Clearing Trees for the Garden and Lumber - with a Pick Axe, Folding Saw, and Electric Chainsaw

Today I will be clearing small cedar trees that are located south of the east side of my planned garden rows. I won't be needing that space right away, but I don't want them throwing shade on the new garden. It's a nice and bright sunny day - a bit chilly but the tree falling will keep me warm. The harvested lumber I will be using for bushcrafting and projects on the property.

Below is a simple sketch of the planned garden - 8 rows - 50 feet long x 30 inch wide - each row. I plan on growing a lot of salad mix, auxiliary greens, baby root vegetables, peppers, cucumbers, peas, herbs, and a few others. This entire garden won't be in full market production this year, but I will be covering the extra row space with legumes and grain crops.

The Trees to be Cleared

In the picture below you can see the yellow circles around the groups of cedar trees that will be removed to make way for the garden row. If you look real close in the first circle, there is a robin perched on the garden stake.

Folding Saw

First up is the Bahco Laplander Folding Saw - very sharp teeth make quick work of small branches. .

"A tool I've found useful for backpacking, bush-crafting, and home landscaping is the Folding Saw. This folding saw cuts through 3+ inch soft wood branches like butter. In the picture above you can see the Juniper branch stain on the saw from this past summer's landscaping. In the woods the folding saw would be great for building shelters and processing firewood."

• Back Acres: Knife & Saw Tools

Below is a video of me removing branches - limbing a tree before cutting it down with the folding saw.

My Son loves using the folding saw for tree limbing. He sometimes asks me multiple times to do it - that might have something to do with him earning allowance. Below is a quick video of him sawing off a juniper branch - the little guy has skills!

Pick Axe - Small Cedar Stump Clearing

After the spring flooding has dried, the clay and rock ground here can become very hard. Too hard for a dirt shovel to be pushed into. The pick axe is also great for clearing around a stump for close to the ground sawing, and final stump removal.

Watch the video below of me clearing the ground around a tree with a pick axe, falling the small cedar with the folding saw, and then removing the top part of the remaining stump with the pick axe.

20v Battery - 10 inch Chainsaw

This chainsaw works well for limbing and stumping trees with a diameter up to 10 inches.

Don't forget the oil for the chainsaw chain - thinner oil for the winter and thicker chainsaw oil for summer to prevent the friction warmed oil from becoming too thin to stay on the spinning chain.

Watch the video below of me showing the chainsaw - then limbing and falling a few cedar trees.

This next video offers a close view of the chainsaw digging in the dirt for a close to the ground stump removal.

Chainsaw Cleanup

The chainsaw chain and inside can become clogged with branch pieces and dirt - especially after chainsawing into the ground to close cut a stump.

I open the chainsaw's chain access often to clean the chain and the inside.

The Before and After Photos

The small cedar trees used to be behind where J.J. the cat is standing - cat likes what he sees.

In the picture below you can see the lumber harvested from this round. I will use this soft green cedar wood for bushcrafting. Hard wood would be better, but this will do. Cedar wood does well in wet conditions, so this lumber will also work well for other outdoor projects.

I'm looking forward to the ground thawing so I can get to work on the garden and other earth digging projects.

You may find these previous posts useful:

• Back Acres: Knife & Saw Tools
• Back Acres: The Tools Use Most for Lawn, Tree, and Snow-Tasks
• Off-Grid: How I Power the Power Tools

Have a great day!