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vaping brambles!


hoverfrog
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what have people found to be the most effective way of vaping 7 years growth of brambles?

Just bought a house to renovate with an even 2' high 'carpet' of those very prickly brambles.

Tried the super-douper Stihl brushcutter (otherwise known as the spinning blades of death!) but it seemed to take forever to strim a small area.

Ultimately we will need to resort to chemical warfare, but in the meantime it would be nice to be able to get through the gate....

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There is a blade you can get that is very good for brambles. Its like a heavy strip of metal with each end turned down (bent through 90 degrees). You tend to use it cutting downwards rather than strimming from side to side. I use it all the time and it is relatively quick.

However, it is only intended for the larger Sthil models (FS 450 and above). I've been using it on my 120 without problems though, apparently the "problems" are sudden and catastrophic - the head breaks !!

Ian
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aha! Thanks for that - I knew there must be some way!

I feel a trip to see the nice man at the Stihl shop coming on :)

I bought my big chainsaw there, and he very kindly carried it out to the car for me! Very chivalrous, but after all I was going to be using it so would be carrying it anyway!!
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My Sthil shop is always very "cagey" about selling me these blades. They um and ah a bit, then always advise me not to use them due to the risks of completely braking the strimmer (and gawd knows what would happen to the blade when the head breaks). They say the risk is when you catch something really strong (e.g. a thick branch/tree).

These "bramble blades" tend to cut best downwards (although for thinner bramble stalks I tend to sweep downwards at an angle of 45 degrees). Took me a short time to get used to the technique for using them. They are not much good for grass as small amounts of grass get caught on the bits bent down which increases the weight (slows it down) and often puts the blade out of balance.

When I was going to clear a field the guy supplying the trees asked me how and I showed him the blade and he commented that it was the right one for the job - even told me how much they cost.

I would not like to use one on a weaker machine than my FS 120 as that spins it slower than the typical saw or cord head.

Ian
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Hi  Hoverfrog,

I f you want to really do this job once and only once then this is the only way to do it ,

cut all the top growth down to ground level, this can be done by using a sythe or a electric hedge cutter ,

Once all the top stuff is removed  you now must get all the roots up (no root no top growth) if you leave any roots they will grow in the spring very quickly.

I did this method last winter using a rotovator to get the roots up, I turned the soil over several times until I could not find anymore roots and the results are first class but you really must get the roots up.and the soil is now getting a good airing at the same time and you can smell that fresh soil.

as a form of  a bonus, when the land is cleared you 'll see a hell of a lot more garden than you thought you had the brambles make the garden look a lot smaller than it really is.

I did my garden during the winter it was the best time as the growth slows down then and I got an old oil barrel put holes in the bottom outer edge and kept burning all the brambles all day as I worked, by evening I was ready for a hot shower and a night in front of the log fire but a job done once and well worth the work.

Good luck, Pun.

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I wondered that too Dick, vaping-vapourising?.

You can use a star blade on a brushcutter as well as the blade Deimos describes, there is a real technique to dealing with bramble, just trying to cut through the bottom won't get you very far, basically you've got to cut up and down as well as from side to side, using the harness to take much of the weight of the brushcutter, we used to call it 'mashing', mashing is good fun but you have to enjoy a bit of pain and not be too afraid of the sight of blood! The odd battle cry will help with the moral when the going gets tough...oh another thing, wear thick leather gloves as well, I know you stingies out there will recoil at the thought of the cost of them but you'll thank me!

The above advice was not intended for nambypambies, children or wrinklies!

Happy mashing.

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I can certainly vouch for the fact that 'mashing' is hard work - my back is suffering! I very soon discovered that cutting at ground level wasn't getting me very far, so resorted to the up-and-down technique ever so often :)

I was thinking that maybe a scythe would be better, but harder work - and I hadn't even thought of using the hdgetrimmer!

Unfortunately the power isn't connected yet, so I will have to do with the brushcutter.

Burning as you go sounds good - I was planning a big bonfire at the end!

'Vaping' - I thought everyone had heard of the term to vape something! Yes, vape as in vapourise :)
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Locals round me seem to like burning things. I cleared one field and the next field (not mine) was uncut but both very dry. Somebody came to look and was suggesting I set fire to it. I was not keen so he just got out his lighter and started. Fortunately I stopped him as my field would have gone up as well as my neighbours !!.

Ian
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I made it up, from ideolect (a form of language spoken by an individual) to ideoregister (an individual's register or class of language).

Registers are often used to exclude - doctors are good at this - by using technical and other terms which are understood by the included and not by the excluded.

I coined asing in the same way - short for assuming, dontchaknow.

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[quote user="Deimos"]Locals round me seem to like burning things. I cleared one field and the next field (not mine) was uncut but both very dry. Somebody came to look and was suggesting I set fire to it. I was not keen so he just got out his lighter and started. Fortunately I stopped him as my field would have gone up as well as my neighbours !!.

Ian[/quote]

I had the gendarme around after setting fire (kind of accidently I may add) to my garden.  I was told in no uncertain terms that it was illegal to have a fire without a permit, and that I must pay for the visit by the pompiers (despite me actually having put the fire out by the time they arrived) - although no bill ever arrived.

I have to say though, it was very effective at clearing quite a large area quickly - but I wouldn't recommend it - and the neighbours were not too happy.

Matt

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Reminds me of our first evening at our new property.  Two hours after arriving we noticed smoke coming from the far corner of the garden.  I discovered a pile of grass cuttings had spontaneously combusted and was threatening not only a large dry grassy bank in our garden but the wheatfield next door.  I spent the next two hours dousing it from the pond. 

We had no furniture but a van full of plants and several buckets, fortunately. [:D]

Never heard about a "permis d'incendie" before.

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Ive just started clearing a piece of land that has been left ideal for 10 years, garden shears with the extendable handles are the most productive method in my opinion without using a motorised method (brushcutter etc) Use the garden shears upside down with handles extended so the scissors end is slightly pointing downwards and chop chop chop,,,,,,works for me. The piece of land we where on when you were over Hoverfrog was headheight (+ in places) and was cleared using the shears. The new piece of land is larger and the brambles seem denser, although it may just appear that way due to this summers growth. Bon courage.

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I am a bramble expert!

Although it sounds laborious, nothing beats secateurs (a combination of the normal variety, and the longer-handled loppers). Wear a thorn-proof jacket, very tough gloves, cos you need to pull away the cut stalks all the time, and cut as far back, or down, as you can reach. It's surprising how much progress you make.

I burn my garden rubbish in a galvanised-metal incinerator (bargain in SuperU one autumn day). Once you have dragged your mountain of brambles to it, you can get the fire going with paper and twigs, and then feed it with snipped-off bits of brambles.  They do burn well! It always seems magical that such a huge mound of brambles can be reduced to a pile of fine white ash. 

But I would only have a fire between November and March.

Angela

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