Getting rid of blackberries — what a nightmare. There’s no easy way to do it.
Blackberries produce huge quantities of seeds and the birds are more than happy to help plant them. Even more troublesome are the canes, which can grow 25 feet long and take root when they touch the ground.
Zsofia Pasztor, a landscape designer with Frog on a Log Parks, digs out the roots. It’s tedious but effective.
The WSU Master Gardeners recommend cutting down the blackberries, digging out the roots with a shovel or mattock, and then covering with a layer of cardboard and a thick layer of wood chips.
You could also try goats, which eat blackberries. A rent-a-goat service such as Rent-A-Ruminant, based on Vashon, (206-251-1051, rentaruminant.com), delivers goats. Rent-A-Ruminant charges $825 a day plus a $260 minimum fee for traveling and setting up the goats. The goats don’t eat the roots but they do eat most of the canes; what they don’t get she clears down to the ground, said owner Tammy Dunakin. Goats also think ivy is a real treat.
For large areas, consider renting a dozer or calling someone like Don Young at Brush Wrangler in Marysville (425-238-9225). His company uses special equipment that cuts down and grinds blackberries and other heavy brush into mulch.
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