"Al N" wrote in message
...
Hi all,
I have acquired a piece of scrubland that used to be grassland but is now
becoming bramble-infested. I'm thinking of turning the land into
allotments
or perhaps grazing land - anything that relieves me from having to
constantly maintain it. The first job is to arrest the bramble invasion.
Can anyone advise how to get rid of them? I could burn them away, but I
guess they'd grow back, wouldn't they. They root deeply don't they? I
can't
get a bulldozer or JCB onto the land (even if I could afford it), as there
is only a narrow gate about 1.5 mtrs wide. Is there a cost-effective
chemical solution?

TIA for any suggestions,

Al

I think perhaps you are now too late in the year to use glysophate type weed
killers, but it may be an idea to get the whole area cut down and burn or
dispose of the brambles then when growth restarts in spring hit the whole
thing with roundup, you will of course kill everything, it can then be re
sown with grass seed (or even a meadow mix)

Remember that the ground will be full of weed seeds so if left bare you will
be back to square one in a years time so don't do anything until you are
ready.

Alternatively if the boundary fencing is secure, put in some pigs, within a
year the ground will be clear!

--
Charlie, Gardening in Cornwall
Holders of National Collections of Clematis viticella
and Lapageria rosea cvs
http://www.roselandhouse.co.uk