Dealing with unwanted grass by Blackberries and Rasberries
 

Any and all advice welcome.

Three years ago I planted one grape, one rasberry, and one blackberry (small
bushes/vines) along 50 feet of fence at the rear of my yard. The grape and
rasberry have grown little / only slightly. The Blackberry has propogated
into some 30 plants via underground runners (so much so that I have moved 10
to my side fence).

The grass I once wanted along the back fence is now a nuisance. I have to
cut it by hand with scissors or small sheers because an electric weedeater
would also cut down the blackberry vines that produce delicous berries.

So what is best to give me a well groomed look but be low or no maintenance.
If I have to choose between the two on this particular subject, I prefer
low/no maintenance over well groomed. The area I am talking about is a 2
foot strip approximately 50 feet in length. Here are my thoughts so far.
1) I am willing to hand pull or dig the sod once (probably take me a while).
2) If I were to put down felt to prevent grass re-appearing I perceive I
will stop the blackberries which I love from further propogating. This
seems bad as the blackberry canes that produce must be cut to the ground
before winter/in fall, and new canes replace them via underground runners.
3) I could put down real or rubberized mulch but perceive the grass would
just spread/grow through in about a year (creating more work to clean up the
area if I used rubberized mulch). Regular mulch I could leave and add to
next year, but perceive the grass woud just start spreading and growing into
it in a year.
4) Round-up on the grass would likely kill or affect the blackberries.

Any ideas welcome. Thanks in advance.

Andy

"1_Patriotic_Guy" wrote in message
et...
Any and all advice welcome.

Three years ago I planted one grape, one rasberry, and one blackberry
(small
bushes/vines) along 50 feet of fence at the rear of my yard. The grape
and
rasberry have grown little / only slightly. The Blackberry has propogated
into some 30 plants via underground runners (so much so that I have moved
10
to my side fence).

The grass I once wanted along the back fence is now a nuisance. I have to
cut it by hand with scissors or small sheers because an electric weedeater
would also cut down the blackberry vines that produce delicous berries.

So what is best to give me a well groomed look but be low or no
maintenance.
If I have to choose between the two on this particular subject, I prefer
low/no maintenance over well groomed. The area I am talking about is a 2
foot strip approximately 50 feet in length. Here are my thoughts so far.
1) I am willing to hand pull or dig the sod once (probably take me a
while).
2) If I were to put down felt to prevent grass re-appearing I perceive I
will stop the blackberries which I love from further propogating. This
seems bad as the blackberry canes that produce must be cut to the ground
before winter/in fall, and new canes replace them via underground runners.
3) I could put down real or rubberized mulch but perceive the grass would
just spread/grow through in about a year (creating more work to clean up
the
area if I used rubberized mulch). Regular mulch I could leave and add to
next year, but perceive the grass woud just start spreading and growing
into
it in a year.
4) Round-up on the grass would likely kill or affect the blackberries.

Any ideas welcome. Thanks in advance.

I would treat it like any other planting bed. Establish an edge and remove
the grass. You can mechanically remove the grass or use Roundup. Roundup
only works if you put it on the plant leave so it shouldn't kill the berries
unless you are indiscriminate in your application method. You can use a
sprayer to direct the solution to the grass, avoiding the desirable plants.
Follow the direction (i.e., don't apply on a windy day). I have used a
large piece of cardboard to shield plants from the spray. Another method
would be to put on heavy rubber gloves and to use a sponge to apply the
Roundup to the grass. You still have to remove the grass, so if it were me,
I would just use a mechanical method and spot treat any areas where the
grass returns with Roundup. I have a Lee Valley sod lifter that is
wonderful for cutting the edge of the bed and lifting the sod.
http://www.leevalley.com/garden/page...=2,42578,40769

After removing the sod, I would use natural mulch. There is a lot of
controversy about rubber mulch, and I would avoid it, particularly around
food crops. Unless you have aggressively spreading grass, you shouldn't
have a big problem with it creeping into the bed. I freshen the edge of my
bed every year with the sod lifter and that takes care of that issue for me.
To stop aggressive grasses, you can put in a barrier type edging. I think
the best edging is the heavy, metal edging that is secured with spikes every
couple of feet.