introducing...our new plot!

[Aileen35]

We had the same problem when we got our lottie Easter Sunday this year. Its a real pleasure to clear it, make progress and get crops in less than 6 months. Dont worry, dont focus on the whole job, its like eating an elephant, one spoonful at a time! next thing you know, its cleared and ready for action. Very best of luck

[geoff]

You have about 4 or 5 months till the spring, and then its really only spuds and onions that need to go in then, other things can wait a bit longer. That gives you plenty of time to do at least some basic clearing I would hack every thing down to ground level, and burn it. Then you will get a better idea of how things are. You might find all sorts of things hidden under that lot, like old paths, rusty, but repairable tools.
Once everything is down to ground level you can gradually dig and weed it out to a better standard. Its better to do a small area at a time than to try to do the whole plot and wear yourself out. It's taken years to get to that state, you're not going to get it perfect straight away

[bramble]

take plenty of pics as you go, that way you will be able to look back and see all you have achieved.
good luck with it and keep us all posted.

[SarzWix]

Thanks for all the encouragement! I'm really not afraid of doing the work myself, it was more of a cost issue. As I'll have to rent the tools to clear it, and this will probably take a few days just to chop the brambles down, I was just wondering if it would be better cost-wise to hire someone to chop down the trees and brambles all at once. Just a thought - still haven't decided what I'm going to do, but I am excited about it.

Aaah, I see what you mean Well, I think that a brush-cutter hired for the weekend, a new bow-saw, and a half decent pair of shears (hand hedge trimmers) will do you the job. I've chopped a lot of brambles down just with a pair of shears, so you can cut the majority down with a brush-cutter over a weekend, and then tackle the rest by hand. A decent bow-saw won't break the bank, and should get through most of those trees, a chain-saw shouldn't be necessary IMO. If you can afford to hir a shredder too, you might be able to make a lovely pile of woodchip to cover your paths later

Hiring somebody would probably cost more, I know the people who cut my conifers back charged over £300 for half a day Although you might not pay as much because they wouldn't need to be qualified tree-surgeons, I reckon it'd still be more than a few pounds!