Complete newby with a few questions..

[Becca]

Hello,

I took on my first allotment (or bramble patch as it currently is) yesterday and have been happily chopping down brambles and pulling up nettles and slowly making a small dent in the wilderness (I found 2 extra apple trees last night completely hidden in brambles, thats how bad it is! god know what else is hiding in there, I'm hoping for a shed ). I have 2 initial questions about clearing it. First, how best to chop down all the brambles? at the moment i'm going at it with loppers, but it's slow going, my boyfriend thinks a brush cutter would be the way to go, does this sound sensible? secondly, what do I do with everything I chop down/pull up? I'm thinking the brambles will need chopping up further and taking to the council green bin, but can i compost the nettles? and will it matter if initially it's pretty much only nettles? the plots seems to be entirely nettles and brambles at present so i don't want to clear it then spread nettle seeds all over it with my first batch of compost..

thanks in advance,

Becca

[Two_Sheds]

Once you clear the nettles and brambles, the other weeds will start germinating!
I found chopping the brambles into 12 inch (or so) segments was easier and stacked smaller than great big old 6 foot bits, which will whip round and catch you in the face.
Slow and steady is the only way! I did all mine with secateurs, and bonfired them once they'd dried out a bit (burnt nice and hot, hardly any smoke)

[Becca]

so i need not worry about having nettle only compost then..? Though brambles only 6ft long are the stuff of dreams right now, about 20ft seems to be average at present. Is the brush cutter not a good shortcut then? I have to say I like the idea of cutting a swathe through it so i can get on with the mountain of digging..

[Snadger]

If you could get a few pallets, they are ideal for compost bins! Just chuck all the nettles, stems and all into a heap where they'll rot down and can be used to put a bit of goodness back into your soil next year!
To do it by the book you're supposed to add alternative layers of various materials but it's your first year so just chuck everything on the heap as you chop it down! It won't be perfect compost, but it will be better than nowt!

As Two Sheds says, torch the brambles with all the other crap! Bonfire night soon!

[Seahorse]

Hello Becca Your allotment sounds very much like the one I've just taken on! I'm doing my brambles with loppers too. It is slow but I'm finding it quite satisfying. If you do opt for a more heavy duty method, do try and check for hedgehogs etc in the murky depths!

Do you have pics? Would love to see some!

Claire

[wiccanlou]

A good way to get rid of some of the nettles is to make natural fertiliser. Usually people use borage but nettles will do too. Fill up a barrel with water and add the nettles, about half way up then cover it and leave for about 6 weeks then you can sprinkle it over your soil.

[vegnut]

Hi Becca
If you use a brush cutter, that would be fine, but you may loose any other goodies that may be lurking under the brambles, Like your recent find of two apple trees. Also as Seahorse said " Watch out for hedgehogs"

[carlseawolf]

I normally chuck the brambles in the compost bin as they rot eventually and it helps to at least start a compost pile , nettles are an activator that will start the process of quite well so try your best to alternate bramble / nettles on your pile and chuck any household waste on the top and just fill the bin for now as there are lots of other thing for you to do .
If the bin starts getting to many brambles in it just stack them next to the bin ready for later and then include them when possible , don't cover the bin as you will need the rain to get in to stop the brambles drying out and allow them to rot and turn the contents into another bin once it is full bacause that will help with the mixing proccess.
the brambles may take a year to compost and the smaller the pieces the quicker it happens but this way it saves bonfires and trips to the dump.

[Becca]

Good point on the hedgehogs.. my allotment has been neglected for sometime (apart from a potato patch the previous owner used last year which is marginally less brambly) and seems to be a mecca for wildlife, I've been down there at sundown for the last couple of days and the amount of small birds coming to roost in the trees/ briar is wonderful, I'm going to try and leave some of it in a suitable spot so I don't deprive them all of a home... also stuck my foot down a rabbit hole yesterday which is possibly a little less welcome (I love rabbits but i'll probably be less enamoured when i finally get some plants in). Good idea on the pallets, I can hopefully get some from work so i could just tie 4 together on a clearish spot and start chucking stuff in.. will ponder about the brushcutter, at the moment with the loppers it's very very slow as it's a large plot and basically smothered.. maybe if it was used with extreme caution and above hedgehog height..? tbh a machete almost seems like the best option, it's close to jungle :P or something like a sickle for the nettles, but I have no idea if you can get such things.. and knowing my luck i'd probably remove parts of me instead

[Two_Sheds]

[QUOTE=wiccanlou;142861]A good way to get rid of some of the nettles is to make natural fertiliser. QUOTE]
Absolutely right, but you don't want to be fertilising anything over the winter, and any nettle tea made now will go rancid by Spring. Compost the nettle for now, and make nettle tea when growing season comes around again.

[Two_Sheds]

I normally chuck the brambles in the compost bin as they rot eventually and it helps to at least start a compost pile

Yes, they will rot eventually, esp.if chopped up small. However, if you intend on turning the compost at any point, be aware that it will be full of sharp spiky bits! thistles are the worst, they get more vicious as they dry out

[Becca]

I think a fair number will have to go to the council bin anyway, as there are far too many brambles to even attempt composting them all, but is good to know i can stick a few in, tho i may need to come up with a quicker way of chopping them up both for transport and compost..

[wiccanlou]

Maybe hire a petrol powered chipper, not too expensive and would get everything down to a decent size. If my brambles were any bigger i would seriously consder it. But i think I would use an axe and a sheet of would and chop it up that way.

[Becca]

I've looked into it a bit, the local hire centre has them for 100 quid for a weekend which seems a bit steep, tho maybe worth it once i've got everything chopped down just to get shot of it all if I persuade someone to help me get it up there, can't see it going in my tiny car..

On the plus side :O) have managed to acquire some pallets for making a compost bin, tho I shall be driving like a little old lady to the plot tonight, as even with the smallest ones from the pile I have to move my car pretty much all the way forward and tolted a bit too far upright, fortunatly I don't have far to go

[Birdie Wife]

That is a bit steep... are you looking at chippers, or shredders? Chippers are really only for logs and tree brash down to a minimum 2" diameter, I think for brambles you'd need a shredder. Well down on getting the pallets, they are useful for so many things! My first compost bin was made out of pallets, I tied the edges together so I could take it down easily. Put a bit of old carpet on top for a lid - perfect as it lets in a bit of moisture but not so much as to waterlog the compost.