On 28/10/2013 22:53, Al N wrote:
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.

Too late to do much now this season although you could just strim it all
down at the roots. My standard approach to reclaiming wilderness from
bramble, groundelder and nettle is glyphosate the first growth in spring
once it is warm enough. Leave until tinder dry make a firebreak and
torch it. Then spot weed anything green on the scorched earth.

I'd be inclined to leave them on the south facing field boundary as they
are moderately stock proof and I like bramble & apple pie!
Sloes and hawthorn are obviously much better as a stock proof hedge.

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,

A couple of hits with glyphosate separated by a burn off of the top
growth will probably get it back under control. You don't say how big
the area is. Holly, ivy and buttercup will remain afterwards.


--
Regards,
Martin Brown