Hi folks-

I started a thread in a separate newsgroup and got some good advice to
try this one.

I've got about 250 square feet (I previously reported it incorrectly as
150 sqf) of some nasty ivy in my front yard, and I want to get rid of
it, to open that area up to replanting.

My post in the other newsgroup wasn't specific enough, so let me try
better he I'm not looking to spray Roundup and wait for it to die.
Tried that last year. The stuff is resiliant. What I'm looking for is
tips on physical removal. It's beyond doing by hand!! Believe me I've
tried taking a whack at it that way.

I'm guessing I should rent some sort of power equipment from the local
rent-all center to cut up the vines and chew up the soil. What
equipment would be suitable? I don't even mow my own grass, but I'm
pretty good with equipment in general.

Step 2 presumably involves shoveling out the vine-and-soil debris and
disposing of it. A quick calculation suggests this project might result
in several dozen square yards of the debris. How can I get rid of it? I
guess the best thing would be to rent a roll-off container or something
to heap it into? Any ideas on costs associated with this (Maryland)?

Step 3 involves filling the area with new soil. What are the better
places to get this? Home Depot?

We're trying to bring the project in on a tight budget, but I'll trade a
few bucks for an easier job. What I'm trying to avoid is paying a
landscaper a couple thousand to do it...

Any suggestions appreciated.

Marc

MAG wrote:

Hi folks-

I started a thread in a separate newsgroup and got some good advice to
try this one.

I've got about 250 square feet (I previously reported it incorrectly as
150 sqf) of some nasty ivy in my front yard, and I want to get rid of
it, to open that area up to replanting.

My post in the other newsgroup wasn't specific enough, so let me try
better he I'm not looking to spray Roundup and wait for it to die.
Tried that last year. The stuff is resiliant. What I'm looking for is
tips on physical removal. It's beyond doing by hand!! Believe me I've
tried taking a whack at it that way.

I'm guessing I should rent some sort of power equipment from the local
rent-all center to cut up the vines and chew up the soil. What
equipment would be suitable? I don't even mow my own grass, but I'm
pretty good with equipment in general.

Step 2 presumably involves shoveling out the vine-and-soil debris and
disposing of it. A quick calculation suggests this project might result
in several dozen square yards of the debris. How can I get rid of it? I
guess the best thing would be to rent a roll-off container or something
to heap it into? Any ideas on costs associated with this (Maryland)?

Step 3 involves filling the area with new soil. What are the better
places to get this? Home Depot?

We're trying to bring the project in on a tight budget, but I'll trade a
few bucks for an easier job. What I'm trying to avoid is paying a
landscaper a couple thousand to do it...

Just chewing up the vines with a piece of equipment will not be effective
(the root bits will re-root) and removing ALL the debris will be more work
than hand pulling, not to mention rather pricey. Hire some day labor
(Millionairs Club in this area - the homeless or the chronically unemployed
- $10/hr) and have them dig out the stuff with your basic pick and shovel
and haul it away to a dump or landfill. Unless your HD sells soil in bulk
(mine doesn't), don't buy it there - bagged soil is ridiculously expensive
for what you get. Contact a local landscape supply company or whoever in
your area has bulk soil products and order it by the yard.

"MAG" wrote in message
ganews.com...
Hi folks-

I started a thread in a separate newsgroup and got some good advice to
try this one.

I've got about 250 square feet (I previously reported it incorrectly as
150 sqf) of some nasty ivy in my front yard, and I want to get rid of
it, to open that area up to replanting.

My post in the other newsgroup wasn't specific enough, so let me try
better he I'm not looking to spray Roundup and wait for it to die.
Tried that last year. The stuff is resiliant. What I'm looking for is
tips on physical removal. It's beyond doing by hand!! Believe me I've
tried taking a whack at it that way.

I'm guessing I should rent some sort of power equipment from the local
rent-all center to cut up the vines and chew up the soil. What
equipment would be suitable? I don't even mow my own grass, but I'm
pretty good with equipment in general.

Step 2 presumably involves shoveling out the vine-and-soil debris and
disposing of it. A quick calculation suggests this project might result
in several dozen square yards of the debris. How can I get rid of it? I
guess the best thing would be to rent a roll-off container or something
to heap it into? Any ideas on costs associated with this (Maryland)?

Step 3 involves filling the area with new soil. What are the better
places to get this? Home Depot?

We're trying to bring the project in on a tight budget, but I'll trade a
few bucks for an easier job. What I'm trying to avoid is paying a
landscaper a couple thousand to do it...

Any suggestions appreciated.

Marc -- This may sound a bit simplistic, but have you considered using a
lawnmower (with bag) on the area, then rototilling it to loosen the soil,
then a shovel to remove it? I suppose this might not be possible if the
roots are too deep and/or the area is inaccessible with a mower, but ....

Just a thought.

James

Marc,

I did this on a large scale last fall. I had ignored the ivy in my front
yard for 5 or 6 years and it was taking over. It had grown 50 ft up a dozen
old trees and it had spread in an area about 30' x 80' (2400 sq ft). Now, it
is completely gone and the area is wood chipped.

I found some web sites with advice from folks in the northwest (Oregon,
Washington) about how to cut it back. They actually have a problem with it
growing in the wild and taking over entire forests - killing all the natural
growth. So they volunteer to go out and cut it back.

Here is my experience and advice:

Do not use a rototiller. It will only cut the roots, disperse them, and then
they will grow back.

I took it off the tress by cutting the vines that went into the ground and
then pulling it off the trees. I used a ladder to get up as high as I could
(about 30'). I could get many of these vines to come off in 30' pieces.
Since they overlap and intermix at places, do not try to pull to hard. It
will only break there, and not allow you to get more off. GO up the ladder
and pry the vines off the tree with a large screwdriver or use the sickle to
pry the vines apart. Also, I used a small (one-hand_ branch clipper cut
vines apart. It is balancing act of work on the ladder and work on the
ground, to coerce the vines off the tree. Whatever I couldn't reach has
since died off. Eventually it will fall off, but it is not green any longer
and is not very noticeable. At the base of the trees is where I often found
the largest vines with the best root system. I used a rake to brake up the
ground and pull those roots out as thoroughly as I could.

For the areas between the trees, I developed a method where I would select
an area and attack it like I was cutting sod or clearing an area for a
sidewalk. I used a hand sickle to isolate the roots in the area. Imagine a
rectangle - about 4'x8'. Then cut out the rectangle by sickleing vertically.
In essence you are cutting any vines that are crossing this line. I worked
on one knee and used one (gloved) hand to swing the sickle and the other
hand to pull and group vines that the sickle had missed, then sickling
those. Keep moving backwards until you complete these outside cuts on the
area.

Then start using a rake (dirt rake) to pull the ivy (and leaves) up. You can
work in either direction, but I found it easier to pull along the 8' lines.
So the ivy will form a roll about 4' wide, like rolling up a carpet. Only
the ivy will bog down, because the roots will be stronger than you can pull
with the rake. Then you have to get around the front of the roll (in the
bare dirt, now) and pull each of the strong roots up by hand. Then you can
start pulling the roll with the rake again, until you need to repeat the
hand pulling. The mass of the existing pile and the force of the rake pull
combine to be the best force on pulling out the roots that are still in the
ground.

You can control the amount of work you want to do, by selecting the size of
the area to cut. If I was having a difficult time or only had an hour to
work, I might only cut a 2'x6' area. And of course, it does not have to
square. Try to pull the rolls into the central pile, because they can get
heavy to move. Or you can always start another 'burn pile'. I always stacked
these piles on the ground that had already been cleared. So after the fires,
I had no other root pulling to do.

Ultimately the pile will be free of the ground. Sometimes, you may have cut
out an area that is too large. Then the roll will get too heavy to pull. You
might have to start from the other side - to meet in the middle. Or you may
have to cut the pile in half with the sickle (vertically) to pull each roll
separately. If you feel like the roll is getting to be too much to pull, use
the sickle to cut across the square , so that when you pull the roll over
that cut, it will be free of the ground. I piled these rolls together and
then burned them. You may have to cart them away. One thing about the
burning. The ivy (and leaves) combined are able to maintain a lot of
moisture. So, you will have to let the piles dry out a little before they
will burn well.

The work is methodical and predictable - once you get the hang of it. I did
best with a pair of work gloves that were thin and tight enough so I could
grip even the smallest root and pull it out of the ground. I sharpened the
sickles often - since they were often cutting several inches in the dirt to
cut those underground roots crossing into other areas.

Afterwards, I spread wood chips at a depth of 4-6 inches - to finish it off.

There were several large roots near the base of trees that did not come out,
or maybe I gave up and did other areas. They have since grown new leaves.
Ivy is certainly tenacious! So, I will cut them off and then apply roundup
the cut ends of the vines. If any other leaves pop through the wood chips, I
will also cut them and round-up the vines. I have no doubt that it will try
to come back, but I think I can control it. Just so long as I don't ignore
it again for five years...

This was a big effort. It took me about two months, working most night's and
weekends (Mid August - mid Oct). I used a lot of bug spray to ward off the
mosquitoes, also. But, the difference was amazing. Many people in my
neighborhood have commented how much better it looks. They can actually
appreciate the beauty of the house now!

Good luck and let me know how you make out.

Robert (Raleigh NC)

"MAG" wrote in message
ganews.com...
Hi folks-

I started a thread in a separate newsgroup and got some good advice to
try this one.

I've got about 250 square feet (I previously reported it incorrectly as
150 sqf) of some nasty ivy in my front yard, and I want to get rid of
it, to open that area up to replanting.

My post in the other newsgroup wasn't specific enough, so let me try
better he I'm not looking to spray Roundup and wait for it to die.
Tried that last year. The stuff is resiliant. What I'm looking for is
tips on physical removal. It's beyond doing by hand!! Believe me I've
tried taking a whack at it that way.

I'm guessing I should rent some sort of power equipment from the local
rent-all center to cut up the vines and chew up the soil. What
equipment would be suitable? I don't even mow my own grass, but I'm
pretty good with equipment in general.

Step 2 presumably involves shoveling out the vine-and-soil debris and
disposing of it. A quick calculation suggests this project might result
in several dozen square yards of the debris. How can I get rid of it? I
guess the best thing would be to rent a roll-off container or something
to heap it into? Any ideas on costs associated with this (Maryland)?

Step 3 involves filling the area with new soil. What are the better
places to get this? Home Depot?

We're trying to bring the project in on a tight budget, but I'll trade a
few bucks for an easier job. What I'm trying to avoid is paying a
landscaper a couple thousand to do it...

Any suggestions appreciated.

Marc

In article ,
says...

"MAG" wrote in message
ganews.com...
Hi folks-

I started a thread in a separate newsgroup and got some good advice to
try this one.

I've got about 250 square feet (I previously reported it incorrectly as
150 sqf) of some nasty ivy in my front yard, and I want to get rid of
it, to open that area up to replanting.

My post in the other newsgroup wasn't specific enough, so let me try
better he I'm not looking to spray Roundup and wait for it to die.
Tried that last year. The stuff is resiliant. What I'm looking for is
tips on physical removal. It's beyond doing by hand!! Believe me I've
tried taking a whack at it that way.

I'm guessing I should rent some sort of power equipment from the local
rent-all center to cut up the vines and chew up the soil. What
equipment would be suitable? I don't even mow my own grass, but I'm
pretty good with equipment in general.

Step 2 presumably involves shoveling out the vine-and-soil debris and
disposing of it. A quick calculation suggests this project might result
in several dozen square yards of the debris. How can I get rid of it? I
guess the best thing would be to rent a roll-off container or something
to heap it into? Any ideas on costs associated with this (Maryland)?

Step 3 involves filling the area with new soil. What are the better
places to get this? Home Depot?

We're trying to bring the project in on a tight budget, but I'll trade a
few bucks for an easier job. What I'm trying to avoid is paying a
landscaper a couple thousand to do it...

Any suggestions appreciated.

Marc -- This may sound a bit simplistic, but have you considered using a
lawnmower (with bag) on the area, then rototilling it to loosen the soil,
then a shovel to remove it? I suppose this might not be possible if the
roots are too deep and/or the area is inaccessible with a mower, but ....

Just a thought.

James

James- Thanks. I've considered this. It might be a reasonable option.

Marc

In article , RGRAY9
@nc.rr.com says...
Marc,

I did this on a large scale last fall. I had ignored the ivy in my front
yard for 5 or 6 years and it was taking over. It had grown 50 ft up a dozen
old trees and it had spread in an area about 30' x 80' (2400 sq ft). Now, it
is completely gone and the area is wood chipped.
(excellent advice saved to disk but snipped here for readability)

Robert-

Thanks for an excellent post. Wow, in comparison to what you went
through, my 250 square feet sounds like nothing. I like the idea of
cutting vertically to isolate patches for removal. Sounds reasonable to
me.

I don't get to burn the debris (gotta bag it and have it removed), your
technique sounds like a winner. I've gotten lots of advice against
tilling and other power-equipment methods.

If I can convince the wife to help, I think this is worth a shot!

Marc

On Sat, 29 Mar 2003 14:01:57 GMT, "Robert Gray"
wrote:

I did this on a large scale last fall. I had ignored the ivy in my front
yard for 5 or 6 years and it was taking over. It had grown 50 ft up a dozen
old trees and it had spread in an area about 30' x 80' (2400 sq ft). Now, it
is completely gone and the area is wood chipped.

excellent description of methods and procedure snipped

Congratulations, Robert! Your precise description of the various
stages of cleanup was most helpful. If only I'd read your post
yesterday when it was sunny, warm gardening weather. Now I'm all
inspired, and there's north wind howling, and it's 30 degrees cooler
with rain peridically coming down sideways (and a possibility of
*snow* tonight). Guess I'll go back and save your post for the next
good gardening day. :-)

excellent description of methods and procedure snipped

I had success with an ivy removal method much like Robert's. However,
I've found through trial and error that mowing it first makes its
removal easier.

I had a patch about 100 sq.'. I mowed it first. This made it easier
to see the vines. I then went at it with a mattock and cut sections
much like Robert. I rolled the mat of vines and roots into big rolls
and put them out for the city trash folks. Removing the leaves by
mowing decreased the volume and made the rolled mats of vines easier
for me to handle.

No ivy has regrown in that area.

good luck.
Cindy Donnell