Breaking New Ground

Hey guys,

Looking break some new ground behind my cabin and increase the size of the food plot I have back there. Current size is about 1/8th of an acre and I’m looking to increase the size to about 1 acre. Lots of standing Poplar about 6-8″ in diameter, so the clearing should be quite a chore i’m thinking.

My question is, whats the best way to go about clearing virgin ground like this?

My thought was to use a chainsaw to cut down the timber into pieces small enough to use for firewood and haul away. Next I was going to rent a Bobcat to pull out the remaining stumps. After that my hope is that I should be able to disc and prepare the soil bed accordingly.

Am I going about this process the correct way or is there an easier method to accomplish this?

Thanks in advance!

I would push the trees over before cutting them up. Use the weight of the tree as leverage. The bobcat might have a hard time getting the stumps out otherwise.

I agree, use a truck and jerk strap to pull the trees down before cutting. It’s a lot of work for a bobcat to pull them after they are cut off, but I know from experience it can be done.

Other than that sounds like how I make my new plots. Toughest part is tree removal.

Thanks for the advice guys.

I though about the truck idea as well, but I think it would be pretty difficult to get a truck back behind the cabin. It would probably take alot of clearing just to get an access road back there unfortunately.

Maybe find someone up in that area right now with a small dozer. Most of those guys aren’t working now anyway. Might be suprised how little they might charge you to clear it now before they get busy in the spring. Just a thought.

Prob with dozers is that they move too much earth and with a spring fall might run into erosion problems. And you lose good topsoil.

excavator with a thumb is the way i would do it next to a stump grinder but i dont think a stump grinder is a practical use for a food plot.

Do you need the fire wood for the cabin??? Since some bigger equipment will be in use, here is an idea for all your trees. Decide where the best chances are for the deer to approach the new plot and build a natural funnel to get deer coming and going to the same corner. Stack the trees and pinch them down to a nice bow set up. Just a thought…since you already know it will be a ton of work clearing the new plot. Good luck!!

Do you need the fire wood for the cabin??? Since some bigger equipment will be in use, here is an idea for all your trees. Decide where the best chances are for the deer to approach the new plot and build a natural funnel to get deer coming and going to the same corner. Stack the trees and pinch them down to a nice bow set up. Just a thought…since you already know it will be a ton of work clearing the new plot. Good luck!!

Great idea Kentucky Boy!

Unfortunately, I already placed a few pinch points with deadfalls on my property a few years ago.

Now I just need a decent plot to draw them in to those pinch points!

Two things come to mind with this. First, I would pay the machine time on a dozer /operator if its in your budget. The efficiency would make it money well spent.
Second, poplar is a shrub, not a tree. They most likely have common root system that will be a flipp’n nightmare to get ripped up/out. Yes, your talking about disturbing a lot of earth, but the physical labor otherwise may make you change your mind.

I have poured a lot of sweatquity into expanding some smaller plots with minimal gain . This year I plan on getting a dozer for a day and quit messing around. Good luck with whatever you decide and don’t forget the before, after and harvest photo !

Dozer.

As Randy points out the trees are not even half the problem. The roots are thr real issue.

Grouse

I would push the trees over before cutting them up. Use the weight of the tree as leverage.

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