Pine trees in Central Florida

[1930]

I know it may be limiting the responses but Id appreciate it if only people with this specific experience post in this thread.

Im not looking for any advice about renting large equipment or a stump grinder.

I have 5 acres just outside of Ocala Florida that I plan to retire on in a few years, it is some sand, and then some more sand and then you finally get to the good stuff below which is more sand.

I drive out there when I can spend the weekend ( usually the 1st weekend of the month ) I am working on clearing the land/doing what I can do to keep busy whilst I waiting for my time to come to start building ( Feb 2023 )

Its small property, only 5 acres.

Lots of pine trees, I dont want the pine trees.

Ive removed over a hundred so far and still more than twice that to go. They average maybe 6-8 inches in diam, some much bigger, some smaller.

In case you didnt know a 6 inch pine tree can EASILY double in size below the ground, they send a tap root that goes down further than I care to dig and Ive dug down 3-4 feet trying to remove a stump.

At this point I have more than 100 stumps sticking out of the ground approx 2-3 feet.

There is zero chance that Im gonna be able to push over much of anything with my small tractor/FEL/backhoe combo ( cause again the taproot ) but I may be able to dig down one side of the tree with my backhoe and get the tree to lean if enough dirt is removed but Im not sure what that will gain me.

It was mentioned to me on another forum that if I left them alone they would be powder with 1-2 years?????

Is this an accurate time frame for my location and specie of tree?

If it is true than I need to get back there and cut down every one on the property so I can get the rotting started and then deal with cleanup over time, if its not true than Ill just keep going like I am and peck at things until Feb 2023 comes and Ill have no better choice than to hire someone to do the work that Id rather be doing myself.

Thanks

 

[D2Cat]

If I was wanting to get the root ball out of the ground I would not cut the tree off. Use the upper part of the tree for leverage when pushing.

I've cut a few hundred pine trees 8-12" dia. and left the stump level with the ground. In 1-2 years they are no where near powder, but this in Kansas!

If you want the stump to deteriorate with out removal, you can cut the tree of level with the ground but use your saw to do a plunge cut. Have the saw at a 30 deg angle as you go around the stump at ground level. This forms a funnel which collects water, and then will rapidly accelerate the breakdown of the tree.

 

[skeets]

not to be a smart arse,but why do you want to get rid of the pines? I mean really thats all thats holding the sand together also the fact that you have so many pines means you will have one hell of a time getting much of anything else to grow with out tons of soil amendments. And if it anything like the sand in Miss. those trees are the only thing keeping you from washing away,,, just MHO,, otherwise like D2 stated cut them off close and let the termites and ants have at it

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

I know it may be limiting the responses but Id appreciate it if only people with this specific experience post in this thread.

Well I've dropped and stumped ~2K in pine trees on our place and it's all sand, I can tell you with a L2501 and even with a backhoe, your in for a lot of hard work!

I'm with skeet's on this, why are you wanting to get rid of the pines?
FYI: I didn't get rid of mine I just thinned and managed them, I still have well over 40K pine trees and 20k in deciduous trees too.

Unless something magical happens to tree stumps in Florida that doesn't happen anywhere else, you're not going to have the stumps turn to powder in 2 years, you would be lucky if that happened in 10 years, Heck I've got pine stumps on my property that are 10 Plus years old and an excavator still has a hard time digging them up.

I know this is not what you are wanting but the easiest way to deal with them is to get a big excavator and pop them out of the ground, then use your tractor to clean up the mess.

I have a L3450 and a Bobcat and even with the two of those I couldn't pop the stumps out very easily, and most are still too heavy to even carry once I got them out of the ground.



If you can get lucky enough you can

 

[Daren Todd]

A mini ex with thumb would probably be your best bet for dropping the pines. Especially if they are just 6" to 9" in diameter. Just dig next to the tree and push it over. Pick it up with trackhoe and you can cut the root ball off with a chain saw. Sling the log into a stack and move to the next. Unless ypur planning on burning it all. Then it's a matter of slinging the whole thing on a pile.

Another option is to just talk to a logging company. Only issue with that is dealing with all the stumps afterwards.

One issue with the sand you'll be dealing with there. It tends to be sugar sand. Running around with the tractor will be one thing. Doing a lot of work with the tractor is gonna start loosening everything up and it's gonna make moving through the area with tires a chore. Tractor should navigate it decently by it's self. But towing a log to a pile may start to be a challenge in short order. Your in an area where a tracked piece of machinery is gonna shine.

 

[Yooper]

Ever been bitten by an ant? Get used to it if you want to let them eat the stumps. And you will never get used to it! Dang things carry the piece of skin they take off you like a trophy. Wakes you up real fast when you are sleeping.

BTW, what species of pine is it? Heard that Southern Yellow pine is like a hardwood.

 

[lugbolt]

Dozer is the only way I know of.

Pine trees are a pain in the butt. They self-prune, drop limbs when the wind blows, they are notorious for falling at the drop of a hat, during a small storm, the attract borers, the needles on the ground poison the ground sometimes such that nothing will grow under them. I hate pines but I like pines. Love-hate relationship I guess one could say. They are necessary, they are pretty (usually). I've got 8 of them on the acre I've got, and that's 7 too many. The one yellow is huge and extremely healthy, great shade in the summer too. Old fox squirrel's got a nest up top now.

Yellow pine is soft too, maybe slightly harder than Loblolly or white, but not by much. Pine is all soft wood.

The stumps don't rot as quickly as one would think. Dirt here is kinda sandy with lots of clay mixed in and there are two pine stumps on the very back of the property that have been there almost 20 years. They were cut when the previous property owner moved in back in 2000. The soil here stays wet 99% of the time except for August when it dries up some, depending on how dry the summer is. Last summer august was super wet and the ground never really dried out much. Dig down a foot and find moisture. Maybe the OP's situation is affected by the salt in the air, I do not know. The only stump I've had any success in getting rid of was the old gum stump in the front yard which rotted away just far enough to get below grade, so the mower won't catch on it now. Do not burn the stumps, either. There is a place north of here that has been on fire underground for years, all cause someone decided to burn the stumps out. They're currently trying to figure out how to get the fire(s) put out but they'll probably have do do some excavating.

 

[34by151]

I cleared 5 acres on my old farm to build a house, sheds and landing strip

Pine is easy these were big hardwood gumtrees.
Started with th chainsaw and tractor but that got old real quick.
Had a pair of D9's come out.
They drove thoufgh the trees woth a big chain between
Most came up with the root balls attached

Dozers then piled them up
All done in 3 days. Id also estimate that it was less for the dozers than I would have used in fuel anyway

You may want to look into the same but as its pine id get intouch with a local logging company. they will process the trees and pay you for them.

 

[D2Cat]

When I cut the Pines I didn't want the ground tore up so I ended up buying a stump grinder. I ground off about 50-60 stumps that were in areas I wanted to mow. Then I sold the grinder for what I paid for it.

I knew if I rented one I would kill myself trying to get as many done as fast as possible!

 

[lugbolt]

Place I used to house-sit at had 6.2 acres of pines. He wanted them ALL gone and leave the hardwoods. He asked me to call a logging company and have them select cut the property. They sent someone out to look and decided it wasn't worth the trouble to cut it. Said not enough money to be made for them. They were already cutting down the road and the mill is 18 miles away so it wasn't inconvenient--not at all. So we called another po-dunk logging place and they said the same thing. A majority of the property was 12-16" trunk yellow pine, with a smaller few gum, medium sized hickory and red oak throwed into the mix on the very back side of the property were it started to run up the hill. I guess they don't want to mess with anything unless it's hundreds of acres. Dunno. The neighbor guy cut some of them for craft wood and then the home owner ended up selling and moving. I loved that little house and the area, wish I'd have bought it. Real quiet and walking distance to the lake.

 

[Captain13]

Timber that small is not very valuable to either a lumber or paper mill. However, the root balls are usually valuable to black powder manufacturers. I see tractor trailer loads of them every time I'm in SE Georgia. They grind them up, from what I understand, and use them to make explosives. It might be worth making a call if you could find a manufacturer down there to see if they want them.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

Timber that small is not very valuable to either a lumber or paper mill. However, the root balls are usually valuable to black powder manufacturers. I see tractor trailer loads of them every time I'm in SE Georgia. They grind them up, from what I understand, and use them to make explosives. It might be worth making a call if you could find a manufacturer down there to see if they want them.

I'm pretty sure whom ever told you that was pulling your leg.
If it was true, I would be one rich son of a gun, as I've dug out and burned thousand of root balls some the size of Volkswagen bugs!

 

[ipz2222]

They do not rot so fast. The outer part does but the heart stays a LONG time. I've got stumps behind my shop I cut down in '92. If you could find someone with one of those huge backhoe or skidsteer stump grinders, but at $50 to $80 a stump, might be a little $$$$$$.

 

[34by151]

After clearing I had all the trees piled up. The two D9 fixed all the holes with the blade and rippers in no time at all. In fact they were doing that in between moving trees to the piles.

As for the hardwood. I used branches for firewood. The rest I slabbed using a lucas mill. Over time got though a lot of the piles and made a lot selling rough edge timber slabs.