Time to get the goats in, they will clean this up in no time.
EatenbyCats
Just like eating an elephant: one bite at a time! Been there so many times, OP. A lot of it will be quick wins in terms of there’s only a root to cut but tons of leaf.
You’ve done nature a favour. It’ll have provided loads of food and shelter and it’ll have provided shade and protected the soil.
Just watch out for hedgehogs! I suggest poking a cane into the bit you intend to do next, so anything in there has a chance to move on.
nashile
Bindweed 😭
Ultrasonic-Sawyer
I bet there’s plenty of historical findings to discover!
A trick i had in the end was to make a pile that I’d add to, then take from for every subsequent garden waste day.
Take it a bit at a time, my garden took me a couple of months at least just to clear the overgrowth. 6 months or so just to make it look vaguely like a garden existed.
A good trick is to use it to decompress, long sleeves, calmly, slowly, methodically. Also buy a mattock. You likely won’t need it yet but it’s a fantastic tool for digging when the ground is all knackered.
Also any ivy you want gone – cut out a 6 inch piece low down and let it die off naturally. It’ll be much easier to remove that was as live ivy can still grip hard.
Also be ready for surprises. You might find plants worth keeping. I found multiple rose bushes, Holly, and a camelia.
Keep on top of it by just popping out every month or so to remove any weeds or more often than that if you’re out and spot anything you don’t want. Eventually the root systems for stuff like bramble will die off.
** edit **
Also beware of bindweed. You see those big leaves with pretty white flowers ?
That thing digs roots DEEP like 6 ft down ive heard. It can regenerate successfully from less than a cm of root and those break easily. It is your new nemesis.
When I first cleared my raised beds by the house. I dug it over and wondered what all these white tubes were, it was bindweed. Massive mistake.
For bindweed, you can use glyphosate but I’d say it’s a bit overkill, albeit justifiable, hate the stuff. What you can just as easily do is remove it, **don’t compost**, and then dig out roots if you want. But really you’ll spend the next 2-3 years just pulling out new growth. A good trick there is wooden skewers to train it up then pull out. Or just pull it as you see it.
Eventually it’ll run out of steam and die for good. I’ve now cleared my patch thereabouts. It can be done by just manual pulling and taking the root where you can.
Best of luck!
Ollieisaninja
I have a fairly well maintained garden, but I’m a little jealous of yours. The jungle awaits
Drakann
That’s no garden, that’s a jungle
6LegsGoExplore
Go carefully, wouldn’t surprise me to find a wasps nest in there.
djdjjdjdjdjskdksk
I don’t understand people who have so little pride in the space they live.
angels-and-insects
May I suggest some gardening gauntlets? We use Gold Leaf Tough Touch. Bindweed (the soft leaf stuff with the white flowers) will cover anything, so you don’t know what thorns are underneath. It’s pretty easy to rip most of it out, though you’ll take a while to get rid of it. And then you can find out what’s under it!
SeeingSound2991
‘One year to seed, seven years to weed’. An old gardeners saying.
12 Comments
[deleted]
Time to get the goats in, they will clean this up in no time.
Just like eating an elephant: one bite at a time! Been there so many times, OP. A lot of it will be quick wins in terms of there’s only a root to cut but tons of leaf.
You’ve done nature a favour. It’ll have provided loads of food and shelter and it’ll have provided shade and protected the soil.
Just watch out for hedgehogs! I suggest poking a cane into the bit you intend to do next, so anything in there has a chance to move on.
Bindweed 😭
I bet there’s plenty of historical findings to discover!
A trick i had in the end was to make a pile that I’d add to, then take from for every subsequent garden waste day.
Take it a bit at a time, my garden took me a couple of months at least just to clear the overgrowth. 6 months or so just to make it look vaguely like a garden existed.
A good trick is to use it to decompress, long sleeves, calmly, slowly, methodically. Also buy a mattock. You likely won’t need it yet but it’s a fantastic tool for digging when the ground is all knackered.
Also any ivy you want gone – cut out a 6 inch piece low down and let it die off naturally. It’ll be much easier to remove that was as live ivy can still grip hard.
Also be ready for surprises. You might find plants worth keeping. I found multiple rose bushes, Holly, and a camelia.
Keep on top of it by just popping out every month or so to remove any weeds or more often than that if you’re out and spot anything you don’t want. Eventually the root systems for stuff like bramble will die off.
** edit **
Also beware of bindweed. You see those big leaves with pretty white flowers ?
That thing digs roots DEEP like 6 ft down ive heard. It can regenerate successfully from less than a cm of root and those break easily. It is your new nemesis.
When I first cleared my raised beds by the house. I dug it over and wondered what all these white tubes were, it was bindweed. Massive mistake.
For bindweed, you can use glyphosate but I’d say it’s a bit overkill, albeit justifiable, hate the stuff. What you can just as easily do is remove it, **don’t compost**, and then dig out roots if you want. But really you’ll spend the next 2-3 years just pulling out new growth. A good trick there is wooden skewers to train it up then pull out. Or just pull it as you see it.
Eventually it’ll run out of steam and die for good. I’ve now cleared my patch thereabouts. It can be done by just manual pulling and taking the root where you can.
Best of luck!
I have a fairly well maintained garden, but I’m a little jealous of yours. The jungle awaits
That’s no garden, that’s a jungle
Go carefully, wouldn’t surprise me to find a wasps nest in there.
I don’t understand people who have so little pride in the space they live.
May I suggest some gardening gauntlets? We use Gold Leaf Tough Touch. Bindweed (the soft leaf stuff with the white flowers) will cover anything, so you don’t know what thorns are underneath. It’s pretty easy to rip most of it out, though you’ll take a while to get rid of it. And then you can find out what’s under it!
‘One year to seed, seven years to weed’. An old gardeners saying.
Borrow some goats ! 🐐