Robert_Actual
Bronze Member
For those of you who have been to, or live in Western Washington you will know what I'm talking about. Blackberries are the state weed...
My wife and I purchased 5.6 acres and have about 2 acres that was cleared several years before we purchased it and the regrowth was 8' deep of blackberries when we purchased the land. They had grown over the top of limbs from logging, 2 old cars that had been dumped in the field, up the sides of Doug Fir trees, and right over the top of Scotch Broom (Washington State's runner up for a State weed). I need advice on how to get rid of these damn things - over the past 3 years of owning the land I have;
Is there anything I'm missing? Our future home (currently under construction) will look out onto a large pond and meadow and I just want to see tall grass that is full of deer and a pond full of ducks - but after 3.5 years of screwing with it I've maybe only reduced the berries by 60-70%. Does anyone have a better way of dealing with these things?
In the next several weeks I will be taking delivery of a new tractor with multiple attachments. My hope is to stay on top of the berry growth more, but due to the soft ground in the area this will be difficult until mid summer.
Thanks in advance.
My wife and I purchased 5.6 acres and have about 2 acres that was cleared several years before we purchased it and the regrowth was 8' deep of blackberries when we purchased the land. They had grown over the top of limbs from logging, 2 old cars that had been dumped in the field, up the sides of Doug Fir trees, and right over the top of Scotch Broom (Washington State's runner up for a State weed). I need advice on how to get rid of these damn things - over the past 3 years of owning the land I have;
- Year 1: I have mowed & mulched the berries twice but this has done little more than slow them down as they can grow 8-10' a season. Once we get into the growing season and left unchecked, they will be knee deep by June, mid chest deep by July and will have huge 10' runners going skyward by late summer.
- Year 2 Spring: I hired goats which (due to the proximity to the stream and pond) seemed like a good idea. But like the mower they didn't get much of the roots and they actually cost quite a bit.
- Year 2 Early Fall: I had the area professionally brush raked. I hauled off over 50,000 lbs to the recycle center of blackberry bushes and root balls. I then sprayed remaining plants with CrossBow, let the area sit for a month and then had it hydroseeded with a meadow mix. Blackberries are back - not quite as bad but they're back just the same.
- Year 3: I hired a brush mowing company to mow monthly. This basically resulted in the berries sending out runners down in the grass that went back into the ground and created new root starts.
- Year 3.5: This winter I hired some day laborers to individually hack out all remaining blackberries and spray the area with crossbow. I will hydro seed again around the first of April when the risk of frost is gone.
Is there anything I'm missing? Our future home (currently under construction) will look out onto a large pond and meadow and I just want to see tall grass that is full of deer and a pond full of ducks - but after 3.5 years of screwing with it I've maybe only reduced the berries by 60-70%. Does anyone have a better way of dealing with these things?
In the next several weeks I will be taking delivery of a new tractor with multiple attachments. My hope is to stay on top of the berry growth more, but due to the soft ground in the area this will be difficult until mid summer.
Thanks in advance.