off and feed the deer as well. I also cut big maples, and let the stumps sprout to feed the deer as well.

Last winter I had so much snow, I felt bad and I kept cutting, and the deer kept coming in, more and more. The deer actually done damage to my understory by having so many deer here over winter. I still need the fire wood, so I will still do it, but not necessarily for the deer, and just for firewood.