Overrun with thistles, help needed

purplepatch

We live on an estate that has until recently been maintained by the developer, but has now been adopted by the local council. Since this has happened, the communal areas have been left to ruin and in particular outside our house, the border is chocca full of thistles and brambles. It looks horrendous.

I've been onto the Council several times now, who tell me that the contractors are due in the area anytime and they will ask them to deal with this area as a priority, but this has been promised for weeks now with nobody showing up.

My DH has finally cracked and decided to tackle it himself as it makes us look bad - it only seems to be our bit that looks this bad for some reason. Really annoying as I'm guessing we will need to fork out for weedkiller. Thing is, we are hopeless with gardening stuff and don't really know where to start with it.

They are waist high and there are some fierce looking brambles as well.

Can anyone give us any advice on how to tackle the job. I'm guessing you have to pull them out of the ground including roots to stop them coming back - it won't be enough to chop them back, right? And weedkiller, do we need it?, what sort, when to apply etc - don't want to kill the vegetation that is meant to be in the border though.

Help please??

culpepper

what I did in my veg patch (briar patch) was cut everything down to the ground with a grass hook and long handled shears,then dug out the roots with a pick axe and fork. I do still get the odd tiny bramble showing through but I just cut them off with the hoe. We had weed killed this area about 3 years running with absolutely no luck but I now am able to have my veg patch.

wigginsmum

Yeah we're the same as culpeper - hard manual graft is the best, but it's a real effort getting all the roots out. Be grateful if you don't have bindweed as well!

Poppy9

Have you asked the council if you can buy this plot of land from them. If they don't want to maintain it they might sell it to you for peanuts. We bought an overgrown plot at the rear of our house from the council. We did have to pay their fees but it's added thousands to the value of our house.

Mr_Proctalgia

Brambles in particular are right so and so's to kill off - I used to do it as part of my job and the only thing that really worked was a mixture of SBK and paraffin. We used a "brush cutter to take them down initially and when the regrowth started on went the SBK, 3 applictions killed them stone dead. Also it doesn't kill grass which is a help.

HTH

Coveredinbees!!!!

sbk works well on nettles and elder too. I tried it on grass but it never did the trick. Maybe I should have read the instructions, Doh!

bernlyn

Mr Proctalgia Brambles in particular are right so and so's to kill off - I used to do it as part of my job and the only thing that really worked was a mixture of SBK and paraffin. We used a "brush cutter to take them down initially and when the regrowth started on went the SBK, 3 applictions killed them stone dead. Also it doesn't kill grass which is a help

just want to know how you applied it. did you spray it over the area including the grass. also what ratio did you mix the parrafin to sbk. i have a shed load of nettles and brambles

thanks in advance

OddjobKIA

you need to get an eyore fron the book of PooH ohter than that dig the whole area over getting rid of the top 6" of soil with it and reseed then senfd the bill to the council.

AuntyJean

Have just been told by my friend who works at Ashton Court gardens that after they have had an event (such as the balloon festival) any diesel spillage has to be treated by digging the whole area out and laying new earth before they can re-plant. It kills anything and everything for a very long time (couple of years?).