Selfsufficientish.com

Evening all,

Right, after umming and arring over whether the effort would be worth it, I took the plunge and started hacking away at about 5 sq meters of brambles that hyad taken over a raised bed in a modest sized garden which is part of the flat I am renting.
The motivation was that in the city it gets some of the best sun, and therefore feel it should be host to loads of veg and not brambles!!!

All I have done thus far is cut them down to within about a foot and a half from the ground, so I know where the roots are, but I have near on a dozen to deal with making digging them up very difficult, as you always miss a root, which wil always somehow pop up again.

I wonder how the best way would be to erradicate them. I would prefer not using chemicals, but if needs must then do say.

Bottom line is clearing it to make it useable by the summer.

I have heard of something where you stick the shootrs in a bottle with some product in it, and that will be absorbed by the plant into the root.
Not sure!


Look forward to hearing your ideas!

Duncan

Depends. Are you gardening organically?

Well, thats the plan :)
The vegetable gardening I have done thus far has been organic... no chemicals!!
SO any options based on that assumption much appreciated.

Regards,

Duncan

Take off and nuke the site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.

Failing that, dig it over taking as much root out as possible then membrane it, and cover with 10cm mulch for at least 18 months. If ever there was an argument for breaking your organic status, advanced bramblage would be it.

Seriously, get as much root out as you can stomach, then put a membrane down and treat the area as if it were concrete for a couple of years; grow in pots or make some raised frames. Site a shed on it or something. In a couple of years (once the root has died) it'll be great; sometimes you have to take a long-term view!

...oh, and watch round the edges for suckers. These things aren't stupid. There's one in Bridport that chased me right down the garden. But ohh, the blackberries were heaven.

If you have or you can borrow an azada (back hoe, mattock) it is better for getting roots out than a spade or fork.

We just moved a cultivated (but rather uncivilized) group of Himilaya Giant blackberries from our plot. It took for of us to get some of the roots out because they were enormous.

Good luck!

I hacked some brambles away last year down to stumps in a Gladatorial style battle of man vs nature (I may be overplaying this )

The intention was to clear the space and put growing boxes down for veg so I spread some wood chippings on the area and they brambles don't seem to have grown back. I don't know if there's something in the chippings that has stopped them growing (it was from shredded garden waste from a landscape gardener.)