Blackberry Bushes

[CurlyDave]

I have about 1/2 mile of private road to maintain and blackberry bushes are encroaching on both sides of about 1/4 mile.

Yesterday I set out to trim them back, I put a generator in the back of my pickup, and started using the electric hedge trimmer which had worked so well in our suburban back yard in CA. Well, I discovered that these things were way too wimpy for country-style blackberries. And, after hedge-trimming the electric cord for the third time in an hour, I came to believe that I really needed a gas powered hedge trimmer.

So, I went down to the local chainsaw store and asked them about the right implement.

Options started at $280 for a Stihl hedge trimmer, and rapidly escalated. Now, remember, I had been using a $39 Black & Decker so this seemed pretty steep. And, it really wasn't going to solve all of the problem, since there would be a lot of bending, stooping over, and just plain awkward positions with a dedicated hedge trimmer.

Next I looked at a power head and a hedge trimmer. This looked pretty promising, since it came with a harness, and if I got the adjustable one, the trimmer could be used sort of like a power scythe. Sure looked like the ultimate item to me, but this will set me back $500-550 depending on how powerful a motor I want.

Before jumping into this I need to do a sanity check.

1. Is there a better way to trim back blackberries? Waiting until rainy season and using a brush burner is something that comes to mind. Has anyone done this?

2. Does anyone other than Stihl make a quality unit that would do the job?

3. Any other suggestions?

 

[asharpshooter]

I used the brush-hog on mine at the old house, that worked well. They would make like crazy the next year. I just have a few now so I hand prune them.

 

[TedLaRue]

You didn't mention the type of terrain, but along a road I imagine that there could be banks and/or ditches which might limit the use of a brush hog.

If the terrain permits, I use a walk-behind two-wheel Gravely tractor with a sickle bar on the front. But if you don't have one already, then you may find that the used ones are more expensive than your weed-eater/brush cutter. And you can't use one on a really steep bank very well. But they'll cut the briars a lot faster than a hand held brush cutter. Here's a link to a TBN thread on walk-behind sickle mowers.

Where the terrain is too steep, I use a brush cutter with a steel blade. It's a round blade with four big "teeth" that protrude about 3/4" from the circumference of the blade. The blade is pretty tough and bounces off the occasional rock I hit with no apparent damage to the blade.

Will the hedge-trimmer jam up if you hit saplings or soft orchard grass?

 

[MrJimi]

Are you trimming these to grow and produce more or to get rid of them? Try a stronger electric trimmer with your generator, they have over 3 HP electric chainsaws now, for an example. Also very good with cereal in the AM

 

[CurlyDave]

The purpose is to get rid of them. In this part of the country they are a weed.

Somehow there seems to be some kind of symbiotic relationship between the blackberries and the poison oak. And they both grow in profusion.

The terrain is very uneven. The road rises at 15-18 % slope, and has steep banks on one side or the other all the way. There is also a ditch where there isn't a steep bank.

I use a brush cutter with a steel blade.

Does the brush cutter ever whip one of the blackberry vines around? I discussed that possibility at the equipment store and the salesperson (she was not a saleswoman, she had first hand experience with every piece of equipment in there) felt that a brush cutter or a string trimmer would throw the vines around too much for comfort. Our blackberries have massive thorns.

Plus, I would rather not use a brushcutter on the poison oak which is frequently growing intertwined with the blackberries.

 

[Cottonhawk]

Spray is more effective in pushing them back from the road. I spray my road and trails every year and it's working well.

 

[MrJimi]

I have your perfect answer
Pramitol 25 E
TSC carries it and it goes a long ways
I bought a 2 gallon jug

 

[Axeman]

I have cleared a couple of acres of my land. This consisted of mature salmonberries, nettles, alder saplings up to 5in dia. and lots of blackberries. I used all different kinds of tools to remove these including big loppers, gas powered trimmer with saw type head, chainsaw, and lawn mower. It was very time consuming but it worked. Once they are chopped down, regular mowing has kept them in check an d the entire area has gone to grass. Some of these blackberries were 30 to 40 feet long and up to 1 1/2 inch in dia. The salmon berries were just as bad. Left unchecked these things spread very quickly. I found winter the best time to do the clearing since most of the greenstuff was dormant and it was easier to see where the groups were coming out of the ground. The saw type trimmer worked best for chewing into the blackberries but it got dull pretty quickly. I went through a few of those blades. I tries to cut the alder stumps down as low to the ground as possible but they still make mowing hazards for my tractor.

 

[TedLaRue]

Does the brush cutter ever whip one of the blackberry vines around? I discussed that possibility at the equipment store and the salesperson (she was not a saleswoman, she had first hand experience with every piece of equipment in there) felt that a brush cutter or a string trimmer would throw the vines around too much for comfort. Our blackberries have massive thorns.
Plus, I would rather not use a brushcutter on the poison oak which is frequently growing intertwined with the blackberries.

The blade I use doesn't throw the brush around much at all. It just saws them off. The blade is very thin, so it doesn't need sharpening.

My biggest difficulty with the blackberries is that they're usually leaning toward me when I cut them, so they fall toward me and tend to tangle up.

 

[Charlesaf3]

good stihl or husqy clearing trimmer will run you around $500. But they are very useful. Get the 3 point blade for vines - looks like a throwing star.

I use that and a gravely where I can't get the bush-hog in, which is the ideal tool. All 3 have separate uses, and work together well.

The clearing trimmer will absolutely shred the poison oak and spray it everywhere though. Wear full clothing and I use a loggers helmet/mask. If you can do this during winter/dormant season life will be happier.

Medically, poison oak/ivy is a histamine reaction, and OTC histamines will clear it up fast/immunize you. But talk to your doctor before doing this as it could have heart implications. I'm on anti-histamines (fexofenadine) for dust allergies, and a happy side affect is poison ivy now barely affects me.

 

[ore540]

Forgive me if this is too long but it's a subject near to my heart. I've been playing with blackberries since we bought this place (about 45 miles from you) 12 years ago. Besides taking over the place, the stuff is a real fire hazard.

The previous owner used spray but didn't cut. Left 6-8' hedges of dead vines (wonderful tinder) with surviving & new vines protected and provided with a ready-made trellis of hard, dry old vines.

I tried hedge trimmers (gas & electric) and they could not do it. The vines would jam the blade. String for trimmers, even the heavy .105" (?) stuff, isn't tough enough for the big vines. A gas powered weedeater with a blade works well. A grass blade with 3 long blades works best and is easy to sharpen. I have a Husqvarna brushcutter handlebar unit with a harness and it seems like it will hold up pretty well. I wore out another over about 5 years. A lighter "homeowner" model lasted 2 years, barely.

For small areas the Husky works fine. Except around field fencing where a blade will cut the wire (and the wire will eat string). I use a machete for one 120' property line fence covered with vines (makes a handy place to pick too). For bigger areas the trimmer isn't so great. It takes a long time, you're wading through the debris (including poison oak, if that's a problem) which will reach out and grab you, and it leaves big pieces that you need to dispose of. But that was my method until I got the Kubota last year.

My plan now is to mow down the vines and, when our seasonal creek dries up this fall, spray the new shoots. I don't like to spray on a running creek. The berries had been ignored for three years and they'd really gotten out of hand. 4-6' high (and more) and mixed with bog willows. Couldn't just mow it with my BX24's 4' rear cutter because of the willows.

The method that works best for me is to just mow the berries if they're a couple of feet high. Higher that than, I back into them. Also back onto steeper hills. If it's too rough, tall, in the rocks or willows, I use the Markham toothbar on the loader and rake them out then turn around and mow. That toothbar really works! Mowing the vines and smaller willows leaves a mulch that I just leave on the ground. If the willows are too big I chainsaw them, drag them out of the tangle of berries with the tractor and chain. Now that I can mow the stuff regularly I figure that a twice-annual mowing around the edges will keep the berries back without having to do the saw and drag routine.

Here are a couple of pictures from getting started last Fall.
Picasa Web Albums - ore540 - BX and Blackb...

Of course the sane way is to hire someone who specializes in clearing berries - there are several in our area who have big front units with whirling chains that eat right through the berries, willows and anything else in their path. Then you could do maintenance with a regular rig. But sanity never justified a tractor

Good luck with it. At least you know that, come August, you'll have some tasty berries.

 

[EddieWalker]

I had some pretty bad blackberry problems too. I was able to mow them down with my bushhog and maintain them that way. Some are still alive after four years of mowing, but they are close to the ground and perfect for picking berries in the spring. Then the spring grass comes in and covers them up so that you can't hardly see them.

I'd use chemicals to kill them off and be done with them if you can't mow them on a regular basis.

Stihl is always gonna be one of your top name brands, but Echo is right up there too. The place that I bought my chainsaws and weed eater from sells both. He recomended Stihl for chainsaws, but Echo for the weedeater. I haven't looked into hedge trimmers, so it could go either way.

Eddie

 

[Bird]

I use a cheap Black & Decker electric hedge trimmer myself on the few shrubs we have; never tried it on blackberries, and I've only trimmed the cord twice. I have a Mantis tiller and have the aerator, edger, and dethatcher attachments, but they also make a couple of hedge trimmers that use the same engine. I haven't seen one, but I'd be inclined to think that would be a powerful machine.

Of course, I've used the metal blade on a Stihl to cut blackberry vines and I think that sales lady was right. It worked well when my brother and I worked together; one cutting with the Stihl and the other pulling the vines away with a rake, but to work alone, it wasn't very good.

 

[David_Kb7uns]

Up here with the spring rain and now the warm sumer our blackberries are growing like crazy. If the piles are large I back up to them with the tractor and brush hog and then drop it to grind them up. If you are next to a fence or something and they are established and woody I will use either a chainsaw with a long bar to cut them at there base or use the ECHO SRM24000 weedwacker that I have with a Beaver blade. The Beaver blade is a round laminated blade with a groove for chainsaw chain to be set in and is sharpened like a chainsaw but when it wears out you just put a new section of chain on and is very effective with woody brush as most cutting blades dull quickly and the thing will go through 3 inch trees. Once you get it cut back you will need to follow up every few months to keep the runners in check. If you have a huge problem and you do not have an easy way to get in there then you will have to spray. If you start in early early spring you can start with Roundup when the shoots are just starting but after it starts going to the woody stem you willl need to use CrossBow. The earlier in the season that you can start working on them then they will not hagve energy stored up because if you cut them back in late spring they can grow back quickly and it will amaze you the speed that they do. Had a neigbor down the road that burned his and they came back with a vengence and have now covered a old truck now. I found the best to alternate between cutting and then spraying what comes up afterwards the most cost effective way to go butyou might just have to do a heavy spray to get started.

Not sure what you have down there but our local Coastal Farm supply store has hedge trimming attachments on closeout that attach to the split-boom Echo weedwackers and they give you a lot more reach then a regular hedge trimmer, picked one up for our power prunner which is pretty much a chainsaw on the end of a stick and it works nice.

David Kb7uns

 

[ultrarunner]

If you start in early early spring you can start with Roundup when the shoots are just starting but after it starts going to the woody stem you willl need to use CrossBow.

David Kb7uns

Are you mixing CrossBow with water and what's the ideal ratio of ounces of CrossBow per gallon to get those pesky Blackberry bushes?

 

[EX3200]

I think you need to decide if you want an ongoing yearly battle, or if you want to eradicate them.

I recently tore out 1 acre of blackberries by just tearing them out with the loader/toothbar. Then, I box scraped it with the scarifies dropped down as deep as they'll go. I made a bunch of passes & then seeded with pasture mix.

After all that, I can see a ton of new blackberry sprouts coming up with my new grass.

 

[Cottonhawk]

We use CrossBow and very effective on the blackberries. The mix we use is 2 Oz to a gal of water. It works even better if you add some sticker.

 

[ultrarunner]

We use CrossBow and very effective on the blackberries. The mix we use is 2 Oz to a gal of water. It works even better if you add some sticker.

Thanks for the quick reply...

Do you ever add diesel to the mix?

 

[David_Kb7uns]

Using 2oz per gallon of water and in early spring will hit them with a good shot of Roundup to kill roots. Last 5 years have erradicated several acres of blackberries but you do have to keep up on them as they keep sending sprouts up but with regular mowing they get nipped off. Had some canes that were getting over an inch in diameter and some root balls over 6 inches across so they can get big here.

David Kb7uns

 

[Dave from GA & KY]

Interesting thread. Are blackberries different from the black raspberries we've got growing everywhere here on the east coast? If you've got a tractor, a sickle bar works good for whacking off raspberries next to a drive. But since noone has mentioned a sickle bar yet I'm thinking these blackberries are a tougher animal. If so, I don't envy y'all, the raspberries are enough of a nuisance when they take over!

Dave