I've been doing battle with my privet hedge for 20 years. I've sawn, hacked, ripped her and bit her, stuck her with knives in the side of the dawn etc, but made little progress with drawing those stumps out of the ground, even when I employed my Mighty Bar and levered with all my might. Today, I cast aside my puny tools, and my patience and tore her out with my bare hands! Here's a shot of the action. It took 10 full minutes.
Sometimes, Might is Right!
Thank you, Daniel of Mennie's Mini-dig.
10 comments:
Why didn't you just cut it and paint glyphosate on the stumps!!!
Why, Shunda?
Why didn't I?
You've got me. Glyphosate and I should be mates, eh!
I don't know...we just don't get on!
And the hydraulic excavator is ok??
Often it's the lesser of two evils, glyphosate has done wonders for regenerating native bush and the like, and getting rid of nasty weeds like privet!
Used responsibly and sparingly I think it has it's place in this highly modified landscape of ours.
By buying your glyphosate, Shunda, you're encouraging the company that produces it to make more and to keep to the programme of development they've got - the same programme that gave us the big nasty brothers in the toxic herbicide/pesticide/fungicide/biocide family
I hope you moved the canoes
In the nick of time. I didn't tell Daniel about the beehive. I didn't want to worry him unnecessarily.
There were no casualties.
Well what am I supposed to do about all those weeds!!
I like your idea in principle, but there are aspects of my work that make it hard to find cost effective alternatives to control weeds.
Yorkshire fog sux!!
You're compromised by your need to earn a crust, Shunda, as most of us are.
Permaculture allows you to turn your old systems on their heads, but only on your own land. A natural approach to civic plantings might not end well.
What I am experimenting with is planting to cover as much ground as possible with low growing shrubs (that can be pruned easily if necessary) to minimise weed spraying.
The problem with civic planting is that you have to fit in with the public perception of what a "proper" garden looks like.
I am trying to simulate dry river beds and the like using stones and rocks, but unfortunately weed mat is usually necessary to suit maintenance targets.
Still, I have made progress considering gardening up here once consisted of a pile of coal on the front lawn!
The Classic Coast Coal Garden.
Call Maggie Barry now!
You've still not told us of your new venture :-)
Is it coal gardening?
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