Clearing of Land Around Our Home Site

I view our 60 or so acres (1st diagram) from more of a Permaculture standpoint. The most well-managed portions of our land will be around the corridor that we travel and live. The least-managed portions will be at our property's borders. It is with these thoughts that I have been working our land. If you'd like to investigate the concept of Permaculture, one of my fave books is by Toby Hemenway and called "Gaia's Garden: A Guide to Home Scale Permaculture".

I think of our land as arranged into concentric ovals or Zones (2nd figure). Our access road and home represent the center of the oval and the center of the most intensely managed land (identified in the above Permaculture book as "Zone 1". This Zone will be the most gardened and landscaped.





In the next oval (Zone 2) is the “stewarded” land. In wooded areas, the understory is fairly clear and populated with hardwood saplings (predominantly maple and oak) and is where trees may be harvested for fruit, nuts or firewood. In field areas, grass is mowed or fenced and populated with critters. Brush has been cleared back to stone walls. It is in these two areas where I currently spend most all of my time working. (note: Zone 2 was supposed to be orange and the color is apparently not picked up by my scanner. it's the obvious blank areas located around Zone 1.)

Outside of that is the soon-to-be somewhat tended forest. Outside of that is untended land. Through all layers of this land, trails will be made for recreational enjoyment and access. The first of those trails to be developed will radiate from Zone 1 out to property boundaries. Ultimately, a perimeter trail will follow the property boundary.

My first notions were to create vehicle access to an area that we will build upon. With the development of a road, this task is almost complete. Along with creating an access road, came the creation of a drainage plane for water (ie. a path for water to take)(more on this later) and restoration of the landscape on either side of the road.

Traditionally, when houses are built, the clearing of land happens quickly. In forested areas, the area is harvested using logging equipment or by using chainsaws to fell and cut up trees. Heavy equipment, such as an excavator, pulls the remaining stumps. Often, the pulled stumps are buried and the remaining brush is also buried or burned.

My tendencies lean strongly towards stewardship of the land and the above approach reminds me too much of the ancient “rape and pillage” philosophy. As I clear our land to prepare for a yard and house site, I do so with more of a minimalist approach. Time isn’t as much of an issue for me and the quality of our cleared space is. I am sure that I am doing significant habitat destruction but compared to the usual techniques that completely raze an acre or two of trees and obliterate the soil structure, I feel that my approach is a bit better.

The area I am clearing was once a New England farm field. This means that my clearing involves the removal of small trees, most less than 4" in diameter and brush. I am doing all the work by myself. My most often used hand tool for clearing is a long-handled pruner and sometimes I use a curved razor-tooth saw.

I have a chainsaw but I use it as sparingly as I can. I also have a 30 HP 4WD tractor with front bucket and backhoe, a field and brush mower and 4 inch wood chipper as attachments.

In the area I am clearing, plant succession is in full swing. Most of the small shrubs have been overtaken by popple (quaking aspen) and balsam fir. Maples saplings are small (finger sized) but beginning to sprout everywhere. While both the fir and popple have some commercial value as more mature (read: larger) trees, as 2-4 inch saplings, they don’t warrant commercial harvesting. I have decided that burning the cleared trees is a waste for two reasons. First, because of the carbon dioxide that will escape into the atmosphere (contributing in some small way to global warming) and second, because of the many nutrients that would also be lost to the soil. I have observed from working in my forest, that both downed popple and balsam fir decay quite rapidly. So by shredding and chipping these small trees (and thus increasing the surface area for the decay organisms to work) I will be giving them back to the soil quite quickly (within a year I figure).

I begin with the youngest trees and shrubs and clear these using long-handled pruners. These pruners work well for a few reasons. They can cut at or even a bit below ground level leaving stumps that you won’t trip over and they can reach under low branches so you don’t have to get a face full of needles and leaves. The trees that are too big for the pruners but small enough to chip are cut down with a chain saw. Trees that will eventually be cut but are too big for my chipper are left in place and pruned up as high as I can reach with the pruners or hand saw. Trees that will not be cut (mostly deciduous) are also pruned. By clearing in this fashion, chainsaw noise is limited to about 10 minutes an hour. This allows me to enjoy the sounds of the environment of which I feel I am a part.

The process I use has evolved over a two year period into something fairly efficient for the way I am doing it. I use the long-handled pruners to clear all of the smaller material growing on the ground. I also use the pruner to clear the branches off trees that will not yet be cut down. On trees small enough for me to chip, I will use my chainsaw to remove the branches. I skim the trunk of these trees with the bar removing the branches quickly. All of this "brush" is removed and placed in rows on relatively flat ground (pic below).

Trees less than 4" are cut down getting as close to the ground as I can without sucking too much dirt into my saw bar and chain. I have an old bar and chain I save for this purpose. I am bound to get some dirt and debris in the chain, bar and sprocket and once every two hours or so, I strip down my chainsaw and give it and the bar a thorough cleaning. The blade also gets sharpened frequently. I do go through blades and even bars but I look at this as an equitable trade for what I am getting in return.




A brief word on safety. I can not emphasize enough how important it is to wear safety equipment during this clearing process with a chainsaw. This is not normal chainsaw work. I wear heavy, tall boots, kevlar chaps, heavy gloves and a helmet with mask and ear protection. You are just plain stupid if you don't invest in chaps and a helmet. I am not careless with a chainsaw and have an immense amount of respect for the damage one can do. In the last two years, I have grazed my leg twice. The chaps saved my knee and thigh from what could have been some pretty nasty injuries. Enough said.

The felled trees are de-branched using the chainsaw and again the brush moved to the brush row. Once the area is clear of all small brush, I cut each tree pole into manageable lengths (8-10' for me) and stack it in piles for chipping. I will tackle 10-20 trees at a time. Obviously, you don't want to fell them on top of one another as it would make branch removal that much more difficult. The area I clear is a semi-circle and I move forward in this fashion. Ideally, the brush row grows in length behind me in the middle of the semi-circle and the stacks of poles on the outside edges every 10 feet or so.

Once every day or two, I will run over the brush row with the brush mower on my tractor. This shreds the branches into nothingness (ie. a nice layer of mulch) if your blades are fairly sharp. I'll then trade the mower for the chipper and chip the poles out over the top of the shredded branches. The chute on my chipper moves 360 degrees and makes it easy to do this.The picture below is the mulched branches with wood chips on top.

As I remove the brush and trees, I open up the topology of the land, I can see what the ground structure looks like and get a clearer idea of the “lay of the land”. What is left after I clear is: deciduous trees (mostly maple, apple, oak) I may keep and white pine, balsam fir and popple I will clear once I figure out what to do with it. The deciduous trees which I have left standing, if we choose, can be harvested for firewood or kept as shade trees.


Some necessary details for those wanting to follow this methodology. Your ability to work well in the forest depends on both the quality of your tools and how well you take care of them. I routinely clean and sharpen my tools. The cutting edge of my pruners are file sharpened and the bolts tightened when needed. A light coating of oil is also applied to the working areas to both lubricate and protect. My hand saw gets cleaned of pitch with turpentine (as well as I can). My chainsaw gets taken apart every two hours. The chain housing is cleaned of debris, the track in the chain bar is cleaned of soil debris and the chain is hand sharpened with a rat tail file.
There is a good article on file sharpening chainsaw blades at: http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles/brewer57.html.

The above methodology is one I am using on land that we will enjoy as extended yard and garden. Most all of the forest products left on the ground are no larger than ½ to 1 inch chips of rapidly decaying wood. I may even spread a thin layer of topsoil on top of all this to level and provide a seedbed for a conservation mix of grasses and clover. In essence, I am nuturing habitat that is to be shared by humans and our animal friends. I want this area to be easy to maintain and to flourish while I am building our home, a process I envision taking at least a year.

Recipe: Applewood Smoked Roast Turkey on the Grill

I absolutely love the fall Holidays (Thanksgiving and Christmas), especially the eating with family and friends part. My neighbors think I'm nuts for getting out my Weber kettle grill in the cold and (sometimes) snow but the result is worth it. If you have a Weber kettle grill and haven't read the instructions, you should. Somewhere in there are instructions on cooking using indirect heat. With the cover on, the kettle keeps wood in a state where it will burn without flame. This is terrific if you want to add a smokey flavor to whatever it is you are cooking.

Grill Set-Up
The charcoal is started (I use a charcoal chimney, ACE hardware carrys them), allowed to turn to white hot coals and then spread into two piles (rows) against the outside wall of the grill. A disposable aluminum roasting pan is used to catch drippings and is placed between the two rows of briquettes on the bottom rack (nice cookware will get ruined if you use it; never use anything non-stick as it gives off toxic fumes at high heat).

According to the grill instructions, it is important to locate the coals on each side of the grill, perpendicular to the grill handle on the outside of the kettle. The grill leg below the handle should point into the wind and one of the bottom three vents is thus positioned into the wind. This puts the two rows of coals parallel to the incoming air flow from this vent allowing for equal combustion on both sides of the grill. The round grill top is placed so that the one vent faces away from the wind (and away from the leg that faces into the wind). If all this is set up correctly, with all vents open, you get heat equivalent to a 350-375 degree oven. Once the white hot briquettes are in place on the outside of the roasting pan, I add 5-7 pieces of fresh charcoal. Then, I place the top rack on the grill with the handles over each row of coals. This allows me to add fresh charcoal and applewood through the holes under each handle.

I usually start the charcoal in the chimney then go in and prep the turkey. By the time the coals are ready, so is the bird.

I place the turkey on the top rack, cavity opening facing the kettle handle. This way, both sides of the bird are parallel with the rows of briquettes. The last thing I add are chunks of freshly cut (green) applewood. It's cut by saw into 3-4 inch lengths and then split into finger sized chunks with a hatchet. Dry wood can be used but must be soaked for a while (at least 4 hours) before using. Woodchips disappear too quickly for my taste which is why I use larger pieces. Other woods can be used (hickory, mesquite) but I really like the nice, sweet taste of applewood.

I check on the bird every half hour or so. If the coals are burning unevenly (which they do most of the time), I poke them a bit and add fresh briquettes to keep both sides loaded with about the same amount. I will move the front leg of the grill to a better spot for wind flow. I'll use a small branch to poke up through the bottom vent holes to keep them free of ash. I'll rotate the top rack 180 degrees, switching the handle placement to opposite of what it was every hour till the birds is done. I use a small professional, pocket thermometer to test doneness. They fit in your pocket and are more accurate (I find) than the big supermarket ones.

Depending on your coals, your bird will be done in about the same time as it will if cooked in the oven. In most cases, mine is done 15-30 min. less.

The Turkey
I remove the neck, giblets, etc. from the cavity and rinse and dry the bird as thoroughly as I can. I don't stuff the cavity. The few times I tried, I found the flavor of the wood didn't get into the meat and did get into the stuffing. It was also harder to predict when the bird would be done.

Into a mixing bowl I add, one or two chopped apples (dime to nickel-sized pieces) depending on the size of the bird, olive oil to thoroughly wet, flavored salt and spices. I use mostly celery salt, some Bells Seasoning, Jane's Crazy Mixed-Up Salt; enough so that you can see it on the apple chunks. This mixture goes into the cavity.

Onto the exterior of the bird, after it is sewn-up, trussed, legs pinned or what have you, I rub more olive oil or sesame oil. Then I sprinkle whatever I have used for the cavity onto the skin and pat it in. I would say I "liberally" add the salt's and spices. The skin will be too smokey and salty to eat for most when the bird is done (however, this helps give turkey soup an outstanding flavor).

My theory is that the apples steam when cooking in the cavity and this keeps the turkey moist from the inside. The oil on the outside browns and seals the skin from losing moisture. The oil on both inside and outside traps some of the smoke flavor from the wood. As the turkey cooks, the skin will darken to deep brown. If this looks too much like a burned turkey for you, cover the bird with foil just before your desired color is reached. You will have to experiment with the amount of wood to add ontop of the coals. Some folks overdose on smokey flavor easily and one or two additions of wood will be enough. I add wood all through the cooking every time I add charcoal (30 min-1 hr).

A note on "done". If your coals are kept fed and smoke comes out of the top vent consistantly, then your bird will be done in about the same time as it takes to cook it inside in the oven. USE A THERMOMETER to test for done. Oil frequently gets onto that little poppy thing and will stick it together so it doesn't work. Let the bird sit covered with foil before carving, yada, yada, yada (all other instructions for working with a turkey are the same).

If you use the drippings for gravy, thin them with other gravy as they are pretty salty and smokey.

Turkey Soup
I don't know about you, but this is actually my favorite part of the dinner. After the meal is over and you have totally gorged yourself and enjoyed rave compliments, the hardest part is to move beyond your full stomach to clean the turkey. It's easiest to separate the meat from all the other stuff while the bird is warm. I take the skin off before I carve so I can add it to the soup relatively intact.

I remove all the larger pieces of meat from the bones and save for turkey sandwiches, etc. The smaller pieces I separate and save for soup. The remaining bits of meat can be harvested after the soup base (stock) is made. Break the carcass down and put it, skin, juices and pan drippings (if you have saved them) all into a pot. Cover with water and simmer for 2-3 hours. Pour through a colander to separate the liquid from the solids. I then pick through the still draining solids to get other bits of meat. Some folks crack the bones to get the marrow into the soup base; I don't. At this point, you can save and freeze the broth or make soup. Choose any chicken/turkey soup recipe you like diluting the final product to your taste and enjoy!

On Road Construction-(4) Epilogue

As of Fall '07, our 1/2 mile roadbed is about 98% complete. The first section of roadbed, from paved surface, is complete. My neighbor across the street came over with an excavator and removed the few large, remaining rocks from my roadbed. A drainage swale was excavated on the uphill side of our road bed, the thick sod and soil placed on the downhill side of the road (the sod went down first, soil on top). The purpose of an uphill swale is not to drain the road but to intercept the subsoil flow of water and give it a place to go other than under my road.

The front field, which our driveway borders, is pasture and was fairly uneven. The old access road went through the middle of this pasture. As a good portion of this area had already been dug up, I decided to renovate the rest of it as well. High spots were scraped of sod which was placed in low spots. Soil removed from high spots and swales was placed on top of the sod and used to level other uneven areas. After I placed the sod, I'd run it over with the wheels of the tractor to flatten it, place soil on top of that and run it over again. I was lucky enough to find an old manure bed on the other side of the pasture. I guess barn waste had been dumped against a large rock many years ago. I scraped off the top layer of sod and harvested the nice, almost peat-like soil and used it as a top layer for starting grass seed. This I dumped and hand raked to about 1/2-1" thick, seeded with a mix of grass seed, clover and timothy and covered with mulch hay. As I was raking, I found small pieces of hard coal, some old soda (orange crush) bottles, a bit of barbed wire and other odd bits of history.

I managed to get grass seed growing well before cold weather arrived and the restored field area looks very nice. This front field mostly covers ledge. In the spring, water seeps into the soil, hits the ledge and moves slowly down hill (the whole area is sort of a hilltop). By adding drainage swales, the flow of water is intercepted and directed to drain more directly into a watershed. Previously, it would drain and sit, keeping this field too wet to use till mid-summer. I am very mindful of the environment. This area has always been used as pasture and had always drained the way it still does. I only enhanced the ability of the subsurface water to move to the place it always had.

The only obstacle left to deal with is a stream crossing. Our choices were culvert or bridge. After discussions with our local state forester and also someone from the forest service who deals with water issues, I decided upon a bridge. Firstly, I would not be disturbing the stream bed. Secondly, a culvert would have to be set at an extreme angle due to the location of uphill vs. downhill stream beds. My wife wants something that looks like a bridge. A culvert would have necessitated creating abutments made of stone and I got hung up on creating footings in a wet area. Seemed like using a culvert would be a project that could grow in complexity quite quickly. On the other hand, a bridge might cost more up front for the steel I-beams, but would be easier and quicker to install. More on this later.

There are still a few places I need to widen our road but I can do this as I need to. There is still one last bumpy spot that is still just rock. This last bit is about 20 feet long and will be finished this next spring. We are beginning to discuss house plans and the remainder of the drive closest to the house will be tackled prior to home construction once we decide on the location of the house.

As it stands now, Fall '07, we have a nice winding, half-mile driveway that traverses field and forest and looks very nice. Water drains to the sides of the roadbed nicely, flowing away, downhill through designed swales. The road stays firm throughout the spring as the ground thaws; this being the major issue in our area where the ground can freeze to 4 feet and we can get feet of snow in winter. Much of the roadside is grass and gets mowed throughout the summer. You can see across field and through forest as you drive into our future homesite. The deer frequent the field, the birds are abundant and include a mating pair of pileated woodpeckers and there are an abundance of other small mammals that we see constantly.

There is also now a small pond down-field of the first restored field. More on this in another post. We are having an early winter this year so there is little I can do in over a foot of snow. I will be catching up in my blog postings.