Land Clearing 2021

[Namahola]

Aloha one and all!

There has been a intense increase in real estate transactions since last postings on land clearing, so I felt the need that we all have updated information.

I Am interested in MINIMAL IMPACT on the land and only want a private drive and 100' x 100' cleared for house pad and garden on 3 acre plot in Hawaiian Acres.

Also there is alternative technology that simply mulches whole trees and such without disturbing the topsoil called gyrotrac. https://gyrotrac.com/  At least ONE contractor on Big Island has this machine. It is very FAST in getting the job done and it better at leaving biodiversity intact. If anyone has had their land cleared with this equipment I Am very interested in hearing you experiences. Specifically how does one build upon land once it has been mulched in this way? Is it a matter of moving mulch out of the way for house pad and driveway, then laying down some sort of base materials?

Also in my research on the matter over the past year I have received differing opinions on exactly what needs to be done for driveway and house pad.

For the most part it seems contractors with D8, D9 etc. say property must be ripped down to lava base, base excavated crushed and leveled, contractors without D8, D9 etc. say this is not so.

I have never had anything like this done and it is an education in progress for me learning all the terms and technologies involved, s well as the ramifications of the impact upon nature, some of which seem irrecoverable. So it is best to trad lightly!

I Am simply interested in minimal impact upon the land with a house pad and driveway that do not puddle up or are not otherwise problematic to build upon.

Any and all suggestions are appreciated!

Kulia I Ka Nu' U!

God bless and be well!

[terracore]

I'm not sure what the point of ripping a lot is if you don't intend to farm trees that need it. If I remember correctly the guy who put the vineyard at the Volcano winery started by just jackhammering a hole for each individual vine. Once you rip a lot it takes constant continual maintenance to keep the invasives out. You said you wanted a garden, I'm not sure that needs to be ripped either, you're probably going to do raised bed or something.

I guess the key takeaway is that to rip, or not to rip, is a decision that can be made later if you change your mind, but you cannot un-rip a lot. The change (some would say damage) is permanent.

We have two lots that are ripped because they used to be part of a commercial guava farm. We have a third lot which is unripped. The ripped lots look like the mainland and the unripped lot looks like Hawaii. I guess we have the best of both worlds because on the ripped lots we can grow coffee trees etc wherever we want without thinking about it. We can still grow that sort of thing on the unripped lot but it takes finding a fissure etc to put them. One could also do "spot" ripping with a jackhammer etc. We have a neighbor that grows running bamboo but it grows like clumping bamboo because it's limited to the area that was jackhammered.

[Punaperson]

Having had almost 30" of rain in the last week, I will post a cautionary note. Your desire to have minimal impact is admirable, but it all depends on the water flow over your property.

When we first moved into Orchidland, we had a driveway/housepad dozed, and left the surrounding area untouched. We were fine for the first 6 months, not realizing we were in a dry winter. When the rains came, our driveway was knee-deep ( not exaggerating ) in fast moving water. Take this time to take a close look how the heavy rains have affected your future home site. After lots of consultation with lots of knowledgeable people ( old-timers, bulldozer operators, the Soil Conservation Corps, UHH College of Ag, etc, etc, etc,), our best solution turned out to be ripping 20' around the border of our property to divert the water, which was coming up from a lava tube above us. It was either that, or move already built house. At that time, ( 1981 ) a permit to divert a natural water flow was not required. From what I understand, it may not be so simple now.

This info may or may not affect your situation, but you should be aware.

[kalakoa]

Short version: you can change the water flow within your property boundaries.

Wet winter is the best time to visit the lot and see where the water runs, take notes, plan accordingly.

It's true that you cannot un-rip a lot -- conversely, you can leave room for a D9 to come later, be sure to include "a big enough gate" and "plenty of room from the road". Smaller machines exist, but at a higher effective cost, since they can't do as much work per hour.

[terracore]

"be sure to include "a big enough gate" and "plenty of room from the road""

And clearance under your power line, or a way around it, if you have one.

[spencerw]

if you change the water flow on your land then your effecting the water flow on every other persons property on the lower elevations of the mountain. this highly effects the hydrology of the landscape, that creates more flooding problems for everyone. if you want a ripped lot then buy a ripped lot, or buy an invasive filled lot, that was most likely already ripped in the past. there are plenty of these lots available

[terracore]

There is a practical reason for buying a ripped lot if you want one- ripping a lot is expensive and one normally doesn't make that money back in a resale.

[leilanidude]

There is a guy operating out of Pahoa with a machine that does the mulching. I have seen it in action. His name is Gregg. Send me a private message and I will give you his full name and contact number.

[Obie]

When I bought my place in HPP the middle 1/3 of the acre had been ripped and rolled and then covered withstone and finally done with black cinder, red cinder and drain rock.
We noticed right away that we didn't have mosquitoes, fire ants and coqui near the house.

The front 1/3 was lava covered with about 8 inches of soil and roots. It also had a pretty good sized banyan tree, a thicket of strawberry guava, autograph trees, and weeds.
We were able to save a lahala tree and 5 healthy Ohias. This was all hand cleared and now the lava is exposed.The trees were all cut down and fed threw a 14 inch chipper. I have huge piles of wood chips and sawdust.
The trees were full of fire ants but after a million bites they are gone because of lack of habitat.

The back 1/3 is covered with albizia trees that I poisoned and I am now going to have it ripped.

It's great to be able to sit out at night and enjoy the stars and not get swarmed with insects.

I spent 20 years living on an overgrown jungle lot and I sure like the cleared lot better.

[Namahola]

God bless you all and mahalo for your love and advice!
I Am quite serious about minimal impact having been raised on farm. I have found a lot up at 2000 feet that has a very small driveway and housepad area already ripped. I Praise Jesus for you all sharing your insights and experiences!
So it is nice to NOT have to do any ripping other than what has been done. I Am most interested in all phases of obtaining and application of material for finishing off the driveway and housepad. Also to fill in any spots that exhibit puddling, if any exist.  To "finish" over the ripped lava rock it has been suggested to use #8 cinder base as something lightweight, durable, and easy to work with.
Not as many skeeters at this elevation either. though I have holistic methods for dealing with all manner of pests, plant and animal.
I have seen the "mulching machine tractor" in action. It devours entire trees very quickly! It is very fast and efficient and of course leaves behind "gardeners gold" as in MULCH! I have also spoken to one individual and company that has one. I may use such to go around perimeter of property, however I really want to leave as much natural habitat in place as possible.
I will augment food raising with low tech greenhouse methods as required if temperature is n issue. So far daytime temps are in the mid to high 70s so I do not believe it will be much of an issue, however I Am quite prepared to grow most anything required for vegan lifestyle... I may even augment with free range chicken if I find someone who will butcher them in return for us sharing the meat.
I may also have a modest fishpond installed or do above ground fish tank. I've raised food sized fish like this on mainland and never even fed the fish! God provides!
What are your EXPERIENCES on this topic?
God bless and be well!