Blackberry Menace

[Harv]

Great feedback! Thanks again, guys.

Bird, Del, BSpence, RobertN -
I went out to Orchard Supply today and picked up the one and only machete they carry. It's 22 inches, good edge but not terribly heavy. I'll test it out against the blackberry and let you know how effective it is. Martial arts notwithstanding, these are not skilled hands, so the berries having a fighting chance. /w3tcompact/icons/tongue.gif

DVerbarg -
All tolled, we probably have over an acre of blackberries on the property, so this one stand is forfeit. I will undoubtedly take a whack at it with the loader from above and below, and if I see a chance I'll bring in the DR Trimmer/Mower (might have to use the beaver blade), and then there's always the machete. One way or another, that bush is goin' down. /w3tcompact/icons/mad.gif

Notice I didn't mention the bush hog. Remember, I haven't even hooked it to the tractor yet, let alone know how to use it. I will get plenty of chance to try it out on the tamer parts of the property, but I'm a little concerned (okay, "chicken") to try it out on blackberry with unfamiliar / hidden obstacles underneath. GlennMac's suggestion of backing the mower in without power as a "field test", so to speak, is a possibility. It all depends on how I do with the other methods first.

 

[Bird]

Thomas, the first year I was here, and learned from my county agent that blackberries will produce better if you cut out all the old stalks every year, I did use a blade on a heavy duty Stihl weed trimmer. It cuts just fine, but the thorns hold everything together so they don't fall out of the way. It works well for two people; I cut while my brother was pulling them back and rolling them up with a rake. Doesn't seem to me to work worth a hoot if you're alone. And I think you'd have the same problem with the machete. Ideally, you would just cut out the old stalks and leave this years growth to continue, but that would really be a big job. With the brush hog, no effort and the job's done in two minutes.

Bird

 

[chuckp]

I have on occasion turned around and backed the tractor into those type of brambles with the Bush Hog running. It makes short work of it and you don't have to blindly drive in head first. I do this also when I want to clear an area of small trees that I can't drive in head first.

Chuck

 

[Harv]

Well, the actual battle was sort of anti-climatic. First of all, I decided to make the culvert a few feet further downstream than I had originally planned, so the "menacing" part of the blackberries was only a few feet.

My new machete proved absolutely useless against those tough vines. Since they are unsupported, they just bend out of the way, even if I used that slicing motion that Bird mentioned. A good part of the problem, I believe, is that the factory edge on the blade is only sharp enough to cut butter if it's melted. /w3tcompact/icons/mad.gif When I get a chance, I'll try putting a real edge on it (despite manufacturer's warnings against it) and see if it does any better.

Not to waste any more time on it, I jumped on my trusty 'Bota and just waded in with the bucket high, dropped it to the ground right through the bush and then just backed up slowly scraping the ground with the blade. Not very elegant, but in just a few passes I had enough room to work. One pass with the box blade took most of the remaining vine stumps off at the ground. The few that were too stubborm even for the blade were pretty much shredded by this time, so I just left them.

Oh, yeah -- about not using the brush hog in case there were surprises hidden in the bush? Found a 3-foot boulder just lurking in the briars, waiting for a mower blade.

Not a very photogenic episode, but I took a few snaps anyway.