Kitchen Garden Forum

I`ve been madly cutting back a bramble patch that`s colonising a chunk of my allotment near the cemetery fence and trying to move further in!
I`ve cut down the brambles themselves and now I`m trying to dig out the roots. Trouble is the ground is heavily occupied by the roots of my old plum and cherry trees and roots of the holly trees over the cemetery fence. The soil is about 50% solid root.
So - advice needed - what can I use the patch for? It`s about 6 feet by 10 feet.
The brambles will continue to come again as I can`t get the roots out and I can`t dig the ground properly `cos of all the tree roots.
Is there something perennial or permanent I could use the bed for? Wouldn`t have to be edible, something beautiful or wildlife friendly would be fine.
Brilliant ideas very welcome!

Comfrey? - cover with mypex, and plant comfrey root cuttings through it at 2' intervals - burn a 6"hole with a blow torch at each planting point. keep cutting any brambles till they give up ( about 5 years in my experience!).

Hi Mole,
Mypex will allow light through unless covered with something. I rather think that HD Black Polythene may be better for the job. If the comfrey is planted with a bowl of soil removed to leave a depression the rainwater will find it's way to the Comfrey and the total lack of light will do-in the Brambles in about two season.
The reason I say this is because my now discarded setting out beds covered with Mypex and 3" of gravel are now covered with Couch Grass whereas the beds covered with HD Black Polythene and 3" of gravel are as clear as the day they were laid and that is the best part of 20 years before Mypex came on the market.
JB.

You are right JB - couch does 'sew' it's way through mypex doesn't it? I like the 'bowl'+ dpm idea too - I think I shall use it myself

Cheers

Mole