I've spent all bank holiday chopping down the brambles that cover my garden (how much do I ache!?) the main problem is blackberry bushes, they've taken over.

Having now cut them all down I was wonder what the best way of killing them off for good was. My plan was to wait until they grow back a bit and then cover them with Roundup, I was then considering covering it all up with black plastic sheeting and leaving it all for a few months. After that I'd dig it all over.


Is this the best way of doing it, anyone out ther with greener fingers than I know of a better way?

;) You might have to ache a little more by digging up the roots.

I think round -up and stuff like that's only good for one season, they'll be back next year, same time same place !

Buy a goat and keep it near the bushes... they will never get a chance to take over again.

Also you will be able to make cheese.

...If it's a she goat that is.

Do not try to make cheese if you buy a 'he' goat

Important that!

Ummm, a goat, well it's a pretty big garden so I think I'd need a couple of goats, but what would the cat make of them?

I do like goats cheese though so maybe your idea has legs Deavon (well, 4 legs in fact)

Well I like your plan UniB :thumbsup:

You may get some new growth from the seeds that have fallen last season, so be prepared to keep an eye out for the new growth next year and zap those too :thumbsup:

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Hi Pseudonym, I was doing a bit of looking round for answers on the internet last night and it seems for brambles and the like Vitax SBK Brushwood Killer is recommended - people seem to favour it over Roundup - as poppins mentioned, they are likely to come back with Roundup, I think Bushwood Killer is a bit more hardcore. There's also one called Deep Root Tree Stump and Weedkiller which is safe for pets, you can get both of them here (http://www.capitalgardens.co.uk/acatalog/Weed_Killers.html).


I don't know if Bushwood Killer is animal safe though, it says in the data sheat that it's dangerous for fish but doesn't mention pets, I'm going to see if I can find any and see what it says on the bottle. Roundup is safe for children and pets, it says on the bottle.

I went to the garden centre yesterday to buy Round-up for this very purpose... the bloke said to get this other stuff instead, SBK. It's specifically for woody broadleaf weeds like brambles.

He also recommended chopping the brambles down to about 6 inches high, clearing all the cuttings away, then leaving for a couple of weeks until new shoots start appearing. THEN spraying (apparently this gets the killer into the plant quicker). Leave for a few days to activate it, then cover with polythene if you want.

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The garden centre man sais that SBK is fine once it has dried, so keep pets away for the first few hours or so and it should be fine. He did mention keeping it away from all other plants/lawns, etc - it's not very selective!

Best thing for a garden full of weeds is several cubic yards of Ready-mix!