Recent Forestry Mulching Projects

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This project  located in Pomfret  VT the home owners are trying to sell the house,  It has lovely views  with a fantastic swimming pond.  The issue the pond was not visible from the house.

Same view  with the trees removed.  A challenge because the slope was 30-35 degrees  with only a 15'  buffer around the pond.  One had to pay attention while working or risk backing off the slope into 12' of water.

In Springfield VT  the owner had the property logged   and years pasted  wanting cleanup.  Searching under pasture restoration and forestry consultant provided a solution in forestry mulching.

All stumps ranging in size from 8 - 24" were ground to surface.  All dead falls and slash was mulched.  A conservation seed was then cast over the ground to promote the growth of a highland field.

Utilizing forestry mulching equipment can make quick work of storm damage.  In the case of this project Storms can do strange things.  These trees were all blown down in a concentrated micro-burst.  The terrain is steep and all the logs. trees, are in a tangled mess.  Our client seen here negotiating the steep terrain wants to  reclaim  horse pasture extending his horse fencing , but  can't because  of the trees.  We were called in to clean up the mess.  Create a fence line ROW and reclaim the field.   The homeowners wife was afraid her husband would get hurt working in these conditions.

The  once  entangled  mess of  broken tree,  large stumps  and  overgrowth is  tamed.  Leaving a nice mulch  which was spread over the entire area.  A fence  line can be defined and  the fence can now be extended  enclosing  the pasture.

Cleanup after the waters receded

 A 10" log left behind by the flood

10" log eliminated 

This  pasture has been allowed to grow unchecked for 15 years.  It was  overgrown with many invasive species  inclusive of Buckthorn,  Multiflora Rose, stands of Poplar and pines and an assortment of brush.

Hillside  underbrush cleanup benefits a pasture restoration

 Same Pasture  after  it was mulched  of  Buckthorn,  Multiflora Rosa ,  Pine Trees  and scrub brush.

Our customer had unsightly backyard slope which he had hired countless landscape contractors who said they could mow slope.  The slope on this project was 28 degrees.  Finding out about a local forestry consultant helped him resolve the issue.

 Access to the backyard was limited.  Some rocks prove to be bigger than they appear at 1st, but not an issue.  Moved and regraded providing a new architectural feature to the landscape.

Getting across a stream can be a challenge especially when we are looking to tread lightly.  This bridge represents a 40' span made up of 8x8 wood beams where they were connected together utilizing a fish plate on either side of the joints and then through bolted.  All the wood for the decking was sourced locally with the species being hemlock for durability and rot residence.  We built the main span in multiple iterations finally settling on the one shown. The bridge is rated for an ATV with small trailer.  The original underpinnings were cut logs and less permanent because the town and wet lands commission mandated the bridge had to not be a permanent structure.  It was after we departed the customer elected to have the underpinnings made permanent.  They did a nice job.

 A project complete with the desired view the customer was seeking.  A landscape now easily maintained.  Thanks to the help of a forestry consultant.

 Year’s of heavy growth encroaching on pasture.  No match for our slope mower.  These  slopes are 30 degrees.  Even in areas where conventional tractors would bog down creating heavy rutting our tractor has incredible float.  Keeping traction and maneuverability on  extreme  slope, tight areas, and where the ground is wet.

 Same area as preceding picture shows the immediate transformation.

 It was introduced as an ornamental to the United States in the 1860s. Roots and stems have high berberine content. As an exotic invasive shrub it has invaded open woods, woodland borders, pastures, fields, waste lots, abandoned building and house lots, roadsides, and natural area paths.  Its primary issue is it harbors  and attracts the  ticks carrying Lyme Disease.  The plant has no natural predictors which will eat it.  It has a sharp spine thorn and leather gloves are recommended.   The plant grows equally as well in shade or sun.  The best ways to eliminate it is to dig it up, burn it or repeated mulching.  We mulch and sub-soil the root structure shredding it.    Every time you cut the top off, you force the plant to sprout which reduces the root reserves and weakens the plant.  In some cases it gets sprayed with a herbicide after the mulching process.  We do not use Roundup.

Working with your forester they then contact forestry consultant who utilizes forestry mulching an an alternative to controlling invasive species. Multiflora rose is a large, dense shrub that has escaped from ornamental and conservation plantings to become a serious invasive plant problem across the eastern half of the U.S. It invades natural areas, pastures, and light gaps in forests. Multiflora rose produces abundant small white flowers in the spring. Birds and mammals consume the red fruits, called hips, and may disperse them long distances. Plants grow slowly for the first one or two years followed by rapid expansion through layering and root sprouts. Multiflora rose spreads quickly and may grow 1 to 2 feet per week to form impenetrable thickets of thorny stems.   Large bunches being mowed by a brush hog will damage the equipment,  Instead we recommend to mulch and sub-soil the root structure shredding it.    Every time its  top is cut off, it forces the plant to sprout which reduces the root reserves and weakens the plant.  We have found this quite effective.  

 This plant is an upright, shrubby, herbaceous, woody-appearing perennial reaching heights of 10 to 15 feet. Knotweed spreads rapidly, forming dense thickets that crowd and shade out native vegetation.  Their root structure is extremely prolific.  Once established, populations of Japanese Knotweed are extremely persistent and hard to remove. They have been unknown to grow through black top parking lots.

This hillside was infested with overgrown  Barberry.  The entire area was mulched  then a conservation seed was put down  not  as an effort to  turning it into hillside meadows, but rather  to mitigate  the  return  of  other invasive  species.

To maintain the area  a brush hog  or flail  mower  will work well.

The same area in above picture.  It consisted of approximately 15 acres of a Multiflora Rose infestation.  Some of the bushes were upwards of 15' tall and 12' across.  Trying to dig them out would have been futile.  Their stocks would have destroyed a tractor drawn brush hog.  Utilizing a forestry mulcher  and sub-soiling the root structure made quick work of the infestation.  Routine cutting with a brush hog can now control their return.

We have not  had opportunity  to work on  Japanese Knotweed, but we have worked with Common Reed and  Phragmites . 

In this picture  we  are in the process  of mowing the reeds down  as well as eliminating  multiflora  rose.   To not control  the growth of both will make the pond  inaccessible  to livestock  and humans.