07-30-2016, 04:57 AM
Generally: use the smallest machine that will do the job, disturb as little as possible, the land will thank you. Classic example: use a mini excavator instead of ripping with a D-9. Everything kind of depends on what you've got to work with; the D-9 makes quick work of a driveway/housepad, but it's overkill for planting trees...
Explore with an o'o bar, sometimes there are fissures; bigger ones can be filled in with cinder/mulch to make planting beds, smaller ones are a good place for a "surface planting" with rock wall, roots will find their way into the cracks.
Filling in the low spot is a good strategy, but sometimes drainage will be poor; plant something that likes to be wet (banana, heliconia).
Note that when renting the pneumatic jackhammer, Puna Rental will only give you 100' of hose, which may limit your range depending where the driveway is and/or what kind of clear flat areas you can navigate with the compressor.
With an electric jackhammer, two guys can wrangle the generator down to just about wherever it needs to go.
Consider the entire landscape as an interconnected system: when that tree gets big, will the canopy make too much shade for this ornamental shrub, or maybe ideal shade for something else? Landscaping is three-dimensional, there are easily 3-5 strata of canopy, understory, deep shade at the bottom...
Explore with an o'o bar, sometimes there are fissures; bigger ones can be filled in with cinder/mulch to make planting beds, smaller ones are a good place for a "surface planting" with rock wall, roots will find their way into the cracks.
Filling in the low spot is a good strategy, but sometimes drainage will be poor; plant something that likes to be wet (banana, heliconia).
Note that when renting the pneumatic jackhammer, Puna Rental will only give you 100' of hose, which may limit your range depending where the driveway is and/or what kind of clear flat areas you can navigate with the compressor.
With an electric jackhammer, two guys can wrangle the generator down to just about wherever it needs to go.
Consider the entire landscape as an interconnected system: when that tree gets big, will the canopy make too much shade for this ornamental shrub, or maybe ideal shade for something else? Landscaping is three-dimensional, there are easily 3-5 strata of canopy, understory, deep shade at the bottom...