How to go about cleaning all this stuff out of my yard?

[purbeast0]

Between my hard and my neighbors, there is just a bunch of "crap" there. It goes from little bushes/trees to these little ground cover things.

I've included some pics of it.

I'm just wondering what type of work would be needed to just get rid of all this crap.

I realize I'd have to manually go in and pick it all out and stuff, but as far as the bushes/trees, how much of that do I have to get out? Do I have to dig out the root, if that's even possible on those things? What types of tools would be needed for this kind of crap?

Same with the "bigger" weeds/trees/stuff. Do I have to completely rip out the roots and stuff?

Ideally I'd like to just clean all that crap up, fill up 30 HD bags, and then plant grass there.

Here are some pics.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

Rototiller ftw!

 

[mindless1]

Keep in mind that one thing the more bush-like plants with roots do, is reduce soil erosion down the hill.

Some of that doesn't look alive. I would start by pulling/digging out anything you think a mower can't handle then mow the rest down. Anything else that could be a tripping-hazard or pucture cheap shoes or bare feet should also be dug out.

 

[mxnerd]

Yeah, Rototiller or hire a pro. After cleanup, don't seed with grass seeds, plant ground covers. You don't want to mow on a slope.

https://www.google.com/search?q=slope ground cover&tbm=isch

 

[Greenman]

Looks like a days work to me.

 

[Thump553]

Rototiller is nice if you have access/can rent one, but a bit of vigorous shovel work should take care of it.

 

[purbeast0]

I can rent a rototiller from Home Depot or Lowes I think.

I've never used a tool like that. Is that something I can literally just run over all that stuff and it will loosen it up so I can then just bag it? Or would I have to clean it out a bit first before doing so?

Obviously those bushes would have to be cut down a bit and stuff, but I just mean everything else.

I also don't mind mowing on a hill, my whole front hard and some of my backyard is a hill. I prefer the cleaner look of grass than ground cover.

 

[mxnerd]

Show the picture to Homedepot/Lowes workers and ask them what kind of rototiller you need.

 

[NutBucket]

Get a shovel, pick mattock, gloves and garbage bags (the thick ones) and have at it. Rip it all out. Like Greenman said, probably a day's work at most.

 

[zinfamous]

I've always been a big fan of controlled burns....

but seriously I'd just get a mattock and shovel and spend a day on it. Also agree that with that slope, you're at least going to want to replace with some ground cover because both you and neighbor aren't going to like erosion. ....maybe also consider digging and installing a french ditch at the bottom of that hill? Are you the lower house or the upper house? How has the runoff fared doing these recent soakers?

 

[bigi]

A day? LOL.

I've gone through this kind of stuff. If you are alone, w/out any helpers, a week minimum to do it properly.

Roots will get you. What you see above ground is not that terrible, but those roots will take time to dig out.

This is about a grand where I live.

 

[NutBucket]

A week for a few shrubs? Maybe if they were trees.

 

[zinfamous]

^some shrubs have some nasty roots that will snake all over a large area, but that's sort of the thing--yes, you can spend days "properly" dealing with all of those roots, but it probably just isn't worth it. Best is to just dig them out a bit, chop them up and drill them in places as best you can, dump some boiling water/root killer and hope for the best. At some point you just have to call the job done and move on with your life.

Even with extensive root systems, a lot of decorative shrub roots aren't going to sprout like they are bamboo or maybe palmettos or anything like that. They are more likely to just die when buried....or it becomes someone else's problem ~10 years later.

 

[bigi]

OP, curious about your time/money investment to get this done. Update?

 

[mindless1]

I can rent a rototiller from Home Depot or Lowes I think.

I've never used a tool like that. Is that something I can literally just run over all that stuff and it will loosen it up so I can then just bag it? Or would I have to clean it out a bit first before doing so?

Obviously those bushes would have to be cut down a bit and stuff, but I just mean everything else.

I also don't mind mowing on a hill, my whole front hard and some of my backyard is a hill. I prefer the cleaner look of grass than ground cover.

If you were planning to start a crop, a rototiller might be the right option, though it is going to be slow, and you'll need a big one, and you may still need to clear out the larger brush and roots first, with a shovel or stump grinder or ??

After thinking this over a bit, I would use a herbicide to kill everything, so no new growth from any roots left behind, they'll just rot over years of being dead and in damp soil. Use whatever you want as long as the half life of it isn't too long so you can wait, then seed grass or whatever.

As far as clearing it all, if there are any larger (near 2" or above) diameter trunks you may still need to cut them off at ground level, or below with a stump grinder, but in general to clear an area like that you would want to rent a brushcutter, for example Billy Goat makes some and they may be available at your local tool rental place:

https://www.billygoat.com/na/en_us/products/brushcutters.html

There are also large bush hogs you can pull by tractor (powered by the tractor PTO) or smaller ones you can pull by riding mower or ATV (have their own gas engine), but an all in one seems the simpler option for that small(ish) area.

 

[Greenman]

A day? LOL.

I've gone through this kind of stuff. If you are alone, w/out any helpers, a week minimum to do it properly.

Roots will get you. What you see above ground is not that terrible, but those roots will take time to dig out.

This is about a grand where I live.

Don't ever go into landscaping.

 

[highland145]

Don't ever go into landscaping.

By the hour....

 

[NutBucket]

Jose will take care of all of it in a few hours for less than $100.....

 

[highland145]

Jose will take care of all of it in a few hours for less than $100.....

Yeay but Jesus can wave his hand.

 

[NutBucket]

zing!

 

[Red Squirrel]

I cleared out a smaller area by hand once, I eventually got it done, but if I was to do it over again I would have rented equipment. It does not look like a lot, until you actually start. Look at renting a small digger or something, just need to dig and break up everything. Once it's broken up I would lay down some black tarps with weights for about a month. Everything will die. Then take it out, put some new top soil, flatten it with a roller, and apply seeds. Optionally you can do the tarp thing first. cut up everything as best you can so it's relatively flat first. The soil will be easier to work after when everything is dead.

Also depends how hot it is, doing that kind of work when it's hot out can be very miserable so any kind of equipment can be a life saver.

 

[bigi]

^where is the guy that said OP's work in 1 day???

 

[NutBucket]

That's me but we haven't heard back from the OP so I'm assuming nothing has been removed yet.

 

[bigi]

^ my bad. I thought Red Squirrel is the OP.

 

[purbeast0]

Yeah I haven't done crap there. I spent some time redoing a large section of my backyard and building my son a sandbox. I got rid of an area of "grass" that hardly gets any sun and is muddy as hell most of the time, and then right next to that is an area I mulched and put my sons toys on there. Thing is that caused for a lot of dirty toys and what not.

So I dug out both areas, built his sandbox in that area that gets no sun, and put 2.5 tons of pea gravel in those 2 areas.

It turned out very nice but maybe I will do the front area in the fall because doin that work in the heat was a huge PITA, so maybe when it's cooler I'll do the other stuff.