Dig and dig, little bit by little bit. Chemicals are, to my mind, the wrong course. What you'll need to clear the brambles will have to be strong enough to do the job, meaning there's bound to be residue left in the ground, despite the manufacturer's assurances to the opposite. I found my old garden was very fertile after I'd cleared it, patch by patch, as the years of falling leaf litter had enriched the soil properly. The mattock was ground down very sharp by the time I'd finished. Start a fire and keep topping it up as you dig the bramble roots out. Keep some of the best plants for fruit. I believe there are over 2000 recognised clones of blackberry, meaning some of them will be good to eat and ALL will be good for jam. HC
I also have bramble issues, I have a tiered garden with a decked balcony, they have grown underneath the balcony that we have within an old rockery and the roots are impossible to locate and get out. ....
I think the difficulty here is that the roots are un-get-at-able in a rockery underneath a deck/balcony.
Glyphosate would seem to be the only solution short of dismantle the deck and the rockery
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
An interesting thread as I have had the same problem for years over a large piece of ground. For what it's worth my experience is that the only way is attrition. Cut the fronds back to the root and, when the soil is moist use a strong fork and a crowbar to take out the main root. Then regularly pull or fork out the smaller shoots that will reappear for years. It gets easier over time as the new shoots get smaller.
I am asked about bramble removal all the time - and yes, the only real answer is attrition: cut and dig, cut and dig, but the best advice is definitely to do it "a bit at a time".
I agree with everyone who's been saying that chemicals are not the answer: too many people believe the "dead in 24 hrs, even tough weeds" advertising, and it simply won't work. You have to cut off the tops, and dig out the roots.
But I also agree that a spritz of glyphosate is the best way to tackle small re-growth, and for when you simply can't get to the roots, like poor Hannah with her under-deck brambles.
With a big, badly overgrown garden, it really is worth having a Bramble Party: get as many friends as you can to come round for an afternoon, and just chop chop chop at the top growth. Once you can walk around the garden without being savaged, it gets a lot easier to dig out the roots.
I have a party of 1 when dealing with brambles, just me and the brush cutter.
I think it's good advice to just dig out what you can. Though there is a very effective way to kill it with round-up. Forget spraying on the leaves, I find it is hopeless.
When it is cut down (with a brush cutter, it is the sensible option), split the remaining shoot above the ground vertically down. Paint on the round-up (only slightly watered down) directly to the top of the cut shoot and down the split with a paint brush. I'll totally guarantee that it will kill even the hugest brambles, root and all. Leave it for 6 months and reapply if necessary (it won't be), then is the time to go through with mattock and clear the roots out of the ground. Don't delay with painting it on, you want it on the evening the stuff is cut, as it will be attempting to draw nutrients from the leaves down to the roots, there are no leaves though to provide the nutrients, only round-up.
I'm 99% organic but this is the one time I do resort to weed killer. This technique I've applied to gardens and even huge areas on wildlife sites. Safe quick and I've seen it work time after time.
I've been doing similar to Gemma - my problem brambles are growing through other plants (large established azaleas) that I don't want to lose, so spraying is not an option. Instead I cut each stem back as far as I can reach and then poke in a bit of pipecleaner soaked in SBK. Took ages, as quite fiddly, but so far all is looking dead and no regrowth. Only did it about 6 weeks ago though, so time will tell.
theres a thread on here somewhere where I got the advice
Brush cutter and hedge trimmer, burn it as you go. You'll soon make a difference. If you want a weed killer - try a farm supply shop. Once you can see the difference the motivation will come back. Or you could get a couple of pigs - cleared in no time!
Brambles cut back to 6" - 12" use glyphosate systemic weedkiller. Online available for around £30 for 5L or I've just bought 1 sachet for £2.29 incl postage UK. This makes 1L for spray or 4L for watering can but instead try this method used by my Grandfather a gardener under her Majestys employ at Balmoral.
Disolve soluble sachet in c1-1.5L water, add plain old wallpaper paste to thicken so it won't run then apply to stems with a dedicated 1" paintbrush, roots will be dead 3-4 weeks max & ground safe to plant. No wasted spray & keep residue safe in a coffee jar to paint onto any future shoots.
Tip 2. Nitromors paint stripper is expensive so make your own dilute caustic soda + wallpaper paste to thicken any strength u like for £ buttons.
Posts
I understand now. Might take a bit more than a week but I see where you are
In the sticks near Peterborough
Dig and dig, little bit by little bit. Chemicals are, to my mind, the wrong course. What you'll need to clear the brambles will have to be strong enough to do the job, meaning there's bound to be residue left in the ground, despite the manufacturer's assurances to the opposite. I found my old garden was very fertile after I'd cleared it, patch by patch, as the years of falling leaf litter had enriched the soil properly. The mattock was ground down very sharp by the time I'd finished. Start a fire and keep topping it up as you dig the bramble roots out. Keep some of the best plants for fruit. I believe there are over 2000 recognised clones of blackberry, meaning some of them will be good to eat and ALL will be good for jam. HC
I think the difficulty here is that the roots are un-get-at-able in a rockery underneath a deck/balcony.
Glyphosate would seem to be the only solution short of dismantle the deck and the rockery
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
An interesting thread as I have had the same problem for years over a large piece of ground. For what it's worth my experience is that the only way is attrition. Cut the fronds back to the root and, when the soil is moist use a strong fork and a crowbar to take out the main root. Then regularly pull or fork out the smaller shoots that will reappear for years. It gets easier over time as the new shoots get smaller.
I am asked about bramble removal all the time - and yes, the only real answer is attrition: cut and dig, cut and dig, but the best advice is definitely to do it "a bit at a time".
I agree with everyone who's been saying that chemicals are not the answer: too many people believe the "dead in 24 hrs, even tough weeds" advertising, and it simply won't work. You have to cut off the tops, and dig out the roots.
But I also agree that a spritz of glyphosate is the best way to tackle small re-growth, and for when you simply can't get to the roots, like poor Hannah with her under-deck brambles.
There's a lot more info on bramble removal here: http://rachel-the-gardener.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/bramble-removal-how-to-do-it.html
With a big, badly overgrown garden, it really is worth having a Bramble Party: get as many friends as you can to come round for an afternoon, and just chop chop chop at the top growth. Once you can walk around the garden without being savaged, it gets a lot easier to dig out the roots.
Good luck!
Rachel's right, cut and dig and have a bonfire going.
to get the roots out I use a sharp mattock,rather than dig.
some pay to go to a gym, a garden workout is just as good and costs nothing.
I have a party of 1 when dealing with brambles, just me and the brush cutter.
I think it's good advice to just dig out what you can. Though there is a very effective way to kill it with round-up. Forget spraying on the leaves, I find it is hopeless.
When it is cut down (with a brush cutter, it is the sensible option), split the remaining shoot above the ground vertically down. Paint on the round-up (only slightly watered down) directly to the top of the cut shoot and down the split with a paint brush. I'll totally guarantee that it will kill even the hugest brambles, root and all. Leave it for 6 months and reapply if necessary (it won't be), then is the time to go through with mattock and clear the roots out of the ground. Don't delay with painting it on, you want it on the evening the stuff is cut, as it will be attempting to draw nutrients from the leaves down to the roots, there are no leaves though to provide the nutrients, only round-up.
I'm 99% organic but this is the one time I do resort to weed killer. This technique I've applied to gardens and even huge areas on wildlife sites. Safe quick and I've seen it work time after time.
I've been doing similar to Gemma - my problem brambles are growing through other plants (large established azaleas) that I don't want to lose, so spraying is not an option. Instead I cut each stem back as far as I can reach and then poke in a bit of pipecleaner soaked in SBK. Took ages, as quite fiddly, but so far all is looking dead and no regrowth. Only did it about 6 weeks ago though, so time will tell.
theres a thread on here somewhere where I got the advice
Brush cutter and hedge trimmer, burn it as you go. You'll soon make a difference. If you want a weed killer - try a farm supply shop. Once you can see the difference the motivation will come back. Or you could get a couple of pigs - cleared in no time!
Brambles cut back to 6" - 12" use glyphosate systemic weedkiller. Online available for around £30 for 5L or I've just bought 1 sachet for £2.29 incl postage UK. This makes 1L for spray or 4L for watering can but instead try this method used by my Grandfather a gardener under her Majestys employ at Balmoral.
Disolve soluble sachet in c1-1.5L water, add plain old wallpaper paste to thicken so it won't run then apply to stems with a dedicated 1" paintbrush, roots will be dead 3-4 weeks max & ground safe to plant. No wasted spray & keep residue safe in a coffee jar to paint onto any future shoots.
Tip 2. Nitromors paint stripper is expensive so make your own dilute caustic soda + wallpaper paste to thicken any strength u like for £ buttons.