Hi, we have a fairly large area infested with blackberries. We want to remove this mechanically, but then preferably NOT use Glyphosate or other heavy chemicals, to kill off the roots. Has anyone got experience in using anything else that works? I've read somewhere that full strength acetic acid (Vinegar) would work, but I do not know where to source this. Any ideas and suggestions would be appreciated. Many thanks!
mouse265,
Mar 5, 2:16pm
put a few goats in there they thrive on roughage \
shanreagh,
Mar 5, 2:37pm
A friend removed it with spray but still had to dig out the dead and dying roots (he found a pick axe the best for this). He initially started with the idea of no heavy chemicals but after removing and then removing and then removing the same area over several years he went for the spray.
He keeps a watchful eye for regrowth. If you plan to mow it or graze then it is easier to control than if in a flower or vegetable bed or part of a reveg project (as his is).
wind.turbine,
Mar 5, 3:01pm
Just spray the stuff.
You will be chasing your tail digging it out as anything dropped anywhere will start a new patch growing, it is best to control it where it is and keep it there. you need to use a good brushkiller, not glyphosate, glyphosate is not really something one would use to control blackberry.
If it is a big amount to you really need to be looking at hiring a fully registered chemical applicator. trust me on this, so many times I have gone out to a job where the client has battled and battled with gorse or blackberry, trying to spray it them selves with a quad bike sprayer or knapsack and they just cant get it to die.
The reason is they cannot get the volume and coverage onto the plant, they keep upping the chemical rate, costing themselves bucket loads in chemical thinking it would help but it just does nothing.
They then after wasting all that time and money, call someone like myself and pay a small amount for me to come in, and hit it in one go, with no dye, and the plants then die.
They can then have it at a stage that they may be able to control small regrowth them selves, or as most find easier, just to make a plan for the contractor to come back once every year or two to clean it up again.
At the end of the day its your money but unless you have the gear to do the job, especially if its a large amount, you will never get the volume needed to kill it.
ang_ck,
Mar 6, 1:00pm
I agree with wind.turbine.
At the back of my house was a bank that used to be gorse and blackberries. I sprayed them with AGPRO METURON and with wetting agent. Even after they are dead and you remove them, somehow, some blackberries or gorse will grow again.
I basically got to spray it regularly. You cannot prevent birds for eating blackberries and dropped their poo on your soil. Good luck with your vinegar option. You are in for a good time. Make sure you wear good gloves that the spikes do not go through it and same with your clothing. Been there done that.
stylus1,
Mar 6, 2:09pm
use the spray then graze regularly otherwise sell the place and leave it to someone else to do!
piquant,
Mar 7, 4:11pm
Absolutely agree with wind.turbine on all fronts. If it is a particularly dense crop there is no way the average home owner can deal with it satisfactorily. It's false economy not only from the point of view of the chemical cost but will seriously outweigh time and effort on your part. There are some things that will not respond well to efforts to annihilate - and blackberry is certainly one of them. I understand your wish to avoid the use of chemicals - but there are times when it really is the only solution. And even then, you'll need to be very vigilant and keep on top of any stray re-growth.
jsimons12,
Mar 16, 5:58pm
Salt (buy cheap in bulk from Farmlands). Pour it on thick all around the root area then soak with water thoroughly. It may take more than one application if not put on thick enough the first time. It does work and you can replant after about 3 months or mix in some compost if you want to plant sooner and put in hardy plants if wanting to plant straight away, or salt tolerant ground cover.
About a 1 kg pile per foot of root area should work but the more you pack on the better it will work & be sure to wet thoroughly so it gets down to the roots, or you could dig it in to the ground a bit and wet it - even better.
jsimons12,
Mar 16, 6:00pm
No - don't "just spray the stuff! " Good on you for wanting to do something natural. That's nasty - birth defects and other health issue are caused by chemical sprays. I have used salt a lot and it's great (it's the main ingredient in a lot of sprays but chemicals are added for dissolving the salt which you don't need). BTW: don't put it in a sprayer - would clog a nozzle just dump it on the ground or dig it in a bit, then wet until mostly dissolved.
wind.turbine,
Mar 17, 5:52am
this is why I said use a registered chem applicator, we no how to handle the chemicals. The OP is more likely to absorb more chemicals sitting in rush hour traffic than if they have someone come spray their blackberry. just saying.
jsimons12,
Mar 17, 5:58am
There is no need for chemicals, organic gardening works. (There are some interesting books & case studies of farms & orchards that do it). So there is no need to poison ourselves, communities & waterways. When they developed the products maybe they did not know so much or maybe they were just greedy the companies that made them, either way it's great we can keep safe & help the health of our communities. People's health is very important. :)
shanreagh,
Mar 17, 7:10am
I don't think anyone will quarrel with what you are saying. We are not talking about organic gardening though but the removal of blackberry which is an intractable plant.
I support wind turbine though, registered operators know how to keep themselves, others, waterways safe in all sorts of situations. This is their training and what they are registered to do. They will know the best the for the job. I don't think anyone working with chemicals would knowingly use a product that was dangerous as the first person it would affect is themselves and I think the survival instinct and commonsense would be to the fore.
wind.turbine,
Mar 17, 12:45pm
You are dead right there.
people read the word "spray" and thing OMG its deadly, gonna give me cancer. what they forget is that the most dangerous chemicals are sprayed onto our fruit and vegetable plants, its these sprays that I personally wont touch myself, not at all interested and you find most growers have their own trained person doing it rather than a contractor, unless they are in an area that is a growing area as its very costly for a contractor to set up for that type of spraying if its only for a few clients.
People also think that Glyphsate is bad, and want it banned, its actually one of the safest agrichemicals out there, its actually safer than the dye you can get to mark sprayed plants, which again, most contractors know this so wont use dye at all, get it on your skin and its there for weeks, and transfers to everything you touch, inc your food
jsimons12,
Mar 17, 12:54pm
The important point here is that the postee - can remove the plant with salt. glyphosate/Roundup is certainly not safe. Although very few studies have been done, people's nerve & lymph systems are fragile & can be damaged. Neural tube defects have been linked to it in mammals. Mothers have reported high glyphosate concentrations in human breast milk. Of course, it's not safe - no chemicals are. We do need to make changes to how we do things in the world with the number of health problems, inflammation & pain people suffer.
wind.turbine,
Mar 17, 1:03pm
I'm not arguing with an idiot any more, you are going to drag me down to your level and beat me on experience.
tweake,
Mar 17, 1:52pm
thats a huge amount of salt thats required if your talking about removing blackberry bushes. your poisoning the earth with sodium chloride. there is places around where nothing grows because people have done that.
tweake,
Mar 17, 1:55pm
the chems are the salt. they exist in "salt" form.
You have to think of what will be replacing the blackberries. Physical removal followed by mowing or hard grazing will keep it under control.
I dont know what you mean by 'fairly large' is that 40 square metres? one acre? What?
phoenix22,
Mar 18, 6:09am
I've set fire to a few large plants I couldn't be assed digging out. just a thought.
edit, obviously don't do this if close to houses, buildings or in a built up area. I am rural, and these plants were quite isolated, so no risk to other areas (and no, it was not pot!, it was these super large ugly flax plants.)
tweake,
Mar 18, 12:20pm
the problem with blackberry is its usually got a good root system and it regrows from the root system. so mowing, fire etc is a really poor choice. also roundup doesn't work well for the same reason.
the other sprays mentioned will do it well with one go. use a lot less that way which is a good thing and your not contaminating huge amounts of soil for months on end.
jsimons12,
Apr 12, 2:48pm
Sorry if this sounds blunt - but that is nonsense, poisoning occurs from toxic sprays which gets into the water system & harms humans & aquatic life, it is fine to grow plants afterwards, you just wait a while or add some compost to the soil after the plant is dead if you want to replant immediately. There is no poisoning & it's better than cancer. Salt is natural & found in the sand & soil near the beach. Many plants are salt-tolerant such as native Seliera. It is perfectly fine to use salt on one-off occasions or to control weeds that pop up in gravel & other places. We are talking about a small amount relatively speaking, to kill the plant, it dissipates & doesn't build-up, we are not talking about the dumping of a huge salt hill! Happy eve to you. That's all I have to say about it, I hope the plant owner doesn't use toxic sprays, it harms unborn children. They won't have any trouble growing anything afterwards, the weeds come back after a few months, salt is not a permanent solution unless there is massive massive salt hills year after year (in the tons).
tweake,
Apr 12, 3:01pm
at 1kg per foot, yeah your talking tons considering how big blackberry usually is. then expect to redo it again, blackberry roots go a long way and its well know to simply regrow again (which is why roundup doesn't work well on it).
bill1451,
Aug 2, 1:08pm
I used "stump stop" on blackberry, cut the stems back and leave enough to be able to paint it on the freshly cut end. "stump stop" is the go, so far no regrowth, ok for a small area, could be a bit tedious for areas bigger than 20 sq m.
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