Nice People Thread Number 10 -the official residence of Nice People

tomterm8

Helpful hint: when putting bramble into a bin, first use some garden sheers to cut them up into small sections. Otherwise, painville is likely to occur.

The area I'm brambling is actually the size of around five 'ordinary' gardens, and the bramble is taller than me. It's one of the small, not particularly useful areas in the smallholding.

I've been promising the neighbours that I'd do something about it for years but it's not a priority. Once it's clear I'll be able to keep it down by lawnmower.

lostinrates

We never bother trying to bin bramble, We use the flame thrower.

Our bramble is such an issue we spend much of the time with the self harmed look. Plays havoc for dh's psoriasis. .

Nikkster

tomterm8 wrote: »

Helpful hint: when putting bramble into a bin, first use some garden sheers to cut them up into small sections. Otherwise, painville is likely to occur.

The area I'm brambling is actually the size of around five 'ordinary' gardens, and the bramble is taller than me. It's one of the small, not particularly useful areas in the smallholding.

I've been promising the neighbours that I'd do something about it for years but it's not a priority. Once it's clear I'll be able to keep it down by lawnmower.

As well as not having any gloves, I didn't have anything to cut it up with. I did the best I could breaking it up/ bending the branches etc. By that point (when I'd picked up the smaller pieces) I'd already drawn blood, so I figured I might as well just keep going

Thank goodness there are only a couple of plants - not the bramble plantation you seem to have tomterm!

tomterm8

lostinrates wrote: »

We never bother trying to bin bramble, We use the flame thrower.

Our bramble is such an issue we spend much of the time with the self harmed look. Plays havoc for dh's psoriasis. .

Yeah, it's one of the things they don't say about smallholding.

Any bramble over about 18 months has to be cut with a strimmer or a blade, but I find that a scythe will go through anything younger than 18 months, and you can do about an acre a day - and I only do a couple of hours of it a day. I do the entire small holding about twice a year. The scythe means I am five foot away from the bramble so no pain.

Which means, once an area is cleared, it remains cleared. Except near fences. where I have to resort to machete.

lostinrates

tomterm8 wrote: »

Yeah, it's one of the things they don't say about smallholding.

Any bramble over about 18 months has to be cut with a strimmer or a blade, but I find that a scythe will go through anything younger than 18 months, and you can do about an acre a day - and I only do a couple of hours of it a day. I do the entire small holding about twice a year. The scythe means I am five foot away from the bramble so no pain.

Which means, once an area is cleared, it remains cleared. Except near fences. where I have to resort to machete.

Ruddy hell, an acre a day? Do you hire yourself out? We make really slow progress with bramble, .

neverdespairgirl

Nikkster wrote: »

Well, I definitely wasn't planning on trying to grow vegetables that I don't like eating (there aren't many though anyway). I might not display it very often, but I do have some common sense!

If I could grow a good crop of courgettes, I'd save a small fortune. I'd even clear out some space in the freezer for them if needed

You'd be surprised - my Dad's generally quite a sensible sort of bloke, but he grows a lot more pumpkins than anyone can eat. He talks about things that could be done with them, but the reality is that he just likes growing them because they're huge and fun and turn into stools in the kitchen, they're that big.

PasturesNew wrote: »

That was always an issue with dad and houses - get any workman in to do work and get dad to 'supervise' and you'd always come back to strange/new 'work' that'd been done that you'd never wanted ... and was often then billed to you as well.

Again, honestly depends on the Dad. Mine couldn't have put any type of shelf up if he tried, he can't change a plug or a lightbulb, so he definitely wouldn't start messing around with shelves. It wouldn't even occur to him!

lostinrates wrote: »

Fir says

'I would say it tastes better that it smells. It smells worse that it tastes. Then I'd add if it tasted anything like as it smells it would be completely inedible. The thing about it is you cannot eat it with out the smell. It tastes like eating the foul gutters of China town. With a Papaya maybe'

That hasn't made it sound un-missable. Perhaps, though, he just doesn't want to share....

Some things never taste as good as they smell - coffee, and bacon, for example. I like the smell of both, a lot, but consuming them is a massive anti-climax.

lostinrates

neverdespairgirl wrote: »

That hasn't made it sound un-missable. Perhaps, though, he just doesn't want to share....

Some things never taste as good as they smell - coffee, and bacon, for example. I like the smell of both, a lot, but consuming them is a massive anti-climax.

I spent a while looking for where one of my usually good cats had piddled in the kitchen to day and couldn't find anything buit could smell something that I could only think was cat pee. DH came in and said, oh....no....I ate some of the durian fruit roll thing in here, that's the smell.

:mad::mad:

tomterm8

lostinrates wrote: »

Ruddy hell, an acre a day? Do you hire yourself out? We make really slow progress with bramble, .

Yeah, but the scythe is only for bramble that is between 6 months and 18 months old. It's very fun to do, and once you get the hang of it there isn't much more effort than walking through the field.

Best done when the land has already been grazed short over winter.

When the bramble is older than 18 months it is a slow and painful process to get rid of it.

neverdespairgirl

lostinrates wrote: »

I spent a while looking for where one of my usually good cats had piddled in the kitchen to day and couldn't find anything buit could smell something that I could only think was cat pee. DH came in and said, oh....no....I ate some of the durian fruit roll thing in here, that's the smell.

:mad::mad:

I definitely don't want to start eating things that smell like cat wee - such a foul smell!

lostinrates

tomterm8 wrote: »

Yeah, but the scythe is only for bramble that is between 6 months and 18 months old. It's very fun to do, and once you get the hang of it there isn't much more effort than walking through the field.

Best done when the land has already been grazed short over winter.

Ahh, you could do so e of our re grown bramble, But its like walking on a cliff edge


The rest is probably twenty, thirty years old. Its like getting through sleeping beauty's briar, :rotfl:

DH uses a long arm hedge cutter and the flame thrower. Problem is we have dog roses to try and preserve (dog roses are protected for those that don't know.....and even if they were not they are beautiful!) and plum trees and other trees (willows) we'd rather not loose but would if we have too.

I don't know what a realistic amount to pay someone else to clear it would be, but need to consider it. I don't want to waste someone's time quoting if its going to be a total non starter. We'll have to decide what to re hedge with too.