I second the goat idea. My sister in law in the PNW has 15 acres and has a
bad blackberry problem, but she has gotten in under control by putting a
moveable fence around smaller areas & sending the goats in. They love the
tender cane shoots and will totally defoliate the mature canes. After the
canes have died, she does a controlled burn on the area and then replants,
transferring the moveable fence to another bramble-infested area. The next
year she sends the goats out again for bramble-shoot cleanup. She has been
able to gradually re-introduce native species in as the areas get cleared of
brambles.

Philosopher


wrote in message
...



hi, i'm new. i just moved into a new construction home in Snohomish,
WA -
in the convergence zone (yeah, that means it rains even more here than
in
Seattle), that's USDA zone 8a, i think. i'm on a mostly level, one acre
lot,
with no landscaping and some sparse grass.
i'm slowly bringing things together, aerated and reseeded the lawn,
scattered some nasturtium and poppy seeds in the "beds", planted some
summer
bulbs and the obligatory "foundation plantings", and have been slowly
acquiring fruit trees for the front drive. i'm a first time homeowner,
so
all of this is new territory for me. i'm of the low maintenance
gardening
school, and i don't want to spend a lot of time weeding.

my problem is that my yard backs up to something called a "native growth
area". that would be wonderful, except that the area is completely
overrun
with (non-native) himalayan blackberry. and because our yard has such
sparse grass, the "lawn" is now *full* of blackberry sprouts. i've been
trying to get them with a scuffle hoe, but an acre is a LOT of land to
hoe.

do i have any hope of keeping my yard free of these invasive vines? i
can't
kill anything in the "native growth" area, so they'll constantly be
sending
out runners and spitting out seeds, and whatever else they do. i've
read
that they can reproduce if you just drop a branch on the lawn. is there
any
hope for me? i've been having nightmares about "Still Life with
Woodpecker", by Tom Robbins.

tia
-kelly



you gotta get a goat...they'll eat your blackberries..just make sure you
fence them in well...otherwise they tend to wander over to neighbours'
yards
and eat THEIR blackberries and other more cultivated items. ;p)