Topic: brambles

[Fingle....]

OK Yall
Got my lottie last weekend.
Got a mountain of Brambles to get through which cant be strimmed due to waste metal pipe in there too.

Any ideas for detroying it and more importantly...disposing of the remnants as they are very awkward ???

[gavin]

Hi Fingle - congratulations on the new plot, and welcome!

Three years ago I'd to clear a large patch of brambles - and couldn't use the scythe cos of well-hidden metal fence posts.  I used the hedge shears - with gloves and a VERY thick coat!!!!!!!  

Not as bad as it sounds, in fact, cos you end up cutting the long spreads into much shorter lengths - easier to move into piles to burn later.

<edit>Forgot the important bit - digging out the roots is a pig of a job.  My patch wasn't big enough to justify hiring a rotovator - so I don't know if that does th job, and apart from that can only think of chemical alternatives - which I don't use.  Digging does work though - depends how big the area you have to clear is.</edit>

All best - Gavin ---------------- and good luck!  Anyway, the first clearing's the hard bit; you'll be sitting in a deck chair, with a flask of tea (?), enjoying the sight of somebody else doing the same next season!

[mysticmog]

Brambles, something I know v much about (unlike gardening generally).

They are b*stards, but the best thing to do is:

Cut them down to 6 inches above ground
Drag long brambly bit out from wherever it got tangled into
Bundle it up, starting from one end (wearing v v thick gloves) until it's a coil (watch the free end, can get caught in trousers, sleeves, other peoples ears) and put on a big bramble pile
Put on bonfire and shriek with delight as popping hissing noises ensue
Dig around the roots, about 1/2 ft from the base, as deep as you can go
Keep loosening soil until you can see the roots
Give it a tug, if it doesnt come, keep digging deeper
Put on the roots (gently) - if they dont come away, dig some more

Most important thing is not to break the root if at all possible, cos they'll come back...AAARRRGGHHH..

It's quite satisfying, especially if you get roots of interesting shapes - I've had them looking like babies heads, one shaped almost exactly like australia ( ;D) and one that looked just like a, well a thingy!! (getting as bad as EJ).

Alternatively BURN THEM WITH A FLAME THROWER!!!

Only kidding - good luck, and do a bit at a time.  :)

[Mrs Ava]

Yuck to brambles!  Why do all allotments come with brambles?!  Take care when hacking away at them, as Mystic says, they are bleeders for catching you and I have had long whips of them catch my face around my eyes! :'(  You really must try and get every scrap, the stems will root back in no time!  And they do burn so well!  ;D  The lady on the bed next to ours keeps the back of her patch thick with brambles so she can pick the fruit.  I have to hack them back as in no time they sweep across the path and catch my kids as they try to go past.

[aquilegia]

Alternatively BURN THEM WITH A FLAME THROWER!!!

Now that sounds like fun! I get loads of brambles poking through my fence from the wasteground beyond. I reckon I'm just going to have to bite the bullet and go round there and dig them up. Or maybe send hubby to do it! ;D

[Fingle....]

Thanks all for your comments !
I have so far used hedge trimmers and thick gloves...and yes i have the cuts to prove it !!

The big thing i think will be the cutting up of stalks and burning them.....not TOO fussed about regrowth as its easily cut back as long as you keep an eye on it.

Dont really rancy chemicals...but may dig a few big roots out...will let you know how we get on

[budgiebreeder]

You got a reply from the right person there Fingle.Mention a fire and up pops Mystic mog,watch out she'll be round , box of matches at the ready.

[Fingle....]

Please do Mystic Mog !!!

Perhaps we can have a weiner roast !

[mysticmog]

Are you sure you want to roast your weiner fingle  ;D

[Garden Manager]

Why Brambles on the lottie?

I have a couple of theories

Firstly it could be because a previous tennant grew blackberries, and then subsequently through neglect they have gone wild and taken ove the lottie.

Secondly if a lottie is for many years well maintained and the soil becomes really good and fertile, then when the plot becomes disused, the brambles (whether  a blckberry plant gone wild or not) will take over and thrive on the rich soil.

I may not have had a lottie but i have seen this happen in gardens as well.

[Piglet]

Isnt the brambles thing mentioned in your tenancy agreement ?  Dont keep livestock, shed xx size, site will come covered in brambles, couch grass and very tall dot leaves.  I'm sure mine did ... (maybe not).

Piglet.

[Les_Woof]

Piglet

it must have been in the small print, I missed it aswell.

Bloody brambles.......what with work they are becoming the bain of my life

Les

keep smiling though :D its worth it I hear you all say.