On Sunday, June 25, 2017 at 1:24:00 PM UTC+1, Bob Hobden wrote:
On 25 Jun 2017 12:00, Chris Hogg wrote:
On Sun, 25 Jun 2017 03:34:36 -0700 (PDT), Al-W wrote:


I own a piece of land (1/4 acre or so), that has become overgrown
with brambles. It would be nice to see them cleared. However, I don't
plan to use the land for anything in the near future, and I'm wondering
if cutting the brambles down would simply stimulate increased new
bramble growth. I want to minimize the number of times per year that I
need to go at it with a brush-cutter.

Can anyone offer any insights?


Brambles that are just cut off at the base will re-sprout. To remove
them entirely, you need to dig up the root, at least the central bit
that the shoots emerge from. IME, long side roots don't seem to
re-sprout without that central 'bowl'. Alternatively, glyphosate is
effective. After cutting down the old brambles, spray it onto the
youngish shoots when they've got to about 12" or so.

Actually you don't need to dig them out once cut down, just keep mowing
them to the ground and they will die in a season. It's how I cleared a
large bed of them next to our old allotment.

--
Regards
Bob Hobden

Hi Bob, Thank you for the helpful suggestions. Unfortunately, the ground is too rough and lumpy to mow. I was considering burning the whole site during a summer drought period. A military flame-thrower would come in handy...

Al-W