On a farm or property, there’s more to maintaining it than just mowing the grass regularly. Every part of your property is filled with trees, weeds, and tough weeds. With good maintenance and manual labor, you can control the growth and keep your property looking pristine.
Removing trees and weeds is best done once or twice a year, so you won’t want to buy specialized equipment to do this one task. Instead, you can rely on the small farm equipment you already have and hand tools to get the job done.
5 Tools for Clearing Weeds by Hand
Setting aside a weekend or two to fight weeds is ideal. If you have the hours to invest, these hand tools can help you cut through weeds.
Axes and Hatchets
A sharp axe and a smaller axe allows you to cut through dense weeds and brush. You can cut through a bush with just a few blows. If parts of your property are wooded and not needed for pasture or other purposes, you can cut down small trees and let the stumps decay.
Chainsaw
For large, thick trees, a chainsaw is more effective than an axe. A chainsaw is only as good as its chain, so get a variety of chains designed for the type of work you’ll be doing: heavy duty, clean cutting, or power. Chains dull after several hours of use, so you’ll need extra chains as a backup if you plan to do all the work with the chainsaw in a weekend.
Brush Scraper
A brush cutter is a nifty tool that removes small trees, stumps, and everything in between. You simply attach it to a tree, hook it to your utility vehicle or truck, and step on the gas to rip the tree out of the ground. Brush cutters are ideal for trees five inches in diameter or less. Just the kind you’ll probably want on your land. Shovel
Small trees may look thin and easy to uproot, but their root systems may be well-established and make it much more difficult than you expected. Grab a shovel from your yard or shed to loosen the base of small trees before uprooting them. A shovel also works well for digging out the bases of bushes and shrubs that you can’t remove with a weed whacker.
Pruning Tools
Sometimes it’s better to save trees rather than cut them down or uproot them. A set of pruning tools can help you trim branches that are overgrown or causing other problems on your property. Loppers, saws, and pruners all let you trim branches and stems of varying sizes. You may even improve the health of your trees in the process.
