Hi,
I have about 1/2 acre of thorn bushes that I've finally begun to clear out. There used to be some grass down there.
Currently here is the plan
Thanks,
itchy
There used to be some grass down there.
Unless you remove/destroy the roots those bushes will grow right back, probably stronger than ever. Without knowing what kind of thorny bushes you have all anyone can offer is wild speculation about how to best deal with their elimination... and some thorny bushes, like barberry, are valuable.
There used to be some grass down there.
The soil likely contains many, many seeds from the thorny weeds. When the weather in spring warms, lightly feed the area and keep it moist. You will likely get new growth of the weeds. You can then till the soil, use an herbicide, or hand pull the weeds. Any of those three should eliminate them. However, you will have to repeat this for a few months to ensure all the weed seeds have sprouted.
When you finally plant grass seed and the grass is well established, mow frequently to elminate the few residual weeds. If you mow frequently enough that the grass clippings are quite small, you can leave the clippings to improve the soil and possibly smother new seedling weeds. However, you should rake away any large clippings of the weeds themselves.
There used to be some grass down there.
I'd try:
The RoundUp goes on while the plants are growing. The thorns bushes should die in a few days. After a week or so, you should be able to push a mower into it and turn everything into compost or waste.
ok guys thanks for the advice! onward grid method.
There used to be some grass down there.
get a mix of grass seed that is suitable to your area and climate. however, it's pretty likely the soil already has seeds in it that will pop up once the brush is removed. lowest budget and most carefree ground cover is what is native or what comes on the wind.
i wouldn't bother with fertilizer. the soil is likely fertile enough. especially if you use a mulching mower.
when you cut the bushes down get as close to the surface of the soil as possible because those bush stalks will be around for a few years before they decompose.
keep it mowed regularly and that will keep most of the bushes from regrowing. if they do get too big to take out with the mower just keep at them with the triblade. i hate using herbicides but spot treating the difficult cases is much better than spraying the whole area.
regular mowing also helps it look neater. i keep the mower cutting height fairly high.
the roots from the bushes will eventually break down and mushrooms will pop up. the mower will mulch those too... i.e. no worries.
songbird
Is it possible to let the cut bush dry, and then burn it on the stump it was cut from? The up side is that you will return potassium to the soil, and suppress adventitious buds. The downside, if it is legal, is that in the 'burbs, you may piss-off your neighbors something wonderful.
Just a thought, may not apply to you.
American farmers¹ near-ubiquitous use of the weedkiller Roundup has led to the rapid growth of tenacious new superweeds. To fight them, farmers throughout the East, Midwest and South are being forced to spray fields with more toxic herbicides, pull weeds by hand and return to more labor-intensive methods like regular plowing.
Scientists Reveal Glyphosate Poisons Crops and Soil
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