I've just cleared about 40 feet x 20 feet of 4-foot-high brambly stuff and
bindweed from the far end of Mum's garden, either cutting off at ground
level or pulling them out.

I was going to spray the whole area with weedkiller to stop them coming back
but all the ones I looked at in B&Q said to spray onto the leafy parts (I
bought the Weedol Rootkill Plus in the end). So do I have to wait until they
start reappearing before treating?

Also, I've got a huge pile of the stuff I cut off, will it eventually dry
enough to be put in a bonfire without generating huge amounts of smoke?

On Fri, 7 Jun 2013 15:04:41 +0100, "Mentalguy2k8"
wrote:

I've just cleared about 40 feet x 20 feet of 4-foot-high brambly stuff and
bindweed from the far end of Mum's garden, either cutting off at ground
level or pulling them out.

I was going to spray the whole area with weedkiller to stop them coming back
but all the ones I looked at in B&Q said to spray onto the leafy parts (I
bought the Weedol Rootkill Plus in the end). So do I have to wait until they
start reappearing before treating?

Also, I've got a huge pile of the stuff I cut off, will it eventually dry
enough to be put in a bonfire without generating huge amounts of smoke?

In general, weed killers need something to work on - above ground
growth. So you will need to allow everything to regrow. There are
products which will essentially prevent regrowth but these also
prevent anything from growing in the soil for at least 6 months.

Any cut vegetation will dry in time provided it is protected from
rain. All fire produces smoke. How much smoke depends on what you're
burning, whether or not it is totally dry all through and how much of
it there is. Check your local Byelaws for anything covering bonfires.
Things are different from place to place - some prohibit fires at all
times, some at certain times/ on certain days or within specific
distances of roads, boundaries etc. And make sure you have a good
hosepipe or plenty of buckets of water handy to extinguish if
necessary!

--
Cheers, Jake
=======================================
URGling from the other end of Swansea Bay where it's
unusually just like Dave's end, only better

"Jake" wrote in message
...

In general, weed killers need something to work on - above ground
growth. So you will need to allow everything to regrow. There are
products which will essentially prevent regrowth but these also
prevent anything from growing in the soil for at least 6 months.

Any cut vegetation will dry in time provided it is protected from
rain. All fire produces smoke. How much smoke depends on what you're
burning, whether or not it is totally dry all through and how much of
it there is. Check your local Byelaws for anything covering bonfires.
Things are different from place to place - some prohibit fires at all
times, some at certain times/ on certain days or within specific
distances of roads, boundaries etc. And make sure you have a good
hosepipe or plenty of buckets of water handy to extinguish if
necessary!

Many thanks. According to the council website there is no guidance for
having bonfires apart from "unless it causes a nuisance".

So presumably I let it grow a little, treat it and it dies, does this mean
that *that* particular weed growth is dead and gone and won't be back? I
know similar weeds will still grow back in other places, but that one's
gone, right??

On 07/06/2013 15:04, Mentalguy2k8 wrote:
I've just cleared about 40 feet x 20 feet of 4-foot-high brambly stuff
and bindweed from the far end of Mum's garden, either cutting off at
ground level or pulling them out.

I was going to spray the whole area with weedkiller to stop them coming
back but all the ones I looked at in B&Q said to spray onto the leafy
parts (I bought the Weedol Rootkill Plus in the end). So do I have to
wait until they start reappearing before treating?

Yes. It is pointless applying it to bare ground.

Glyphosate is generally the method of choice for area kill. Then you
leave it all in the sun until tinder dry and torch it. That gives you a
nice black area of ground where it is easy to see re-emergent seeds.

All the decent weedkillers these days target the leaves of green plants.
You can get others that do attack the roots but I don't think any are
licensed for consumer use (too much risk of collateral damage).

Also, I've got a huge pile of the stuff I cut off, will it eventually
dry enough to be put in a bonfire without generating huge amounts of smoke?

Yes. If it stays sunny like this in about 2-3 weeks. But basically you
have made work for yourself. You could have sprayed the lot cut
firebreaks around the edges and then torched it in situ which is what I
generally do for reclaiming unkempt bramble/nettle/bindweed/horsetail.

--
Regards,
Martin Brown

On 07/06/2013 15:45, Mentalguy2k8 wrote:

"Jake" wrote in message
...

In general, weed killers need something to work on - above ground
growth. So you will need to allow everything to regrow. There are
products which will essentially prevent regrowth but these also
prevent anything from growing in the soil for at least 6 months.

So presumably I let it grow a little, treat it and it dies, does this

You will need it to get a couple of feet high again to absorb enough
weedkiller to seriously damage the extensive root system.

mean that *that* particular weed growth is dead and gone and won't be
back? I know similar weeds will still grow back in other places, but
that one's gone, right??

No. A single hit will seriously damage it but not necessarily kill it.
You generally need a combination of weedkiller hit and physical removal
with the cycle repeated two or three times for a complete kill.

Especially deep rooted weeds with a lot of stored energy in the roots
can grow back again as will creeping buttercup, waxy ivy and holly.

--
Regards,
Martin Brown

"Martin Brown" wrote in message
...
On 07/06/2013 15:04, Mentalguy2k8 wrote:
I've just cleared about 40 feet x 20 feet of 4-foot-high brambly stuff
and bindweed from the far end of Mum's garden, either cutting off at
ground level or pulling them out.

I was going to spray the whole area with weedkiller to stop them coming
back but all the ones I looked at in B&Q said to spray onto the leafy
parts (I bought the Weedol Rootkill Plus in the end). So do I have to
wait until they start reappearing before treating?

Yes. It is pointless applying it to bare ground.

Glyphosate is generally the method of choice for area kill. Then you leave
it all in the sun until tinder dry and torch it. That gives you a nice
black area of ground where it is easy to see re-emergent seeds.

All the decent weedkillers these days target the leaves of green plants.
You can get others that do attack the roots but I don't think any are
licensed for consumer use (too much risk of collateral damage).

Also, I've got a huge pile of the stuff I cut off, will it eventually
dry enough to be put in a bonfire without generating huge amounts of
smoke?

Yes. If it stays sunny like this in about 2-3 weeks. But basically you
have made work for yourself. You could have sprayed the lot cut firebreaks
around the edges and then torched it in situ which is what I generally do
for reclaiming unkempt bramble/nettle/bindweed/horsetail.

Oh bugger. What's your method of "torching", and how big a firebreak would a
wooden fence need? Thanks for the advice by the way, very helpful.

On 07/06/2013 18:46, Mentalguy2k8 wrote:

"Martin Brown" wrote in message
...

On 07/06/2013 15:04, Mentalguy2k8 wrote:
Also, I've got a huge pile of the stuff I cut off, will it eventually
dry enough to be put in a bonfire without generating huge amounts of
smoke?

Yes. If it stays sunny like this in about 2-3 weeks. But basically you
have made work for yourself. You could have sprayed the lot cut
firebreaks around the edges and then torched it in situ which is what
I generally do for reclaiming unkempt bramble/nettle/bindweed/horsetail.

When it is tinder dry it will burn fast and hot with almost no smoke. Be
aware that fast can be very fast for bramble and raspberry canes if you
are any good are building a bonfire.

Oh bugger. What's your method of "torching", and how big a firebreak
would a wooden fence need? Thanks for the advice by the way, very helpful.

Depends how much dead stuff there is but I'd suggest about 6' all around
and wet the fences with a hosepipe first to be on the safe side. I have
mostly done this on largish pieces of badly maintained land so it might
not be such a good idea in a smallish garden. One newspaper and a match
is all you need to get it going.

And have a spade and a couple of buckets of water to hand. Make sure the
fire will go away from you and don't ever get downwind of it or
positioned where you could be trapped. Fire is *VERY* unforgiving.

I have ended up with crispy hedge and black fence posts before now, but
it takes a lot to ignite 6x6 posts and 4x2 stock proof fences. I also
have a partially melted plastic bucket... be careful.

The advantage of the chemical kill followed by a burn is that you also
see off the first generation of seedlings and any early resprouters.
After that you can chemically spot weed anything green that reappears on
your scorched earth. I actually favour minimum inputs growing.

--
Regards,
Martin Brown

On 07/06/2013 21:49, Martin Brown wrote:
On 07/06/2013 18:46, Mentalguy2k8 wrote:

"Martin Brown" wrote in message
...

On 07/06/2013 15:04, Mentalguy2k8 wrote:
Also, I've got a huge pile of the stuff I cut off, will it eventually
dry enough to be put in a bonfire without generating huge amounts of
smoke?

Yes. If it stays sunny like this in about 2-3 weeks. But basically you
have made work for yourself. You could have sprayed the lot cut
firebreaks around the edges and then torched it in situ which is what
I generally do for reclaiming unkempt bramble/nettle/bindweed/horsetail.

When it is tinder dry it will burn fast and hot with almost no smoke. Be
aware that fast can be very fast for bramble and raspberry canes if you
are any good are building a bonfire.

Oh bugger. What's your method of "torching", and how big a firebreak
would a wooden fence need? Thanks for the advice by the way, very
helpful.

Depends how much dead stuff there is but I'd suggest about 6' all around
and wet the fences with a hosepipe first to be on the safe side. I have
mostly done this on largish pieces of badly maintained land so it might
not be such a good idea in a smallish garden. One newspaper and a match
is all you need to get it going.

And have a spade and a couple of buckets of water to hand. Make sure the
fire will go away from you and don't ever get downwind of it or
positioned where you could be trapped. Fire is *VERY* unforgiving.

I have ended up with crispy hedge and black fence posts before now, but
it takes a lot to ignite 6x6 posts and 4x2 stock proof fences. I also
have a partially melted plastic bucket... be careful.

The advantage of the chemical kill followed by a burn is that you also
see off the first generation of seedlings and any early resprouters.
After that you can chemically spot weed anything green that reappears on
your scorched earth. I actually favour minimum inputs growing.

As it is I'd say you did the right thing.
when the stems have dried enough to burn, you can spread them over part
of the ground as a low bonfire not just as a large heap so you will burn
off some of the weed seed. when the brambles have grown to around 18
inches tall then hit with weed killer, but you could try digging out
some of the stumps now. then burn them along with the rest of the rubbish.