I'm looking to have a relatively small area cleared on my place and would like opinions on how to go about it. The area is about 2 acres of mostly cedar with some oaks mixed in. I'm not looking for total clearing, but a significant cleaning out to make the land usable.

I'm trying to decide what's best between a dozer or a cedar clearing/mulching service. I like the mulching option because it results in far less ground disturbance, but it leaves behind a layer of mulch over everything. There is also no pile to burn afterwards like a dozer, and no uncovered ground to erode. The downside is it's probably more expensive? Will grass grow back through the layer of mulch?

Here is one service I had come out and give me a quote yesterday: Kleen Site. They would be using a skid-steer with a mulching attachment to literally run through and mulch down the trees.

Sorry if this post sounds disjointed. I'm just trying to get my thoughts out there so hopefully you guys can give me some ideas/experiences.

Thoughts?

What type of cedar, and what oaks? I ask because a blueberry juniper/live oak (hill country) situation is different than an Eastern Red Cedar/post oak situation. If it is the western situation, think about tree shearing. Cleaner than dozing, cheaper than mulching.

Central Texas/ Hill Country. I honestly don't know the correct cedar species...

I hadn't thought about shearing, but the allure for the mulching is the lack of post-clearing work needed, i.e. burning.

Some buddies, a few chainsaws, rent a wood chipper, and a small tractor? Lots of time involved, but would be way cheaper and probably less invasive/destructive to the surface.

I thought about that, but frankly just don't have the time for it.

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Some buddies, a few chainsaws, rent a wood chipper, and a small tractor? Lots of time involved, but would be way cheaper and probably less invasive/destructive to the surface.

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you forgot the beer.

I could watch Kleen Site mulch down trees all day!

my bad.

The mulchers do great work, but a couple of words of caution: 1. A little goes a long way. Get ready to scatter piles if it gets over 2 or 3 inches deep. A little mulch does great things for new grass growth, but too deep, and nothing comes up. 2. Understand that if there are rocks, and the mulcher doesn't get every single green limb, that cedar will regrow (live oak will, too, no matter what).

Has anyone used one of the vail X series tree saws? I saw one on a hunting show and they looked awesome, and perfect for an application like this

Thanks B-1.

my buddy Kyle that I served with in the Marines is in sales for Cedar Eaters of Texas, and I think he operates in the hill country

kyle at cedareaters dot com

I have used 2 companies with hydroax machines to mulch cedars and can recommend BushWhackers.

http://bushwackerslandclearing.com

Good folks and service. $1600 per day- which is way cheaper than most similar companies.

Thanks, I'l give them a look.

Thanks. And yeah, $1600/day is a lot cheaper than KleenSite. They charge $2500 for a day minimum, and then bid any additional portion on top of that.

Although unfortunately it doesn't look like they do work far enough south to encompass my area. I'm just north of Austin.

A couple of day laborer types and chainsaws is the way to go here. It seems like the other methods cost more and either do more damage or result in fairly quick re growth. This is often cheaper too.

Have Ax, will travel

Lots of goats.....and random dudes with chainsaws......What could go wrong?

Man... gotta miss the old days in Texas when you could hire some "guys" for $10/day and all the frijoles and tortillas they could eat...