getting rid of blackberry thicket

[Henro]

<font color="blue"> Fellas, DocsNotInn said he doesn't have a brushhog... he is looking for alternative means.
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F350Lawman,

That's true...but Rus asked the original question and did not set any restrictions on suggestions...he asked for opinions on the "best" solution... /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif


DocsNotInn,

<font color="blue">the first post mentioned apple trees so I was guessing it might be tough to navigate that with a Hog. </font>

I don't have a lot of brush hog experience [almost none I guess, less than 10 hours for sure] but after getting a 5' rotary cutter this summer and using it in the woods on 2 acres of trees with brush/thorn bushes mixed in, I can report how amazed I was at being able to get between and around the trees. Now my tractor is not that big: Kubota B2910.

It sure is not like cutting an open field, but between backing in and squeezing through...and wiggling a little here and there...and not being in a rush...I was able to get rid of a lot of those thorn bushes that were keeping me away from small trees I wanted to remove. I should not use the past tense...there are still a lot of small trees I want to remove!

For me the rotary cutter is a wonderful tool for that purpose. Not because it gets the job done completely, but mostly because it gets rid of 80% of the bad stuff and opens up access so I can use other tools more easily, avoiding most of the scratches and stabs I used to get.

And the rotary also chews up the briars into bite-sized pieces that don't need carted off to the brush pile. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[Docsknotinn]

Bill, I have absolutely no experince with a hog so I just defer to the methods I am familiar with. I hope to get a hog next year. I have lots of stuff to put it to the test on /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif Includeing overgrown blackberry fields. lol Dave

 

[jmc]

Rus,

If those thorns are long enough to puncture your tires, bush hogging will just spread them all over. Have you tried popping them out with the FEL? Maybe start on one edge and work the brushline/brushpile in one direction so your clearing stays relatively clean. Pick a dry time so your tires stay up off the ground and maybe some tire puncture sealant since those thorns are going to plague your property for a while.

I had to clear an old pasture of thorny locust trees up to about 3 inches in diameter. Started out with the FEL but the 60" width popped out more than the tree when you went deep on the larger ones. Ended up making an attachment for the 3PH. A 10 inch wide channel iron about 3 ft long that was sharpened to an edge on the end. With the 3PH fully lifted, the channel stuck out the back of the tractor horozontally . With the 3PH lowered, the channel angled down slightly so you could slip it under the roots and lift the tree out with the hitch. On the stubborn ones, backing while lifting seemed to help.

John

 

[EastTexFrank]

I think Phred has it right. We have only been at our present place for about 7 years but I bush hogged the farm for about 20 years (and still do) and I honestly can't recall ever having killed off a bramble patch by cutting. You can sure tidy it up by mowing but you also have to live with those dried out thorns lying in wait for your tires for years. This is from someone who gets at least a dozen flats a year. The problem is that brambles and the likes also spread by rhizomes so mowing can force them to put out more sprouts and can actually aid in spreading them. I know that lots of people don't like to use chemicals but I think it is actually the only answer for a permanent cure. I would mow/slash/cut to get it tidied up and spray the regrowth when the time is right. Check "The Ranch - Dow" webpage for info on chemicals and timing. Now, wait till I get back to fighting the latest menace in our area - Honey Locust Trees. Those are some serious thorns.

 

[F350Lawman]

It will be real bad initially, once you get in alittle you'll be OK.

What I have done is to uproot/knockdown what I could with the FEL, then I'll pull some with a good chain and the drawbar. After that it's on to the chainsaw and I may pull some bigger stuff out with my pickup once there is room for it to manuever. When done I burn one pile at atime and then push the other piles in with the FEL as it burns down.

That's called gettin' even for the thorns I'm always removing from different parts of my body.

I have spent the better part of the summer doing this and while it is hard, sometimes painful /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif work, it looks great when you're done!

P.S. don't know what the rain situation is there but we got some rain and I was able to rip out some trees that were pretty darn large with the truck. If the ground is wet take advantage.

 

[F350Lawman]

The first picture is about a month and a half ago when my tractor arrived, the second is today. I am getting a permit this afternoon so I can burn this tomorrow. Since it has rained for 36 hours straight I feel comfortable burning now.

The stone wall that fronts my property is now becoming visible, which was the goal after I hacked everything away.

DocsNotInn, that tree/bush/shrub stuff taHT WAS near the wall is probably what your facing???

 

[tdenny]

Doc,

Get yourself three goats (not of pygmy variety) and turn em loose. they love blackberry bushes.

 

[Currmudgeon]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( What I have done is to uproot/knockdown what I could with the FEL, then I'll pull some with a good chain and the drawbar. )</font>

That's what I'm doing, although I don't have too many blackberries. I can rip out the roots of the smaller plants with a landscape rake. I'm just about to get a subsoiler to use as a root ripper for the bigger stuff.

 

[Docsknotinn]

Actually I have very few briar thickets. Thank God for small favors /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif I am actually transplanting blackberrys to a grouse covert. The plot I am to clear this saturday is for a neighbor. If it looks like that lawman I am going to hand him the sprayer with a map to the tractor supply company and tell him to call me next month after its dead ! lol. Honestly I expect to be able to drive right through with the tiller. But you know how it goes tryin to do a good deed and all /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif I dont know about goats but I keep telling my wife that I am going to hire 50 migrant workers and rent a chain saw for each one of them /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif Dave

 

[pruntyc]

Better rent two for each one Dave. I'm not sure they know much about them, and the first one would be just for practice.