hand clearing lot

[billy]

Hi im looking for someone to help me hand clear my lot in a couple of months must be hard worker and be ready to help with a few days notice give your price by the hour you will be working with me.If there is a couple guys or gals that would like to give me a price for a 10,000sq ft lot flat let me know. we are going to leave all trees and any other plants that are worth saving. Just trying to see what i have to work with i didnt want to strip the lot but it is so small i think the septic system will wreck the landscape anyways. so maybe move plants to outside preminterof lot.

[james weatherford]

Look in the HTH classified ads, 'Services Offered' -- for one that says 'Hand Clearing'. I forget the name, but he did some good work for us last month -- weed whacked 1 acre of tough stuff in HPP: $300.

James Weatherford, Ph.D.
15-1888 Hialoa
Hawaiian Paradise Park

[gtill]

Goats, my property is cursed with rasberry plants, few berries but lethal spikes, not stickers. I was dreading the job of removal, and googled land clearing and got goats. There is no better animal at foraging, and their balls of poop are weedfree because they fully digest before dumping, unlike cattle whose poop emits vocs which will surely kill us all (right), but worse the seeds grow out of cowpoop. I intend to get two goats to clear my own place, and see about leasing them to clear land. Either stake them or possibly use electric fence which works for goats, but not sheep. That they can eat berry thorn plants is unreal. Plenty web info!

[Daniel]

I have been working on mine with a weed wacker. It takes a long time to go through those stagg horn ferns and the stems turn into little needles that get me every time. Do goats eat those? I wonder if the DLNR would let you catch a wild one?

Daniel R Diamond

[Lokahi]

We are not really looking at this point, still living off island, to "clear" our lot in HSR but we have a number of tall albezia trees we need to attend to as our neighbor continues to remind us of their potential hazards and wondering if it is possible to have someone just "drop" (cut down/fall) the trees and let them decompose on the lot. Don't think goats are the answer in this case but wondering if anyone has any reasonably priced tree fallers to recommend. We will be on island most of February 2008 and would be interested in taking care of that business while there.
Congratulations on not stripping and good luck to you.

[gtill]

Daniel, those staghorn ferns are uluhe, a native plant. Try removing them with a rake, roll them in bundles and cut off in rolls. And yes goats would devour same with glee! For a wild one, check Lamont ranch posts on the gardening thread. She is getting ransacked by them, and might help you. In rock land you could tether them, but would neeed to drill a hole for an old axle to tie to. After they finish your lot, they would be easy for lease, or give away, or eat. For a highend substitute, you might ask her when her hair sheep will be avalable. They could add value after clearing.

[Mitzi M]

Aloha Daniel,

The uluhe ferns are native (indigenous) and they cover disturbed land (quite effectively, as I'm sure you've noticed). They're hard to walk through for sure - but here's what's great about them....They build up nice soil underneath and keep out nasty weeds. They're a "keystone species" in Hawai'i, covering landslides, burn areas etc. so that native forests can regenerate. They are also quite fragile and do not readily reestablish once you've taken them out. Despite their potential usefulness in reforestation efforts, they have never been successfully propagated. If you remove them, plant something else that will be a good, fast cover immediately or else you'll get tons of nasty alien weeds that won't fade away as politely. Some of our worst weeds (waiawi, tibouchina, stink maile, thorny mimosa etc)have been sparse or completely absent on land I've seen covered with uluhe, while the cleared lots next door are choked with nothing but weeds. Uluhe needs high light, about as much as grass, so as the forest grows around it it dies away. Think of it as a benevolent, temporary place holder and consider leaving it alone in areas you're not yet ready to plant.

Aloha,
Mitzi

Uluhe Design
Native Landscape Design
uluhedesign@yahoo.com

[dmbwest]

Tryed cutting and wacking in our little hand cleared garden area but nothing was faster and cleaner than just putting the gloves on, walking straight into them like a wayward robot, grasping as many as you could hold and just walking, dragging bunches to your pile. Happens amazingly fast and burns calories.

Forgot to add ... then its EZ to get to the bottom of things from here too.

[billy]

thank you lokahi im not wanting to strip the lot either. your right pog just get in there and get busy and get it done. Im a very had worker and can do it. my thought was hire someone from there so they can make a buck and make a friend at the same time.

[Markie]

Call Troy from East Side Hand Land Clearing at 938-9465. He works really hard and does a great job.



Markie