Blackberry bushes in clover plots

[Peplin Creek]

does anyone have any ideas how to get blackberry bushes out of clover? I just started having a bunch of small plants sprouting this year. I pulled a lot out by hand but I figured they will be back in full force in the spring.

 

[wklman]

Mow.

 

[Peplin Creek]

Last time I mowed it actually got worse.

 

[Woodstick]

Leave them. Good browse. Good jam and cobbler.

 

[MoBuckChaser]

If mowing don't work chemically terminate the plot and start over if you don't want to leave them. Sounds like the plot may be a little thin anyways.

 

[MoBuckChaser]

Yep, and glyphosate will not kill established blackberry brambles. Use a broadleaf herbicide labeled for blackberry

Crossbow would be effective I think.

 

[yoderjac]

does anyone have any ideas how to get blackberry bushes out of clover? I just started having a bunch of small plants sprouting this year. I pulled a lot out by hand but I figured they will be back in full force in the spring.

First, check you pH. Blackberries like acidic soil. They compete favorably under those conditions. Also, as Woodstick suggests, deer are browsers not grazers. Nice clean cover plots are great to look at, but don't generally benefit or attract deer any more than plots with substantial amounts of clover mixed with beneficial "weeds" (using the word "weed" very loosely).

Thanks,

Jack

 

[Woodstick]

Around here, you have to cage your black berries to keep the deer off in the late winter. I've fertilized some along my driveway hoping for a better yield. The deer homed in on them and browsed them off like a sickle bar mower. BTW 2-4-d kills them nicely.

 

[ncstewart]

I actually have some varieties that I've planted in rows and I have never gotten a berry due to deer browsing them so hard. Since I have seen that I look at black berries in a new light and am not as fast to terminate all the wild ones that come up on the edges of my plots.


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[Native Hunter]

Blackberry can take over NWSGs in my area. Spot spraying with Crossbow works well to keep them set back.

Mowing once a year has little effect, but the best time to mow is when they are blooming. But even at that, they will have put out long canes again by the end of the growing season.

Mowing three times a year (spaced out) will really set them back when done for 3 or 4 years in a row, but that isn't good in NWSGs. However, that should work great in a food plot. You could mow above the clover.

 

[Peplin Creek]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I love the "Brotherhood" aspect of this site and the knowledge we all gain from helping each other. We have blackberry all over the woods and even some that line up next to the plot. Which is fine but this plot is small maybe 1/16th of an acre in bedding cover. My plan as of now will be to terminate the plot, amend the soil, start over. It's going on 4 years in the spring anyway.

 

[yoderjac]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I love the "Brotherhood" aspect of this site and the knowledge we all gain from helping each other. We have blackberry all over the woods and even some that line up next to the plot. Which is fine but this plot is small maybe 1/16th of an acre in bedding cover. My plan as of now will be to terminate the plot, amend the soil, start over. It's going on 4 years in the spring anyway.

Also keep in mind that the most attractive and most nutritious blackberry is the new growth. When you mow blackberry for the first time, it will encourage the established root system to push up new growth. Deer will use that just as they are eating the clover. You didn't mention the type of clover, but if you are using a low growing clover, and simply mow each time the blackberries out grow the clover. Those well established roots will expend energy to put up new grown but not receive much energy back from the top growth. Eventually the clover will over take the blackberries provided you soil conditions are ok for clover.

So, you really have a good "problem". It isn't much of a problem to start with, and is easy to change to meet you desires.

Thanks,

Jack