I have a smal pecan orchard(2ac, 170 trees) here in south New Mexico, every few years the trees need to be trimmed which is usually done with power saws, either on a man lift or large multiple bladed machines. That being said, either or all methods leave lots of trimming debris on the ground. As we are now not allowed to burn this debris the only viable method is to mulch the trimmings. My questions are this, will the forest munchers that I see on u tube mulch stuff that is already down, I don't want to prune the trees, just mulch and dispose of the trimmings. So my real question is, will the forest mulchers that fit on the larger tracked skid steers do the job? I need to focus on small orchard plots that the big operators don't want to fool with, but still need doing. Thanks
Yes, forestry mulchers can do exactly what you require. Better still rather than using a skid steer try to find a wheel tractor with a forestry mulcher. They may be able to do the job in 1 pass which depends on how much trimming are on the ground.
If you don't want to drop a hundred grand + on a proper setup mulcher, just get a SS mounted flail mower with hammer style knives, it'll work just fine, on tree prunings, and the grass under the trees will look nice, too, after mowing...
Tones, I have an MF2615 4 wheel drive tractor, it's only 40 horse, don't know how many ponies needed for the mulcher, guess I could talk to my local ** dealer, thanks for the reply
StPat, because your lot is small I would suggest hiring a contractor to do the job. Unless you have other work for an upgraded tractor and mulcher just doing 2 acres would be hexie, ie 1 or 2 days work a year against the purchase price.
40 HP would be more than enough for a 5-6' wide flail mower... Here is a video of a small JD setup: its about 45 HP, and appears to be pulling a 70" flail mower. If you search flail mowers on youtube, there are plenty more.
Tones, what you say is true but I am also looking to do this sort of work here in the valley. There are many 1 to 5 acre orchards that need what I call " small plot, or hobby farm " work that big operators with large equipment do not want to do. I experienced this some time ago with laser leveling, I finally had a laser setup made for a 6 foot scraper and couldn't stay off the tractor, did quite well.These small orchards are offtimes odd shaped, odd spacing of the trees, and other problems which I can usually overcome with the smaller equipment. This is one of those " niche markets" we hear about, and it keeps me out of the saloons and off the streets, which the wife likes. I'm 80 years old and slowing down but just don't want to quit and sit around watching Opra all day. Thanks for the replies and I will looking for a mulcher or mower that will work.
http://vrisimo.com/orchardlpflailmower?gclid=Cj0KCQiAgNrQBRC0ARIsAE-m-1yfqjlMsRoBtqvUjN4-QLsOzgRSUZKG9MWqXdUt5IH2pRFkUoxQrJoaAn-nEALw_wcB Verisimilitude flails have been around quite a while and used in the orchards in the northwest. They list smallest as requiring 40hp. Darryl
For orchard work the Antonio Carraro tractor range is worth looking at. They are bidirectional so you can push the mower with getting flat tyres. Turn the seat and steering wheel around and it is a conventional tractor.
Or you could rent a chipper and drag it down every other row while people feed the trimmings in? Probably the cheapest option.