This sounds like a good idea. We don't have any operations like that around us. We had a small time logging operation cut our pine trees. They paid us $500. Then we paid someone $1600 to clear the lot. Then we paid that same someone another $8500 for dirt for the house pad and driveway. Not a good way to start when we had only figured on spending a couple thousand total. I wish we could have had some pretty mulch spread around too. That would have been nice and might have helped with all the mud. Good luck with your first major decision.

jdez

I know what you mean. The second excavator said we can throw/waste so much money trying to clear this property and still not have the end results we want.

This third company approaches everything analytically. They want a survey, a topo map and they will analyze the land before they come out and walk the property. The owner told me they mainly correct property that was cleared by other companies and have issues. Like our property that was cleared 8 years ago, roads created and now we have erosion and drainage area issues.

6" of woodchips is NOT "mulch". It takes a lot of nitrogen for wood chips to decompose into mulch, and if you don't provide that carefully, the chips will pull it from the soil and the plant matter that you cover with the chips. That can kill them. Raw wood chips are good for pathways, but not as mulch.

You really need to get a landscape architect involved on the front end to maximize the use of the lot. Siting the home, septic fields, and well is important for how the land is cleared. The third company sounds more in tune with what needs to happen, but I'd want more than an arborist involved. You need someone with the even bigger picture than just the trees or the forest.

I think if you're going to fundamentally change what your land is like, you need to plan to spend a lot of money, or be willing to allow some time to get the results you want (correcting new problems as you go.) And even if you do spend a lot of money upfront, managing acreage is an ongoing job.

Personally, I am dubious that they can gently clear 3-4 heavily wooded acres in a couple days. Maybe they won't be as rough as some of the other people, but I would be surprised if it looks like a park immediately. I would expect it would take a year or two. Certainly a few months.

While "forestry mulching" is probably the best way to clear land without damaging the land any more than a minimal amount - the 6" of woodchips is not a non-issue. You will need to be prepared to deal with that as mentioned.

I wonder if they could rake up and somehow dispose of the wood chips at some point as well. Or sell them as fuel or to be composted.

For that matter, if the could at least get them to put the chips in a few large piles, you could theoretically compost them for later use. Once composted, the nitrogen-robbing won't be an issue.

Thanks everyone for all the feedback.

We had a soil scientist out to determine the recommended placement of the septic and house site. We also know the area to drill for the well where we might find water without going down 400 + feet.

I researched further and contacted the TN Division of Forestry. The company using the mulching machine is grinding down the wood and debris to more of a fine "mulch" than wood chips. The Forestry department said using this technique is less damaging to the soil and land than using a bulldozer or logger to remove the trees. He said you might have some issues if using wood chips and they are deep. Mainly keep any larger chips limited around the trees.

"No logger will come out to clear 3 acres and they will butcher the land. "

Not true. There are some loggers who specialize in low-disturbance logging. They use draft animals or small tractors to haul out the logs. They can chip and spread the slash

Start with a site plan for where the house and drive and septic and well will be, then discuss what needs to be cleared or thinned to make the build possible.

Consider camping there for a while so you can monitor what's happening.

We hired someone with a forestry mulcher recommended by the Natural Resources Conservation District in our area. It is the least damaging way to clear heavily wooded areas quickly. We had around 3 to 4 acres cleared and it took them 3 days. The "mulcher" is attached to a very large skid loader. We specified what size trees to leave and they shredded everything else, mostly invasive brush but also small trees. It did result in our land looking like a park. It did a beautiful job and was definitely worth the money. Previously we could not see through the brush and trees more than 20 feet. Now the entire 3 to 4 acres is visible and we can see the deer and other wildlife. I was surprised that vegetation grew through the mulch very quickly. We had it cleared in December and by the summer it was covered in vegetation. Our area is not our homesite but nearby it. I'm not sure if I would want that much mulch near our home because I would be worried about termites and it is probably not something you could grow a nice lawn in. Ours is really just a forested area that we mow periodically with a tractor now that we can get through. You may want to check with the NRCS office in your area to see if they recommend it for your location.

loessismore

It sounds like your situation is very similar to ours. You are correct the forestry company will use a large skid loader to clear the property.

Your advice to contact the NRCS in the area was very helpful. I contacted them and was told many people are using this method to clear property now. No fires involved nor major damage to the soil or land. She did say once we have the property cleared local flowers, plants and trees will quickly appear. We are not planning on a nice lawn and want to keep everything as rustic as possible.

I would make sure you are there for clearing, we had our land marked for a winding driveway and the building spot location. The guy who cleared the lot ignored all the markers, drove straight in knocking down the trees and put the building site too far back. There went our dreams of our beautiful winding driveway...... you can't replace 30' trees, at least not for 50+ years.

tobret

We were very satisfied with the mulching results. We did use V & V and they did a very good job. However, one of my issues was the workers drove from NC and back each day which wasted many daylight hours to work. 1-2 hours one way. Some days they only worked 5 or 6 hours. I was not told about this situation until after we contracted with them. Hard working guys. You might find cheaper estimates but where our land is located there were no other companies that mulch land.

I ended up getting 3 estimates for forestry mulching approximately 8 acres of sloped land south of Asheville covered in small trees and undergrowth. The first was outrageously high (12K), the second what I expected from research (4.5k), the third way low (2k). I went with the second contractor and could not be happier with the results. This work was done in May and I will have all of the scrub that has grown back over the summer bush hogged this fall. After a bit more land shaping (restoring contours and mitigating a few erosion prone areas) I will be converting most of the area to pasture next year. If anyone in the area would like the name of the contractor please let me know I'd be happy to share it with you. I also have the name of a good fencing contractor, a good road grading contractor, and a good septic contractor in the area. I have worked with each of them and have been happy with the results. Now if I can only find a building contractor...

Tobret, could I get the names of those contractors you used?

We had 3.5 acres of our 5 acres wooded lot cleared. An excavator came in and knocked down the trees, sorted them by size and piled them up accordingly. He worked with a bucker who measured the logs, sawed them into lengths, marked them & piled them up. The larger usable logs were sold to a lumber sort yard and it ended up paying for the land clearing.

The trees that were too small are piled up and we will buck it ourselves and use it for firewood. We have also had many many people come asking if we will sell it to them for firewood or offer to cut and split it 50/50 for free.

To Vrlong100 -- Contractors I have used in Polk County, NC that I have been pleased with:

Brush cutting and Mulching: Brian Madey 8644152185

Grading, site work, and road work: Joe Arledge 8288994493

Septic work: Jim Carter 8286810617

Fencing (wooden and barbed wire): Mark Morris 8285455711

Surveyor: Steve Bostic 8282877059

The highest compliment I can pay a contractor is to recommend them.

tobret- It looks like your mulching contractor is in SC? I need some more work done, and my contractor has been completely unresponsive (for over a year!) Mulching isn't his main focus, and I'm tired of bugging him.

He is based the Landrum/Tryon area but he works from Greenville to Asheville and everywhere in between I believe.

Great, thanks! I'm about 15 miles from Landrum.

Here is V and V land management's website, the only outfit I know of in our region with a forestry mulcher. They won't be the lowest bidder for land clearing but do excellent work with a very unique set of land related skills.

As for woodchip concerns, my experience is that even thick piles will enrich soils, not hurt them. The nitrogen robbing may apply when the chips are mixed into the soil but that generally doesn't happen with forestry mulching or even chipping on site. Chips left on the surface are a benefit to the soils and future plantings. Much more so than hauling them to the dump or mulch yard for someone else's soils.

I just had a half acre near the house mulched. Can I plant grass seed directly on top of it? It was suggested I double lime then seed

It's a great idea. Forest mulching is a good thing because it protects the soil from weeds, drying out, and an imbalance of water and air. After all, trees are our helpers in life and should be well taken care of. I often help with these works. I did not know what to do about land clearing because I was not good at it. I was advised to visit https://landclearingasheville.com/. They called me, asked what I wanted to do, and said they would come over to assess the work. There came a lovely man who told me in detail what I needed, how much equipment I would need and how long it would take. The work was done qualitatively and not expensive.