Part 10 of the Living Springs Log House Improvement Checklist

Some of the land at the Living Springs Log House is forested or overgrown with brush and young trees, and some of it could one day become pasture, garden, or open space again. One way to get there is forest mulching. I recently got an estimate for this work, so I wanted to share what I’ve learned about how it works, what it costs, and the good and not-so-good sides of it.

I don’t really like the idea of grinding up plants while they are still alive, and I feel very torn about this method. Yet sometimes it seems that in order to save animals, plants need to be sacrificed. If you do use forest mulching, I recommend going to the area that is going to be shredded beforehand and giving the plants a warning, so they can remove their life force. I’ve heard from people who communicate with plants that this is a real thing.

How I long for a world where plants and trees, along with animals and people, insects, and all of life, can live in peace and harmony.

What Forest Mulching Is

Forest mulching is the name for the work, and it takes its name from the machine that does it: a forestry mulcher, sometimes called a forest mulcher. The machine is usually a tracked skid steer or a larger tractor with a spinning drum lined with steel teeth on the front. The operator drives it into the brush, and the drum chews up saplings, vines, briars, and small trees down to ground level. What’s left behind is a layer of wood chips and shredded plant material spread over the ground.

Clearing land the traditional way means cutting, bulldozing, piling, and then burning or hauling the debris away. Forest mulching does all of that in one pass. Nothing is piled, burned, or hauled off; the plants go back onto the soil as mulch.

Mulching can also be selective. The operator can work around the trees you want to keep, such as a healthy oak, a fruit tree, or a good shade tree, and clear only the brush and smaller growth around them.

What It Costs Here

The estimate I received from Freedom Tree Service was $1,500 for an 8-hour day, and about two days of work would clear roughly one acre. That works out to around $3,000 per acre. The actual time depends on how thick the growth is, how big the trees are, and how steep or rocky the ground is, which matters a lot on Ozark land.

Advantages

• One step, no burn piles. The brush is turned into mulch on the spot, so there’s no burning, no smoke, and no hauling.
• Protects the soil. The mulch layer covers the ground, which helps hold soil in place during heavy rain and slows erosion. On sloped land, this can be a real benefit.
• Holds moisture. Mulch keeps the soil underneath cooler and damper, which helps new plantings get started.
• Feeds the soil over time. As the chips break down, they add organic matter back into the earth.
• Less soil disturbance. Unlike bulldozing, mulching leaves the topsoil and root systems mostly in place instead of scraping them away.
• You choose what stays. Good trees can be left standing, so the land can be opened up without being stripped bare.
• Fast. A good operator can clear in a day or two what would take weeks by hand.

Disadvantages

• Cost. At around $3,000 per acre, it’s a real investment, especially for several acres.
• Stumps stay in the ground. Trees are ground to about ground level, but the stumps and roots remain. That’s fine for pasture or a meadow, but land meant for tilling or building would need more work.
• Regrowth. Many trees and shrubs sprout back from their roots. Keeping the land open usually means follow-up mowing or other maintenance in the following years, and invasive plants can come back too.
• Mulch can slow new plantings. A thick layer of fresh wood chips can temporarily tie up nitrogen in the soil and can make it harder for grass or seed to take hold until it breaks down. New pasture may need seeding and some patience.
• Steep and rocky ground. Machines have limits on very steep slopes and around large boulders, and some areas may not be safe to mulch.
• Wildlife. Brush is home to birds, rabbits, and many other creatures. Timing the work outside of spring and early summer nesting season helps protect the animals living there.
• Large trees. Most mulchers handle trees up to a certain size; bigger trees need to be cut separately.

Using Forest Mulching to Prepare Pasture

Forest mulching is often the first step in turning brushy or overgrown land into pasture. Because the brush and small trees are ground down to about ground level and the soil isn’t scraped away, the land can go back to grass without the long work of pulling stumps and rebuilding topsoil. Here is how the process usually goes.

• Choose the areas and the trees to keep. Gentler slopes make the best pasture, while the steepest ground is often better left wooded to hold the soil. Leaving some scattered shade trees gives animals shelter from the summer heat. Pasture with trees mixed in is sometimes called silvopasture.
• Ask for a thinner mulch layer. Grass seed needs to touch the soil to grow. Asking the operator to grind finely and spread the mulch thinly, or raking out heavy spots afterward, helps new pasture take hold.
• Test the soil. The county extension office can test the soil and recommend what it needs. Ozark soils are often acidic, and lime is a common recommendation for new pasture.
• Seed at the right time. Fall and early spring are usually the best times to sow pasture grasses and clovers. Clover can also be frost-seeded in late winter, when freezing and thawing work the seed into the ground. Seeding soon after mulching helps the grass get ahead of the sprouts.
• Keep up with regrowth. For the first couple of years, sprouts will come back from the roots and stumps. Mowing a few times a season keeps them down while the grass fills in, and over time a thick stand of grass shades out much of the regrowth. Grazing and browsing animals, such as goats, can help keep sprouts in check too.
• Watch for invasive plants. Newly opened ground gives weeds and invasive plants a chance to move in, so walking the new pasture regularly helps catch them early.
• Plan for fencing and water. Pasture for animals also needs fencing and a water source, and fencing is often one of the bigger costs.

Start small. You don’t have to mulch everything at once. Forest mulching a small area first keeps the cost down and lets you see how the land responds. From there, permaculture techniques can carry the work further at a gentler pace, such as sheet mulching, planting cover crops, and letting animals help with grazing and browsing. You can read more in our permaculture article, From Cedar Thicket to Sanctuary Pasture.

Mulching alone doesn’t make a pasture, but it opens the door. With seeding, patience, and a couple of years of care, cleared ground can become good grazing land.

A Few Insights

Forest mulching isn’t about clearing everything. It’s a tool for opening up the land carefully while keeping the soil covered and the best trees standing. The cost is easier to understand when you think of it per acre, and the real planning is in deciding which areas are worth clearing first and how they’ll be cared for afterward, because the land will try to grow back. For anyone dreaming of pasture for animals or more room for gardens, mulching can be a good first step rather than a finished result.

How We Wrote This Together

This article was written collaboratively by Patricia, a resident of the Living Springs Log House, and Claude.ai, Anthropic’s AI assistant. Patricia provided the topic, the estimate and advice she received from Freedom Tree Service, the idea of starting small and continuing with permaculture, and the questions about cedar mulch and growing mushrooms; Claude.ai helped explain how forest mulching works, how it can prepare pasture, and organize its advantages and disadvantages.

See more of the land, the gardens, and the cave spring at www.livingspringsloghouse.com