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Brambles..!!

davewoods31davewoods31 Posts: 4
in Problem solving
Hi, I’m new here and I have a problem with brambles... we bought a house and the top of the garden is overgrown with brambles... I have used a brush cutter to chop everything down and removed the debris... I am now left with lots of bramble stems sticking up. The aim eventually is to plant a lawn, my problem is how do I get rid of the roots? I was told to cover with thick carpet or plastic for at least a year to kill everything before digging it over (it’s quite a large area) I don’t want to use weed killer, I’m worried about poisoning cats and my neighbours plants..! Please help. Thanks. 

Posts

  • LiriodendronLiriodendron Posts: 8,328
    edited October 2020
    If you're fit and active you can dig them out - you don't need to remove all the roots, just the "crown" of each plant.  If you have a little dig around with a trowel you'll find that at the base of a bramble plant there's a nobbly bit of root with juicy pink buds on it.  If you leave this bit the plant will re-grow from the pink buds.  You won't get re-growth from the brown roots below this.  Beware of bramble seedlings appearing in your cleared area though... I pulled up a couple of hundred 2" brambles this spring following a purge of the big plants.

    Sorry - edited to say "Hi and welcome!"   :)
    Since 2019 I've lived in east Clare, in the west of Ireland.
  • davewoods31davewoods31 Posts: 4
    Thanks for you’re prompt reply... if I dig out the buds can I then cover with anti weed mat until spring so I can prepare to plant a lawn..?
  • LiriodendronLiriodendron Posts: 8,328
    You could, but not a lot will grow during the winter so it's maybe not necessary unless you're planning to leave it "fallow" for longer.  Were you planning to turf or seed your lawn?  
    Since 2019 I've lived in east Clare, in the west of Ireland.
  • davewoods31davewoods31 Posts: 4
    I’m planning to seed the lawn next year... 
  • LiriodendronLiriodendron Posts: 8,328
    If it's a big area that makes sense.  There are others on this forum much more skilled than I am at creating lawns - so if you want specific help on this you might be advised to start a new thread.  The only hint from me is that there will be a lot of weed seeds in your soil, and in spring when you've dug, compacted and raked your lawn area I'd leave it fallow again for a couple of weeks and gently hoe off the weeds.

    I'm sure someone will come along with another idea for getting rid of your brambles, but digging is certainly one option.   :)
    Since 2019 I've lived in east Clare, in the west of Ireland.
  • davewoods31davewoods31 Posts: 4
     Thanks very much for your help... I will be out early digging tomorrow..!
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