Eradicating saplings and brambles

[weekender21]

My new plots are pretty rough. We made a decision to leave many of the small saplings and Blackberries in order to save the topsoil. Lime was added to each plot along with WR and MRC.

I’d prefer not to plow or disc although a neighbor could possibly help me out with that if required.

My plan is to observe how many of the unwanted saplings and briars persist then eliminate them. What’s the best way to do this? Would mowing alone kill the saplings and briars over time?

If mowing (bush hog or trimmer) doesn’t work then spot treatment with herbicide is my next plan. As a last resort I’ll nuke the plot annually until the brush is gone.

Will glyphosate terminate the saplings and briars or would something else be better?

Pictured is one of the more extreme examples. This particular spot is steep enough that it may become an orchard instead of a food plot.

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[ncnat]

I that was my plot and it was planted with WR and MRC I would not do anything except high mow this spring and summer. Late summer I would come in with a disc and cut now more than two inches deep and really tear it up then do my fall planting.

 

[Charleston Treeman]

A high rate of gly will kill woody plants. It may take a few sprays. I've found that tryclopyr does a better job with less sprays.

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[Mennoniteman]

Mowing without spraying takes care of anything in the types of species that you are talking about, especially for food plots, as in, it's not your front lawn. However, I agree with ncnat, I'd just let it go, and do a throw n mow for the next plot. Your briars can really get going in one summer though, you could always knock them back with a weed whacker if they start shading your clover. When you have bare dirt like that you just want something growing, anything, weeds whatever, just not bare dirt. Bare dirt loses nutrients at an amazing speed. So go easy on the spraying for now. And discing on slopes is a worse option yet, you will see your topsoil washing down the hill.

 

[coolbrze0]

Looks like it's going to be a nice little plot in the middle of the woods. I'd let everything start growing back this summer & spray it heavily then plant this fall.

 

[j-bird]

Mow... The plants will rebound...but will use stored energy in their roots to do it...then mow again, and again and eventually the root doesn't have the energy and the plant dies. Also the fresh growth of briars and saplings can be of interest to the deer as well.

 

[weekender21]

Mow... The plants will rebound...but will use stored energy in their roots to do it...then mow again, and again and eventually the root doesn't have the energy and the plant dies. Also the fresh growth of briars and saplings can be of interest to the deer as well.

Good point, extra deer food.

Might try the no chemicals route this first year. If the saplings persist I’ll try spot treatment before nuking the entire plot.


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[Tap]

Mow... The plants will rebound...but will use stored energy in their roots to do it...then mow again, and again and eventually the root doesn't have the energy and the plant dies. Also the fresh growth of briars and saplings can be of interest to the deer as well.

I agree.
IME, it takes a few years to go from early succession growth to a healthy plot.
Make it a slower progression to insure you have living roots on slopes like that. Protect that soil!

 

[weekender21]

Good advice, we weren’t about to push those roots and topsoil down the hill.


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