Hi just wondering if anyone with an allotment could give me some advice? How hard is it to get rid of bramble? i'm trying to decide which of two allotments to take on both full of bramble but one smaller than the other so it might be better to just concentrate on it i prefer the location of the other but looks like a massive job to me.

We have 1/4 of our allotment brambles, the rest 5ft grass and other rubbish and to be honest, doing the bramble bit has been easier (but more scratches!) than everything else! We cut a path all around it (with manual hedge trimmers) then laid carpet on top of it then walked on it! I know, I know, not exactly safe but it worked a treat. So you have to weigh up scratches (and lots of them! Owwww) or a lot of digging. It's been hard. We've waited for the brambles to die down and we're going to put them in a big pile. I think burning maybe the only way to get rid of the stalks. I don't want to but a chipper would be the only thing I can think to get rid of them. So you've got that issue too I suppose. I've pulled a few roots up and they come up much much easier than the grass. It's a tough choice. Clearing is really hard work which ever you decide, and concentrate on a small area first/small tasks or you'll lose faith. I'd pick the nicer site with lots of sun and drainage, low crime and close to the water tap!

I havent had any experience of an allotment, but I have had experience of trying to get rid of bramble. I found it never really went away but you could keep it down to a manageable amount IYSWIM.

We treated ours with weedkiller, then when the leaves and stem looked dead, did a lot of digging out. For the next few years we still kept getting shoots sprouting. One particularly troublesome root was killed by use of the "root out" chemical, but other smaller ones nearby came back. You can get rid of a majority of it, but you will keep getting bits sprouting up - not great big bits, but as soon as you see them, treat them.

We took on an allotment at Rivelin this time last year, which was prodominantly all bramble. Between 2 of us, and 3 days hard work, we had managed to cut it all down to floor level, and have spent the next year slowly digging up sections of the plot. With a decent pair of gloves and long sleeves, I didn't get totally scratched to pieces.

Getting the root out has been hard work, and we re-dug over many of the beds up to 3 times, to get out as much as possible. Ours was complicated by tree roots as well. But it has been worth it, with good quality soil and a good return (vegetable wise) for our investment of hard work. We probably have manged to get 2/3rds of the plot useable this year.

It is growing back in places, but much more manageable. The one area we haven't dug has grown over with grass and I'm not looking forward to clearing that.

Good luck with either plot you take on, it is a fantastic hooby :D

It is hard work clearing brambles - you have to dig down really deep and/or just keep cutting the new shoots off each time they appear but it takes yonks to get rid of them that way. A friend of mine used Growing Success Deep Root weedkiller (comes with a little brush so you can target particular weeds) on his brambles and they're not so strong now...there must be a joke in there somewhere... Depends whether you are completely organic or not.

good luck with it - on the plus side I completely cleared my old plot at Hagg House of brambles and only a couple of areas grew back strongly. Next predicament is how to get rid of all the chopped off spiky bits!

Happy gardening
Vic

Hi
I too am just contemplating taking an allotment FULL of brambles, grass, rubbish. I must admit I am abit daunted by it but my partner says "go for it"
Where are your allotments ?

I have the allotment next to Vicky's old one on Hagg House and had to clear loads of brambles too - there was a lot of swearing on both sides of the hedge at the time! I'd recommend a good pair of gloves and to cut down as much of it as you can now it's autumn/winter and then dig out the roots as you dig over the plot. They are a bit of a sod to dig out and any little bit you leave in will sprout, but they are much easier to dig out. Pile up the stuff you cut down and once it's dry it will burn in no time. Keep your arms and legs covered at all times, I still managed to get plenty of scratches. It's definitely worth doing though, think of it as a long term project and just do a bit at a time and take some photos now and as you go about clearing it - it's a good feeling to look back and see the progress you've made and keeps you motivated

We also had loads of brambles on our plot, which were oddly satisfying to pull out of the hedges -they just kept on coming! However, one thing to remember is that the fruit from them can be somewhat better than the planted blackberries. We had a whole load of 'official' plants as well as the wild brambles, and while their fruit looked big, fat and juicy, it wasn't a touch on the wild stuff for flavour. We've ended up keeping some of the wild ones kind of tamed in the hedge and then also an untamed area that is about a 5th of the plot to encourage wildlife and yummy wild brambles.

Thanks everyone, going down in the morning to get stuck in, the plot i got in the end is half grass half bramble i don't know which to look forward to more but watch this space will probably have loads more questions!!

I prefer brambles to couch grass anyday - partly for the reasons Zweena mentions (19lbs of blackberries this year - they just kept coming, freaky weather I guess).

Also hate digging couch grass out, especially in wet weather, but not as bad as horse tail :gag:

Hope you haven't got that, looks like thin asparagus but has a root about 6 metres long. Roots are black and brittle, and difficult to see when digging wet soil - why can't these things taste nice...