Brambles – how do I get rid of them???

I’m not talking a blackberry bush, I’m talking huge, massive patches of the things!
We’ve got a field of some 5 acres and there’s 3 massive patches of blackberry (I think) brambles, bloody massive they are! What’s the best way to get rid? I was thinking of brush cuttering them down, a couple of days work! But I think they’d just grow back again as soon as summer comes.
Does anyone have any good ways of getting rid please.
Cheers

When we took over an allotment a few years ago it had lots of brambles. Didn’t want to use a weedkiller so opted for digging them out. You have to get the rootballs completely out. Also any small bits of root left may sprout, so you have to be on the lookout for new shoots and pull them out asap. Or if you’re not going to be growing veg in the same place use some seriously strong weedkiller.

dig them out, and be vigilant for re-growth. If they’re in convenient places, think about keeping them, a well trimmed bush (fnarr) will be much more fruit productive.

Brambles = Blackberries (same plant)

Cut them down and then getvsome lives stock in to graze

As above, cut down and dig out, then dig out any new growth as soon as appears

Pigs.

Scythe mower, over brush cutter (assuming you mean the strimmer fitting) for clearing them, weed killer if you don’t plan to dig them out, or live stock/mow it regularly & pull anything persistent out.

I have two pigmy goats. We had a huge amount of brambles in their field. They ate the lot in about two weeks. The brambles have never returned since. They just don’t eat fresh nettles, but scoff them once cut down and dried.

Brushcutter with mulching head, thick gloves, full length sleeves and a full face visor.
Get a powerful brushcutter or it’ll be soul destroying.
Earphones and some loud music help.
Tim

The Brambles are just the first sign of succession to woodland, regular cutting and or grazing is the only way to stop it

It’ll be the metal blade attachment on the brush cutter, do I spray the weedkiller before or after cutting?
P.s. I’d like to get goats on the job but we’re about 15 miles away from the field and I know they can be proper escape artists!

cut them down to 6″ tall, let them sprout, then spray soft new shoots with glyphosate

cozz ++

Cheers cozz, I’ll give it a go.

Flail mover then digging.

Our whole garden was covered in 6′ high brambles when I bought the house. Eventually I dug out every single root cluster and burnt the lot. Not had a single one come back.

I think the only way I’ll be able to dig that lot out is with a JCB!

Thick leather welding gloves (screwfix red ones are good and cheap) to rip out as much as you can. Dig and chop down the rest and then wait for new growth and treat with glyphosphate. Doing this minimises how much chemical you need. It it does biodegrade. You must wait for new shoots to appear, now it’s warming up it shouldn’t take too long.

Did the first stage a month back and waiting for the the growth now, still pulling the odd plant out while waiting.

They are not difficult things to dig out. You just need to get a fork in the ground then you can get a hand under them and pull. It depends how massive your massive patches are.

I used an Adze, the root clusters were the size of turnips!

I prefer ammonia sulfamate rather than glysophate. Better for the environment and a very good killer.

Someone’s got to…

Nuke the entire site from orbit. It’s the only way to be sure.

Or

Brushcutter then repeated mowing, they’ll eventually weaken.

^^beat me to it. Or you could take out all the old growth, then train the new stuff over canes like raspberries. Then steep the fruit in whisky.

One thing though, I discovered that Bramble’s can make mincemeat of even a thick pair of gloves. Utter ****.

Loving the flame thrower!
I think training them over the canes is out of the question, they cover about 1/2 an acre minimum! I can’t even get to the fence at the back of the field for them! Wish I knew how to post pics to show the scale of the problem.

If they’re of the thick cultivated variety, you may be surprised how few rootballs there are. They’ll go for miles from their root with just a few weeker roots where they touch the ground. Can you claim it’s a community project and get some community service peoples to give you a hand?

I prefer ammonia sulfamate rather than glysophate. Better for the environment and a very good killer.

Thought that was banned in the EU?

One thing though, I discovered that Bramble’s can make mincemeat of even a thick pair of gloves. Utter ****.

Just thank your deity of choice it isn’t blackthorn! That will spread out suckers from the roots of the main plant, and the thorns are far worse than any bramble, they can penetrate tractor tyres.

I did a job in a garden 15x40m once, the whole thing was 6′ high with thick brambles. At the time i had a brute of a mower, an Etesia Pro56. I simply drove my mower through the lot and it chomped the garden down in 30mins. The neighbour, who had been slightly smart arsed when he saw me arrive on site, didn’t make a second appearance!

Then went back a month later and sprayed.

There are good sprays that’ll deal with them. If it were my land I’d spray twice over 4 weeks, then chomp them down.