Oh @plant pauper what an afternoon I've had! I am absolutely jiggered now.
Lucky you to find one for free, I have shied away from them before as I like to 'have a go' with something before I spend the money. There was a lovely lad in the shop though who kindly lammed it onto a handle so I could check the balance - didn't want to take a swing and land on me back eh?
Really you should invest in a full length handle, makes the impact worthwhile and is a way off the feet (v important) and its such a good way to vent. I haven't been baking bread 'cos its been too hot, can't tell you how satisfying it was to really whack something!
BTW, ever find the rest of the heron?
"The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it." Sir Terry Pratchett
Not quite @JamesSB but it has become an annual 'weeding' exercise and I am hoping the remaining bits will give up before I do The mattock has proved it's worth many times but my shrubbery is more than 30 years old so you can imagine how many roots are in the ground.
Also doesn't help that my new neighbour fails to understand the necessity for complete removal so I am still occasionally dealing with some invaders.
Do you ask from personal interest?
"The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it." Sir Terry Pratchett
@herbaceous I’ve recently moved to a new property and the dreaded snowberry is here. It’s coming from next door and suckering along a 12 foot section of the leylandii hedge (which is also 5 feet deep and 6.5 high) so I’m having fun (!!) crawling under that to snip what I can reach.
I’ll never be able to get into the hedge to pull up its roots so I’m going to see how snipping every single stem I see goes this year.
It seems to be a resident of the village as I see it everywhere.
I think if it’s not getting worse for you then you’re definitely winning.
Oh @JamesSB you have my total sympathy. Snowberry and established Leylandii, nightmare.
I wish you luck with the snipping but it didn't really make much difference for me. Because it is deciduous and suckers like a mad thing I could cut it all down in Spring and find shoots all over the place the following year. The mattock was my saviour as I managed to get quite a few of the more mature stems (more like tree trunks) out of the ground. Probably not an option for you.
I really hope the snipping works for you, I don't feel yet that I am winning but am content with containment for the moment.
"The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it." Sir Terry Pratchett
Yes it is a bit of a nightmare. I think the long term solution will be to get rid of the hedge and replace with a fence. At least that way I will reclaim a substantial area of my garden and be able to reach down into the soil to rip out its roots.
There was a “stem” about as thick as a can of fizzy drink which I managed to saw in half and about 10/15 smaller stems that I managed to snip in half.
I’m loathe to use chemicals as I don’t want to kill the hedge (just yet) or harm the hogs and birds that use the hedge as shelter/safe passage.
I’ll see how demented it makes me. I always have the de-hedge card to play.
I know what you mean about the chemicals @JamesSB although I'm not sure they would help that much in your situation. Hope you can avoid the demented stage and, as you say, de-forestation is always an option.
"The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it." Sir Terry Pratchett
Posts
Lucky you to find one for free, I have shied away from them before as I like to 'have a go' with something before I spend the money. There was a lovely lad in the shop though who kindly lammed it onto a handle so I could check the balance - didn't want to take a swing and land on me back eh?
Really you should invest in a full length handle, makes the impact worthwhile and is a way off the feet (v important) and its such a good way to vent. I haven't been baking bread 'cos its been too hot, can't tell you how satisfying it was to really whack something!
BTW, ever find the rest of the heron?
Also doesn't help that my new neighbour fails to understand the necessity for complete removal so I am still occasionally dealing with some invaders.
Do you ask from personal interest?
Oh @JamesSB you have my total sympathy. Snowberry and established Leylandii, nightmare.
I wish you luck with the snipping but it didn't really make much difference for me. Because it is deciduous and suckers like a mad thing I could cut it all down in Spring and find shoots all over the place the following year. The mattock was my saviour as I managed to get quite a few of the more mature stems (more like tree trunks) out of the ground. Probably not an option for you.
I really hope the snipping works for you, I don't feel yet that I am winning but am content with containment for the moment.