[rainie]

We have just helped our parents move into their new (old) house this weekend. The bottom garden is just one big blackberry bush. It's so dense it cannot be walked through. The next weekend we plan to put a flail mower around the perimeter so we can access the boundary and put a fence up. If we have time and energy and it's not too wet, we will flail the rest of the land to get it clear so we can see what we are working with.

Tomorrow I plan to cut the old carpets up in the previous house and take them in manageable squares to the new house and place on the ground to hopefully weaken the roots of these bushes and also prevent the new growth from growing.

Do you have any other ideas for managing land like this. It will soon be having a poly tunnel, ducks geese and chickens on it. Also will be  veg, bushes and lawn, and a shed. There is a possibility of pigs having access to clear it once it's down but to be honest I am not sure if this will happen.

Digging  major roots out may be an option.

Thanks in advance of  tried and tested tips.

[BabbyAnn]

At the back of my first plot was a blackberry jungle - armed with loppers and wearing leather gloves (essential!) and an old winter coat, I chopped back all the top growth to just above ground level.  Surprisingly, digging the roots out (I started the job in a late winter) was not that bad - perhaps a heavy duty garden fork might help to loosen soil and get under the root ball to lift it out.

[LittleRedHen]

I agree with Baby Ann.  But be warned, this is not a one off - you will be at it for years, unless you put down plant poison. 

[3759allen]

unfortunately there's no easy way of clearing the blooming things, as said chop down and try to remove as many roots as possible and as whole as possible. then wait for them to come up again and repeat the digging and removing roots.

i would say flailing or any other machine that will chop the roots up and spread the soil will be a bad idea, they'll be popping up everywhere.

you seem to have access to machinery, not sure how much but the easiest way may be to use digger, dosser or bucket to romove the top soil. obviously you'll need to replace it, but if you keep an eye on free cycle and gumtree you may be able to pick up better quality clean top soil if you can collect. this way you could also make the best mix of soil. it is a bit extreme but if you can access the machinery to do it, must be the easiest way.

as far as carpet goes most people on here hate the idea. i personally think it's a good thing if used in the correct way. don't use it for any longer than a year. keep an eye on it, if it starts to break down then get rid of it asap. ideally just use it over summer when the weeds are ravenous and remove for winter for the rain to get goodness into the soil.

[Yorkie]

My approach to BB bushes is to cut them off at about 1' height.  This gives you something to hold onto as you try to lever them out of the ground with whatever implement you choose.  Some people swear by a mattock / azada for this purpose.

The reason carpets are not encouraged in many places relates to the chemicals that may leach out into the soil, not just whether they disintegrate or have weeds grow through them.  Personally I wouldn't use them but if you do chop the plants down to ground level then it is quite effective as ground cover.

[Growster...]

They'll usually come back, despite your digging, but they won't be as strong, so keep at it!

I often zap them with some nasty stuff when they show a third time, but others here may disagree with this method...

[RJR_38]

My approach to BB bushes is to cut them off at about 1' height.  This gives you something to hold onto as you try to lever them out of the ground with whatever implement you choose.  Some people swear by a mattock / azada for this purpose.

This is what I did (my plot,was covered in them). 14 months later and the areas I cleared haven't had anything return. Nettles on the other hand 

[Jackypam]

Thanks for asking the question Rainie, and for the really useful answers. I think I'll go for the Growster approach on our bank as I don't expect to grow anything edible on there, just clearing the jungle will make a big difference and I'll use the degradable bad stuff just in case.

[upthetump]

i had a bad infestation on my first plot and as a few others have said the best way i found was to cut them all back and dig out the roots. burn the branches and when you dig the roots out you can look closely at the ground to make sure nothing is left. don't aim to do it all at once though . as with any digging do it sytematically a bit at a time.

[3 allotments]

Hi why not light a fire where the blackberry is growing you could kill them as well as fertilising the ground with woodash no weeds should be present after that

[RJR_38]

Hi why not light a fire where the blackberry is growing you could kill them as well as fertilising the ground with woodash no weeds should be present after that

Because the roots are huge wooden 'balls' and it is difficult to get them out if you haven't got a 'lever' above ground to help. Well, in my experience anyway

[cadalot]

Broke the handle on my fork getting them out on my allotment - bought a better one as a result.

[mumofstig]

I know advice is not to walk on earth that's this wet - but if you can get to them (preferably on boards to spread the weight) they should lever out quite well right now.

[Totty]

Remove everything you can that's in the way of the veg growing. Or spray in spring. Both will work. I'd cut the rest back to the ground and leave it if chickens and ducks will be in situ.

I've cleared a huge area of bramble this winter, no spray or digging. The aim is to let the grasses come back and mow over the top constantly. Relentless cutting over time will weaken the crown to the extent of killing it off.

Totty