Any recommendations for how best to cut back some brambles and prepare the land to be used again?
My thoughts were to cut them back with a brush cutter and go over it with a rotovator after.
(http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n309/grogan197/stuff/IMG_9512Medium.jpg)
Hello Grogan and welcome to A4A.
I've taken on part of the plot next to my original one. Yes you have guessed it, it was full of blackberry brambles. I had a pick axe and get them out. I had to dig down deep and get out as much of the root as possible.
With brambles, they are NO short cuts...As much of the roots as possible have to be removed.
Don't forget to keep taking more pics, even during your clearing process.
Good luck.
Lauren
(http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa42/ElleEss_photos/Plot20b005.jpg)
(http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa42/ElleEss_photos/Plot20b030.jpg)
hiya, grogan..welcome to a4a ;D
can't help with brambles, now if you'd asked about marestail :o ;D
Welcome to the site. Do you get that greenhouse too :o :o. Impressive if you do. As for the brambles - no easy short-cuts.... You have some hard graft ahead of you this winter. ::) ::)
Very best of luck. I agree that the best way is to get the roots out with a mattock. We had a big bramble (and bindweed/couch grass) issue on the plot we took on a year ago.
Hello and welcome Grogan :D
As above Im afraid.........dig it oot.....else they will forever haunt you ;)
Ah well looks like i'lll be trying to persuade some of my more gullible friends it'll be good fun to spend a few days digging up brambles ;)
Quote from: ktlawson on November 15, 2008, 20:03:52
Welcome to the site. Do you get that greenhouse too :o :o.
Yeah I do get the greenhouses, someone has very kindly allowed me free use of their land and greenhouses in exchange for just getting it used again. It is going to need a fair bit of work just getting rid of brambles though which have gotten absolutely everywhere. Looking forward to getting the brush cutter on them, just not so keen on the bit that comes after!!
napalm the lot
Hi
I notice from your other thread that you are considering getting the ground rotovated. If it's that full of brambles then I wouldn't even consider rotovating until you'd cleared them.
In the past I've used a land-rover and chain to rip out established brambles. You need to get out as much root as you can and pulling them out with mechanical assistance is far easier than trying to do it by hand...
Hope this helps
Spinny
Today we have invited down to our site several potential new allotmenteers.. and the idea is to bring another 8 or so plots back into use after 25 years or so having been left to go wild. The lettings officer's brainwave is to say that only those willing to take on the wilderness can have a plot!
Some of the brambles are over 8 feet high, and there are many small trees too.
While a year's free(saving £45-£50)plot is the carrot, I am not convinced that the rest of my committee has taken into consideration the scare factor of anyone facing so many living obstacles!
As we run our "Leisure Gardens" via a Lease from the Council, there is no help forthcoming from Kingston Council whatsoever. So it all falls on the potential newcomers.
I suppose it will sort the wheat from the chaff, but it would have been a lot easier if the Council could have seen its way to grub out the trees and brambles..
My OH and son have a similar problem. We have just spent four hours hacking back the brambles and made a nice hot bonfire to toast them on! We are clearing it bit by bit, discovering all sorts of stuff underneath..... blackcurrant bushes, wateing cans, rolls of wire netting and a cold frame...none of which were visible until we started!
This is what we started with....
(http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l47/dlp133/nov2008026.jpg)
(http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l47/dlp133/nov2008014.jpg)
(http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l47/dlp133/nov2008018.jpg)
Slightly off topic but is it just me that wants to give up after they've seen pictures of Lauren's perfect plot with it's wonderful view!
I agree that to get rid of brambles you have to get as much out as possible. I've only got a few bit's of bramble but they keep coming back when i've missed a bit of root and often in a new spot a couple of metres away. i use a mattock and end up with huge holes as i follow the root around my plot. I've got one to sort out that has come from the neighbours side into a row of raspberries, that is going to be a reoccurring problem that I won't be able to stop easily.
;D Looks like I may be able to borrow a mini digger to help with getting the brambles up! Hopefully that should do the trick, sure sounds a better option than spending a few weeks on hands and knees with a mattock! Thanks for all the good advise everyone.
Hey you're welcome and good luck!!
Well all the brambles have been strimmed down now. I've spent a while contemplating how best to stop them coming back up and think i may try using brushwood killer on them as where they are is poor soil and doesn't need using for a crop.
There are a fair few brambles and other weeds in the greenhouse coming up through the weed control fabric so need to decide the best thing to use in here to kill off the lot.
I'll upload some more photos soon of how it looks so far, just need to get them off my phone!
I see DebP has ben fiddling again! ::)
Quote from: Deb P on November 16, 2008, 20:57:27
My OH and son have a similar problem. We have just spent four hours hacking back the brambles and made a nice hot bonfire to toast them on! We are clearing it bit by bit, discovering all sorts of stuff underneath..... blackcurrant bushes, watering cans, rolls of wire netting and a cold frame...none of which were visible until we started!
This is what we started with....
(http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l47/dlp133/Plot%2042/nov2008026.jpg)
(http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l47/dlp133/Plot%2042/nov2008016.jpg)
(http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l47/dlp133/Plot%2042/nov2008018.jpg)
What is looks like now....
(http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l47/dlp133/Plot%2042/jan09009.jpg)
Sorry, I've been organising my gallery photos..... :-[ I've reposted them!
Fiddle, Fiddle, Guess who got a snow day!! ;D
Quote from: grogan197 on November 15, 2008, 19:15:46
Any recommendations for how best to cut back some brambles and prepare the land to be used again?
My thoughts were to cut them back with a brush cutter and go over it with a rotovator after.
(http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n309/grogan197/stuff/IMG_9512Medium.jpg)
Here's a picture of the back of the greenhouse now that the brambles have been chopped back. Have cleaned the windows on the one side now too.
(http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n309/grogan197/stuff/IMG_9663Medium.jpg)
Wow- what a difference! Are you still upright?? ;D
Quote from: caroline7758 on February 16, 2009, 09:24:24
Are you still upright?? ;D
He he he - don't think so!
Amazing transformation Grogan - well done
What next?
Lovely Greenhouses now we can all see em