I was interested in your piece on bracken mentioned in the newsletter. My acid land is plagued with bracken, brambles, nettles and cleavers - a delightful combination - and I have been engaged in the fight since 1986. The best treatment we have found is outdoor sows who dig up the roots, but now we have no livestock so I have had to try other methods. If you have the space and equipment rolling the young plants is very effective, but my land is rough and hilly so my Honda strimmer does a good job, but is not a quick fix. In the old days Asulox was available which I could buy under Grandfather Rights (which ends in November), but that is banned now.
The little shoots contain arsenic I was told, but I have never seen that in writing. I had also understood that the sporing season was mid August to mid September, but Christine keeps an eye on the plants for signs of spore production.
Malcolm
P.S. Here is a photo with some of the little darlings in the background.