OG wrote:

And surely it would be illegal without the permission of the land
owner/occupier.


I assumed he was the landowner. Clearly using weed killer on someone
else's property without permission would be illegal.

Regarding wiping out the nettles, personally I'd have no problem doing
that. It is simply weeding of a fruit or vegetable patch like any other.
I don't let weeds grow amongst my vegetables.

--
David in Normandy.
To e-mail you must include the password FROG on the
subject line, or it will be automatically deleted
by a filter and not reach my inbox.

Martin wrote:


but you should be giving priority to propagating cabbage whites

I seem to be responsible for propagating lots of those and other
butterflies and moths too. I'm also responsible for propagating several
wood pigeons. :-(

We do actually have a wild area, approx 100 feet by 40 feet, which is
full of self set trees, shrubs, brambles, nettles, dog daisies and
various other wild flowers. I chose to purposely leave this as a
wildlife haven. It is untouched by human hand. In fact it is also quite
impenetrable (for humans) too due to the tangle of trees, brambles and
nettles. The French man with a JCB was totally baffled by my insistence
on leaving this part un-cleared. Around half an acre had been left to
run wild for at least twenty years which we reclaimed as garden and
orchard area except for this bit.

--
David in Normandy.
To e-mail you must include the password FROG on the
subject line, or it will be automatically deleted
by a filter and not reach my inbox.

On 26 June, 10:13, "OG" wrote:
"David in Normandy" wrote in . fr...



Sleepalot wrote:

Our ancestors used to hunt mammoth with little more than pointed sticks!

Mammoth were easy. Have you ever seen cave paintings with the cavemen
carrying sacks of blackberries to make wine? Never happened, far too hard
for them, all those stinging nettles. ;-)

To the OP, I think any weedkiller strong enough to kill off the nettles
would be a possible health hazard to anyone eating (drinking) the
blackberries. You could always use glyphosate one year, that would kill
off the nettles but only make the blackberries miserable, then the
following year there should only be the recovered blackberry bushes with
no nettles. Blackberry bushes are not killed with a single treatment of
glyphosate.

Am I the only one appalled at the idea of trashing a species rich piece of
wild growth just so the OP isn't inconvenienced whilst gathering free
brambles?

And surely it would be illegal without the permission of the land
owner/occupier.

Don't make me sound like a vandal. Your extreme reply is full of
political correctness and empty of reality. The ground in question is
a piece of natural ground which has a plentiful supply of brambles -
and unfortunately nettles too. As far as I know, stinging nettles
aren't on the endangered list and are far from it as I can testify
from the condition of my hands last year when I picked the brambles in
the same spot.
If you want to get up on your politically correect horse then fine -
but don't use words like "trashing" when referring to my proposed
actions. Im weeding the nettles out of the area to gain access to
brambles - nothing more. Don't you weed the nettles out of your
garden?
Stick your head out of the window once in a while and go visit the
countryside - you'll have a better idea of the reality of life that
way.

McKevvy

"McKevvy" wrote in message
...
On 26 June, 10:13, "OG" wrote:
"David in Normandy" wrote in
. fr...



Sleepalot wrote:

Our ancestors used to hunt mammoth with little more than pointed
sticks!

Mammoth were easy. Have you ever seen cave paintings with the cavemen
carrying sacks of blackberries to make wine? Never happened, far too
hard
for them, all those stinging nettles. ;-)

To the OP, I think any weedkiller strong enough to kill off the nettles
would be a possible health hazard to anyone eating (drinking) the
blackberries. You could always use glyphosate one year, that would kill
off the nettles but only make the blackberries miserable, then the
following year there should only be the recovered blackberry bushes
with
no nettles. Blackberry bushes are not killed with a single treatment of
glyphosate.

Am I the only one appalled at the idea of trashing a species rich piece
of
wild growth just so the OP isn't inconvenienced whilst gathering free
brambles?

And surely it would be illegal without the permission of the land
owner/occupier.

Don't make me sound like a vandal. Your extreme reply is full of
political correctness and empty of reality. The ground in question is
a piece of natural ground which has a plentiful supply of brambles -
and unfortunately nettles too. As far as I know, stinging nettles
aren't on the endangered list and are far from it as I can testify
from the condition of my hands last year when I picked the brambles in
the same spot.
If you want to get up on your politically correect horse then fine -
but don't use words like "trashing" when referring to my proposed
actions. Im weeding the nettles out of the area to gain access to
brambles - nothing more. Don't you weed the nettles out of your
garden?
Stick your head out of the window once in a while and go visit the
countryside - you'll have a better idea of the reality of life that
way.


Oh, that must have struck a nerve!

In article ,
McKevvy wrote:

Stick your head out of the window once in a while and go visit the
countryside - you'll have a better idea of the reality of life that
way.

Yes, it's being increasingly taken over by townee wimps, and one
of the first things that they do is to try to turn the countryside
into an urban park.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

"McKevvy" wrote in message
...
On 26 June, 10:13, "OG" wrote:
"David in Normandy" wrote in
. fr...



Sleepalot wrote:

Our ancestors used to hunt mammoth with little more than pointed
sticks!

Mammoth were easy. Have you ever seen cave paintings with the cavemen
carrying sacks of blackberries to make wine? Never happened, far too
hard
for them, all those stinging nettles. ;-)

To the OP, I think any weedkiller strong enough to kill off the nettles
would be a possible health hazard to anyone eating (drinking) the
blackberries. You could always use glyphosate one year, that would kill
off the nettles but only make the blackberries miserable, then the
following year there should only be the recovered blackberry bushes
with
no nettles. Blackberry bushes are not killed with a single treatment of
glyphosate.

Am I the only one appalled at the idea of trashing a species rich piece
of
wild growth just so the OP isn't inconvenienced whilst gathering free
brambles?

And surely it would be illegal without the permission of the land
owner/occupier.

Don't make me sound like a vandal. Your extreme reply is full of
political correctness and empty of reality. The ground in question is
a piece of natural ground which has a plentiful supply of brambles -
and unfortunately nettles too. As far as I know, stinging nettles
aren't on the endangered list and are far from it as I can testify
from the condition of my hands last year when I picked the brambles in
the same spot.
If you want to get up on your politically correect horse then fine -
but don't use words like "trashing" when referring to my proposed
actions. Im weeding the nettles out of the area to gain access to
brambles - nothing more. Don't you weed the nettles out of your
garden?
Stick your head out of the window once in a while and go visit the
countryside - you'll have a better idea of the reality of life that
way.

McKevvy


I confess I stand with OG on this. You may not mean to vandalise the
countryside, but that would be the effect of spraying herbicide in a wild
place. Surely you could reach the brambles by simply trampling the nettles
(which would allow them to grow from the roots again) or you could cut the
nettles back before picking. The latter option would actually benefit
wildlife, as the creatures who are attracted to nettles generally prefer the
new young growth which follows cutting back. The other important
consideration is that your herbicide spray would almost certainly kill
smaller, frailer - possibly threatened - plants.

I do recognise your pleasure in brambling and making wine. It is an age-old
country practice and part of our culture. However, I and many others enjoy
seeing nettles with butterflies and caterpillars (depending on season) when
walking in the country. Please, consider a gentler approach to your
otherwise acceptable harvesting. The countryside does not need weeding like
a garden - it *occasionally* needs sensitive management. I'm sure one of
the above options would suit your needs and allow you to enjoy your wine
with an easy conscience.

Spider

McKevvy wrote:
On 26 June, 10:13, "OG" wrote:
"David in Normandy" wrote in . fr...



Sleepalot wrote:
Our ancestors used to hunt mammoth with little more than pointed sticks!
Mammoth were easy. Have you ever seen cave paintings with the cavemen
carrying sacks of blackberries to make wine? Never happened, far too hard
for them, all those stinging nettles. ;-)
To the OP, I think any weedkiller strong enough to kill off the nettles
would be a possible health hazard to anyone eating (drinking) the
blackberries. You could always use glyphosate one year, that would kill
off the nettles but only make the blackberries miserable, then the
following year there should only be the recovered blackberry bushes with
no nettles. Blackberry bushes are not killed with a single treatment of
glyphosate.
Am I the only one appalled at the idea of trashing a species rich piece of
wild growth just so the OP isn't inconvenienced whilst gathering free
brambles?

And surely it would be illegal without the permission of the land
owner/occupier.

Don't make me sound like a vandal. Your extreme reply is full of
political correctness and empty of reality.

....

If you want to get up on your politically correect horse then fine -
but don't use words like "trashing" when referring to my proposed
actions.

....

Stick your head out of the window once in a while and go visit the
countryside - you'll have a better idea of the reality of life that
way.

McKevvy

Surely the 'politically correct' response is

"Nobody should object to McKevvy from doing what he wants to do. Any
objections stand in the way of his personal fulfillment and growth;
environmental and legalistic objections to his proposed actions are
paternalistic and outmoded. Any questioning of his right to spread
weedkiller any the land that he chooses is a denial of his human rights
in that ownership of the currently neglected land is irrelevant and if
he he chooses to subdue and subsequently harvest it, this is his right
as an oppressed* member of the rural community**."

*Provide details of current location, social level income, housing, etc
and I'm sure we can identify some level of social deprivation that will
excuse your wish to stick 2 fingers up to the environment


** even if you live in a village or town, I'm sure the PC brigade will
be able to come up with some excuse for you doing what the hell you
choose. It'll probably help if you failed your A levels (gender
orientation can help too).

wrote:
In article ,
McKevvy wrote:
Stick your head out of the window once in a while and go visit the
countryside - you'll have a better idea of the reality of life that
way.

Yes, it's being increasingly taken over by townee wimps, and one
of the first things that they do is to try to turn the countryside
into an urban park.


Just as well; urban parks are actively concerned with species diversity
and conservation - and although I commonly see that the farming
community likes to promote itself as 'Stewards of the Countryside', your
comment clearly shows that it should actually see itself more
realistically as '****em farmers'. As sure as hell, wildlife ain't safe
in the hands of the 'Commercial Farmers' and their friends in this country.

McKevvy writes
Don't make me sound like a vandal. Your extreme reply is full of
political correctness and empty of reality. The ground in question is a
piece of natural ground which has a plentiful supply of brambles - and
unfortunately nettles too. As far as I know, stinging nettles aren't on
the endangered list

No they're not - they're one of the species which is increasing as a
result of rising nutrient levels. But without hand weeding, any
weedkiller you use is going to take out anything else there may be in
there besides the nettles and brambles.

and are far from it as I can testify from the condition of my hands
last year when I picked the brambles in the same spot. If you want to
get up on your politically correect horse then fine - but don't use
words like "trashing" when referring to my proposed actions. Im weeding
the nettles out of the area to gain access to brambles - nothing more.
Don't you weed the nettles out of your garden?

But you are talking about 'natural ground' rather than a garden, are you
not?


--
Kay

McKevvy wrote:
Hi everyone. Im a keen winemaker and I've found a spot where wild
brambles are growing with abundance [1}. As a winemaker this is a
great delight to me. However in one large part of the area, the
brambles are interspersed with nettle (the soft stingy type where the
tip breaks off and injects its poison). Is it possible to use a
weedkiller to kill these off without afecting the brambles? If so, can
anyone recommend a brand?

Don't do that - pick them too, they make a lovely white wine, especially
when young.