The land maintenance, non-chainsaw thread

[bodywhomper]

Had not considered a blower. Don’t own one. That’s a good way idea!

[bodywhomper]

I have no blower experience. what do I look for in a blower? Gas, plug in or battery? Can I use/control a blower to make piles of leaves and needles?

We have lots of leaves and needles. I’m still dealing with needles from the pine beetle episode a few years ago. I focus my leaf and needle collecting in the 30+foot area around our structures. I’ll get to the leaf/needle litter past that point in a few years. Many oaks and madrone, so it’s constant during the dry season. I typically buy used. Unless the seller tells me they only used premix fuel, I’ll factor in a carb kit in my purchase if I get a gas blower.

[Game Over]

I would vote for a backpack blower. Gonna need some power to move needles and not take all day.

[riser4]

Pave paradise and put up a parking lot.

[Gepeto]

^^^ concur with SC... gas - backpack

Here's shorty primer: https://www.yardcaregurus.com/what-i...a-leaf-blower/

Mow PowAH the better; they have throttles, so it's easy to dial it back.

4stroke would be nice if you have no other need for premix. Grabbing one used will narrow down that option

[Game Over]

We recently got a 3pt landscape rakeit turns thisinto this in one pass.

Haven’t used it on much more than a couple acres so far but we are very happy with it. Looking foreword to putting it to work when the fire danger lowers.

[Game Over]

Bump

We want to hardscape immediately adjacent to our structures for wildfire safety. Anybody care to share techniques?

We get a lot of wind events that will deposit leaves and needles against the structures. I’d like to be able to easily rake away/collect this detritus without raking away or spreading the hardscape material. My experience is that gravel may not work well for this application. My research so far is also steering me away from landscape fabric (and has reminded me about my own frustrations dealing with old fabric).

Thought and prayers?
Cheers

Did you get a blower?

Dint know why I didn’t think of this but a lawnmower with a bagger or a leaf vacuum/shredder could also work well and prolly be faster depending on if you are hauling the waste. Prolly still want a blower for the details..,

[bodywhomper]

No blower yet. I’m gonna borrow one first to see how it goes. Neighbor has a bpack husky blower. I’ve been buying, transporting, and spreading gravel with fines. Spreading it around our structures. 2 yards so far, probably 4 or 5 yards more. Been weeding the areas, too. Slow solo work. Goes well with herb and dub.

[iceman]

Based on your post I went and looked at the dewalt site, they have just what I need, a cordless telescoping pole hedge/brush trimmer. Thing looks perfect. For $540! Yikes. Well I'm not buying it today.

[neufox47]

I need a compact tractor. Steep property, 5 acres, need to mow brush, probably a bucket, maybe eventually a backhoe. Do the brands matter that much or is Kubota, Kiote, Yanmar worth it?

[bodywhomper]

I need a compact tractor. Steep property, 5 acres, need to mow brush, probably a bucket, maybe eventually a backhoe. Do the brands matter that much or is Kubota, Kiote, Yanmar worth it?

I have no answer, but congrats on the property purchase!

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[iceman]

Look at Mahindra. I have no personal experience but they are supposedly the biggest tractor manufacturer in the world, have really good warranties, are relatively cheap (or so I understand) and have good features. Worth a look at least.

[Todd Zander]

I need a compact tractor. Steep property, 5 acres, need to mow brush, probably a bucket, maybe eventually a backhoe. Do the brands matter that much or is Kubota, Kiote, Yanmar worth it?

mahindra. youre talking either the zmax or 30-40 hp range,and for atleast the 30-40 engines, they are able to meet emmissions standards without DEF or a particulate filter that has to high idle to burn off every so often(undriveable during that time period)

honestly if you can afford a private sale it seems thats the most often size to be purchased and quickly sold shortly thereafter.

[TAFKALVS]

I would buy whatever tractor has a long established dealership with a good reputation in your area. In my area that's Kubota or Deere/Yanmar (small Deere's are made by Yanmar.)

I have heard bad things about the build quality and longevity of Mahindra. There's lots of good content on YouTube.

If your property is truly steep, you might consider a small dozer with a loader bucket. Something like a John Deere 350c crawler loader. They even have a PTO.

[Mazderati]

Online reviews suggest Mahindra has a decent product (at least some of their designs are licensed from International or Case or whatever) but dealer support is spotty at best.

[Game Over]

I need a compact tractor. Steep property, 5 acres, need to mow brush, probably a bucket, maybe eventually a backhoe. Do the brands matter that much or is Kubota, Kiote, Yanmar worth it?

Considering the steepness I’d strongly consider a skid steer instead of a tractor.

[neufox47]

Well it’s steep but not that steep. Neighbors all get by with small tractors. Guy who I paid to mow it this summer did it without too much trouble in a Kubota 4x4.

[bodywhomper]

Scythe

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[bodywhomper]

Anybody use wedge-loc stuff? Seems pretty dope

https://youtu.be/_loUlwqy0N4

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[Bronco]

Anybody use wedge-loc stuff? Seems pretty dope

https://youtu.be/_loUlwqy0N4

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Used it to build corners on a goat pen years ago. It’s ok for light duty use but for livestock or anything larger than an acre, I’d go with traditional wood corners and tightening brackets. The wedge locks occasionally came loose and would have to be put back together and re-tightened. Usually caused by the goats climbing or leaning on the fence.

[bodywhomper]

Thanks for the input! I’m in the process of extending our fenced area for the dog. He never seems to touch the existing fence so it’ll probably hold up. I first saw it at a friends newish alpaca ranch. They used them on the fence to separate the boys and girls, which I think they put up on a hurry about 8 months ago. They were using it for more than just corners, but my current idea was just to use for corners.

I’m also intrigued about the ability to use them for small sheds.... I’m starting to run out of time to build my planned pole barn style woodshed.

[SumJongGuy]

I hate fucking bamboo. That is all. Need to rent a trench digger and procure a couple thousand pounds of concrete stop it from growing in under the fences. For now been digging up about 150-200 feet of bamboo roots every year because MIA property owners next door aren't doing anything to take out what's on their side of the fence..

[bodywhomper]

I generally try to avoid fucking bamboo.... or any woody vegetation, actually.

It doesn't always work out.

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[SumJongGuy]

I generally try to avoid fucking bamboo.... or any woody vegetation, actually.

It doesn't always work out.

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Wish the MIA property owners/landlords next door had avoided it as well. Honestly, it came in from a paper alley behind both of us we've all poached from the city but only the folks on the north side haven't done the work to get rid of it all. Totally ignored it and now it's a freaking nightmare for everyone else around them.

[bodywhomper]

Borrowed friends 430 cfm backpack blower. Now have several HUGE piles of oak and madrone leaves. Low speed was great for leaf removal on newly laid hardscape gravel. That power of blower didn’t really have much effect on our needles. Not sure if owning more powerful blower is gonna be worthy for us. Need to call rental spots about the power of their blowers.

Now to figure out what to do with all them piles....