# advice on clearing pasture



## prayingtogod (Jan 16, 2014)

Hello all,

I bought farm land recently and this is the first time I will farm. The owners before us didn't do much with the land, so we have thick overgrown pasture full of weeds and tall grass etc. I would like to clear the land to bare soil first then plant fruit trees on them, I will eventually seed the areas in between the trees as well but first I have to clear the area of weeds. So far we bought a little 30 hp tractor, a two bottom plow, rototiller and a disk. We unfortunately do not have a brush hog or anything to cut the overgrown pasture. I would love some advice on how to clear the land with the equipment that I have. Thanks


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## pogobill (Jan 31, 2012)

Hello there and welcome to TractorForum. Tell us a little more about your project, there. How much land are you talking about, and will it be all orchard, or will you be cultivating some of the land for crops or gardens? Sounds like you have all the right gear for doing some gardening in a big way, and for growing crops like hay or grain and such.
Is there anywhere in your area that you could rent a bushhog or a flail mower for a weekend and get the ground cover cut?


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## ben70b (Aug 29, 2012)

If you live where it is winter and the grass and weeds are dead set it on fire and burn it off, you wouldn't need a bush hog right away. Then plow it up followed by disking it. Then you need to sow some kind of grass back into it otherwise it's gonna grow up into weeds again, weeds don't take long to multiply and by plowing it plenty deep you hopefully will bury the weed seed but birds or wind can bring in more weed seed. Check with your local extension office, they might could help you determine what would be good to sow in the pasture based on your needs and your area and climate. Maybe there is a local ASC office that could help with the same. One of them may have a small drill you can rent to sow your seed. All along be keeping your eyes open for a bush hog to help u maintain your pasture, or some goats or something, maybe calves.


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## ben70b (Aug 29, 2012)

That's probably how I would start out anyway


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## prayingtogod (Jan 16, 2014)

pogobill said:


> Hello there and welcome to TractorForum. Tell us a little more about your project, there. How much land are you talking about, and will it be all orchard, or will you be cultivating some of the land for crops or gardens? Sounds like you have all the right gear for doing some gardening in a big way, and for growing crops like hay or grain and such.
> Is there anywhere in your area that you could rent a bushhog or a flail mower for a weekend and get the ground cover cut?


The property is about 10 acres, of which I want 6 acres to be turned into an orchard. Right now the land the very bumpy and uneven. I'm worried that running any machine through the field ill damage it, especially a bush hog. (By the way, is there a difference between a bush hog and a regular rotary mower attached to the pto? or does a regular mower have the retractable blade as well for rocks and soil therefore being the same?) Anyway, I can't burn the plants either due to local bylaws and I don't have a bushhog right now. My best options are to either rent bushhog from homedepot (with the only worry of not being able to do extremely wet and muddy areas) or buy a bushtrimmer and do it manually. Also what do I do with the trimmings? Do I collect and get rid of it or bury it during plowing?


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## farmertim (Dec 1, 2010)

prayingtogod said:


> The property is about 10 acres, of which I want 6 acres to be turned into an orchard. Right now the land the very bumpy and uneven. I'm worried that running any machine through the field ill damage it, especially a bush hog. (By the way, is there a difference between a bush hog and a regular rotary mower attached to the pto? or does a regular mower have the retractable blade as well for rocks and soil therefore being the same?) Anyway, I can't burn the plants either due to local bylaws and I don't have a bushhog right now. My best options are to either rent bushhog from homedepot (with the only worry of not being able to do extremely wet and muddy areas) or buy a bushtrimmer and do it manually. Also what do I do with the trimmings? Do I collect and get rid of it or bury it during plowing?


Welcome to the forum Mate,
I have 10 acres where I have been cutting and collecting a lot of weeds and leaves I have made half a dozen or more compost heaps out of old shipping pallets.
i first put the old green stuff in a pile and have mixed it up with some extra soil and dry leaves (eucalyptus leaves take a while to break down),
leave it for 3 months and then seperate that into the compost heaps adding new cuttings in layers, the quality of the compost is second to none and it is free soil conditioner, over here in Oz there is a need to mulch well due to the hot summer and then the rain just runs off, but by using compost it protects the soil and allows the rain to soak down, the best part is you dont need to dig it in, just pile it 1-2 inches deep around your trees or garden beds and let the worms do the work, if weeds do come through, they are easily pulled out and they can be composted too. the best circle of life there can be in my opinion.
Cheers


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