Weed love a little help

[peteyfoozer]

Since I got sick, the garden has been completely neglected but I seriously want to bring it back to its former glory (probably totally different plants & stuff) and grow as much of our food as I can. There is a designated food garden if I can get him to move the darn pig

Here’s a little of what Im dealing with…the vine is growing on a cattle panel hoop and is actually a gate to the outside. The berries went feral and I need suggestions on how to get rid of a lot so I can save just a few and plant them properly

So far, I got a tiny chainsaw, and an electric hedge trimmer. I need to find where the chipper is as there are lots of tree limbs and stuff I can use to mulch with

Any suggestions on how to more effectively go about fixing this?
…and is there a better way to post photos?
still learning the ins and outs of this website

 

[flowerbug]

i'd pay someone to come in with the equipment and not buy something expensive for limited use. we don't have room here to store more things that don't get used very often.

or rent it for a day or two.

otherwise, i tackle things like this over time as i get it in between late summer and spring planting i can often get a day in here or there to advance larger and longer term projects.

for canes, shrubs and trees i want to remove i can use the loppers to take off branches, sprouts or plants up to three inches across and they have big enough handles that it isn't a problem for my arms or strength. i also have a limbing saw that will cut down trees. it just takes time and that's what i'm most often short of once the weather cooperates.

with a good pair of loppers i can clip a two or three inch plant in 30 seconds or less. so shrubs or vines can be removed as long as i can get access to the bottom where i need to get the loppers in. sometimes i have to trim to get in there but once it gets going it seems to work ok for bigger projects.

my main praise for this approach though is that it is quiet. no whining machines or spinning anything. if i need it in smaller chunks to be put someplace so it can decompose then i can do that with the loppers. i don't chip things here (but at times we have brought in wood chips to use for mulch).

 

[peteyfoozer]

i'd pay someone to come in with the equipment and not buy something expensive for limited use. we don't have room here to store more things that don't get used very often.

or rent it for a day or two.

otherwise, i tackle things like this over time as i get it in between late summer and spring planting i can often get a day in here or there to advance larger and longer term projects.

for canes, shrubs and trees i want to remove i can use the loppers to take off branches, sprouts or plants up to three inches across and they have big enough handles that it isn't a problem for my arms or strength. i also have a limbing saw that will cut down trees. it just takes time and that's what i'm most often short of once the weather cooperates.

with a good pair of loppers i can clip a two or three inch plant in 30 seconds or less. so shrubs or vines can be removed as long as i can get access to the bottom where i need to get the loppers in. sometimes i have to trim to get in there but once it gets going it seems to work ok for bigger projects.

my main praise for this approach though is that it is quiet. no whining machines or spinning anything. if i need it in smaller chunks to be put someplace so it can decompose then i can do that with the loppers. i don't chip things here (but at times we have brought in wood chips to use for mulch).

Oh how I would love to hire someone!! Unfortunately, living 4 hours away from town makes both finding help and renting equipment impossible. One of the many downsides of living here. Whatever’s done has to be done myself. How long are the blades, cutters on your loppers? I think I have several of those

 

[digitS']

I have put several pieces of ground into their first years of garden production. A long time ago, it was killing blackberry vines with herbicide all the way to a back fence, then giving it a year of PNW coastal weather before incorporating that part into the garden. I'm not sure if I would do that again.

There was the area that was a "field of stumps" before a crawler tractor cleared it. There were a few years before the ground was very well suited for garden plants. I once followed another guy who did about the same thing and harvested essentially nothing the first year. Lots of evergreen trees were still standing nearby. I was successful for about 10 years with plants that could tolerate the shade.

Also, there was a vacant lot where the house had been taken down. Some of the debris was pushed to the back of the lot and buried. This included a wall-to-wall shag carpet! It was the second year before I could move that carpet off to the dump and make use of that area.

My current big veggie garden was a hay field before I began using the ground for a garden.

I recall that you have had some knee surgery so spading fork work would have to be out. Let's go back to the family farm and helping Dad pull wild roses and blackberry vines out of the upper pasture. Dad was on the tractor and my job was to put a tow chain around the bushes. Isn't there a tractor available to you for some work like that?

Steve

 

[flowerbug]

Oh how I would love to hire someone!! Unfortunately, living 4 hours away from town makes both finding help and renting equipment impossible. One of the many downsides of living here. Whatever’s done has to be done myself. How long are the blades, cutters on your loppers? I think I have several of those

these are the kind we bought and i don't even remember the exact year when we got them but it's been a long enough time that i'd have no problem buying another set of them at this higher price. i think we paid about $30 for ours as they were on sale. considering how much i have used them they've earned their keep and beyond.

PowerGear2™ Lopper (32") | Fiskars

Enhanced to maximize leverage where you need it most, so you can power through branches up to 2" diameter with ease.

www.fiskars.com

also, up to two inches is true, but beyond two inches is also true if the wood isn't too hard and you put enough oomph into it.

 

[peteyfoozer]

I have put several pieces of ground into their first years of garden production. A long time ago, it was killing blackberry vines with herbicide all the way to a back fence, then giving it a year of PNW coastal weather before incorporating that part into the garden. I'm not sure if I would do that again.

There was the area that was a "field of stumps" before a crawler tractor cleared it. There were a few years before the ground was very well suited for garden plants. I once followed another guy who did about the same thing and harvested essentially nothing the first year. Lots of evergreen trees were still standing nearby. I was successful for about 10 years with plants that could tolerate the shade.

Also, there was a vacant lot where the house had been taken down. Some of the debris was pushed to the back of the lot and buried. This included a wall-to-wall shag carpet! It was the second year before I could move that carpet off to the dump and make use of that area.

My current big veggie garden was a hay field before I began using the ground for a garden.

I recall that you have had some knee surgery so spading fork work would have to be out. Let's go back to the family farm and helping Dad pull wild roses and blackberry vines out of the upper pasture. Dad was on the tractor and my job was to put a tow chain around the bushes. Isn't there a tractor available to you for some work like that?

Steve

I might be able to squeeze the little tractor into the yard. Most of the tractors here are massive, as in the tires are as tall as me My knees are better, I’ve had both knees and one hip replaced so far. Do you feel a spading fork would work well? I think I have one.
I’m praying you or someone might know the answer to my next question, where do I find a replacement for the red primer button for a chipper/shredder machine? I’m getting terribly discouraged with all our equipment being left out in the elements and breaking down. Grrr

 

[digitS']

Hey! I have never seen a spading fork like that one. I may have to replace a handle on a couple soon but I suspect that I wouldn't go for that type. Still .....

. I have that kind of primer on the lawnmower and suspect that it is on many, many engines. Therefore, I bet that replacing depends on engine make and model. An internet search might be fairly easy with that information.

I also bet that it is fairly commonly replaced because sunlight probably damages it. But, I really have no idea about what the "mechanic" would need to do to replace it. Folks often say to refer to YouTube for such processes but, if it isn't a captioned video, it often leads me to more confusion than anything. Nevertheless, the part may come with as much written info as one needs.

Steve

 

[ducks4you]

Agreed with above.
Buy a reciprocating saw. No chains to put back on, and many have a piece that flips up to disengage the spent blade and put on a new one.
Regarding pictures, I either email my photos on my phone and using the email on my phone or directly download to my computer. I use a free program called, "IrFanview."

Download IrfanView

www.irfanview.com

You copy the photo, Edit: Paste, then you can manipulate the images. It took a recent photo of baby peppers under a pink gro light and using Image: Auto Adjust Colors turned it into what I REALLY was looking at.
You can Select part of a photo, Edit: Cut are outside of selection, then Edit: Copy
then I name the photo and save to my computer, where I can attach the file to my post.

 

[peteyfoozer]

thank you! I appreciate the input. Everytime I start on one part of the yard, I get bunny trailed over to another. It is definitely an elephant. Fen loves to add to the confusion, by inserting his helpful self into whatever I am doing and if it's powertools, it puts the kabash on it....oh well. One bite at a time, right?

 

[baymule]

Picture#1 with the overgrown briars. Set fire to it. The metal won’t burn.

Are you back on the ranch?