Blackberries! Ah!

[Sasquatch4100]

Since things are starting to die off and are even a little dry here in Oregon at the moment I decided to start and mow/clear my field before the rain settles in for the next 7 months.

2/3's of it's grass and the remainder is blackberries thicker than anything. I was able to mow 2/3 of the field and then I tried with my 62" finish mower to back into the patch. I was able to mow about 6 feet in until it was too thick and I was running over top of them. So... My neighbor has a nice brush hog that I could borrow, but after looking at it I don't think it would've done any good. I didn't have my bucket on the loader and it was pitch black, but I was "What the ****!" I put it on and dozed me some berry bushes! It's amazing because I have a little 20 horse 4100 JD tractor. Guess I need to burn the pile once I check on the open burn schedule.:thumbsup:

How do any of you deal with your yearly blackberry issues? Seems to be a NW kind of problem.

I'll post some pics when it's daylight again.

 

[Willl]

My brother just went through this. He rented this mini for a day.

I took the day off to help him. Good seat time.

 

[Combustix]

I usually just use a still brush cutter to keep them trim but when I need them out of an area I will put the rake on and drag over them till I get the roots out. That way they don't come back

 

[Mudfarmer]

Never had a problem mowing blackberries with either my big or little tractor - the little one is a Kubota b7100 (18HP) with a four foot bush hog. Chops em up to mulch. In heavy growth walk it down first or even drag it down with the front loader: Drive in with the bucket up, lower it, drive backward. Gets the vines down to the ground for easier mowing and won't hang you up in a small tractor. Hope you have a FEL.
Mf

 

[Sasquatch4100]

I swear if you let the things go for a couple years the entire NW would be entombed in the darn things.

I borrowed a small excavator like that from work last year to take care of some other chores around the property. Looks like it does real good against the berry plague. They're a lot of fun to operate once you get the hang of it.

I purchased a JD 4100 this summer and have several attachments which has been a huge help whipping our property back into shape. I'm glad the death match with the bushes led to my victory. They've been on my mind for a while now and wasn't sure my little tractor would be able to do anything about them other than give them a tickle. Can't believe how much space it's opened up. I had some fun with it for sure! If it wasn't dark I'd have continued. I need to add some upper work lights to the rops because the ones at the front get blocked by the bucket. I've already added a light that points rearward.

 

[Sasquatch4100]

I most definitely have a FEL! It was at the top of my list when I was looking for a tractor. And it did extremely well in plowing up those stinking vines! Haha!

JD's got a huge sale on their cut's and would love to upgrade to the next size up to my 4100, but don't want the payments. Plus they'd shaft me on the trade in value.

 

[Sasquatch4100]

It's as I thought. It's going to be a tough fight for a while until they are very very dead. Apparently they are like those aliens in horror movies that no matter how much you hack them to pieces the pieces come back to life and try to kill you.:confused2:

Getting rid of Blackberry Brambles : Archive : Home & Garden Television

Sheesh.

 

[Pete Judd]

When I bought this property over 20 years ago, I had mountains of blackberrys. I had a small cat back then, and was able to knock them down and then windrow them for burning. Now I just brush hog them.

I did a brush hogging for a lady down the road in September, blackberrrys were 14 feet tall, went in backwards, chewed them up, and those to close to the fences, went at them with a gas powered hedge trimmer. But it still looked like I had been a knife fight.

 

[TripleR]

We like some blackberry patches on our farms for wildlife and erosion control, but mow sections every year. In areas we want to eliminate them, we will mow them then spray with Crossbow when they come back out. We also rotate burning fields which makes it really easy to get to them when they sprout back.

 

[Sasquatch4100]

We like some blackberry patches on our farms for wildlife and erosion control, but mow sections every year. In areas we want to eliminate them, we will mow them then spray with Crossbow when they come back out. We also rotate burning fields which makes it really easy to get to them when they sprout back.

The wife and me definitely like Blackberries and plan on keeping a strip at the edge of the property. We had several 5 gallon buckets full just using that small strip. They get the biggest I've ever seen around here and are super sweet. We never even picked a berry from the two patches I'm getting rid of now so it's no loss with those.

On the other hand it has given us cover from our crazy neighbor, but I'll be planting trees in the spring to block them. We planted some Autumn Blaze maples behind the house to give us privacy from the hill. We live next to a small river and at the bottom of the hill with houses on top. It's kind of like an amphitheater and everyone can see what's going on. We plan on getting some pines as well to get more privacy, after living in town for the last several years and now in the country, I'm desperately seeking some.