Chicken deficient Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 Any suggestions about how to deal with tall grass and nettles around our veg patch? All the rain and bad weather has meant that it is getting a bit overgrown in places. I used to maintain it with hover mower, until OH helpfully got rid of it because "we didn't use it". (True, he never did!). So, should I get a strimmer or a scythe or what? If a strimmer, petrol or battery? I am currently limited to a large pair of shears, or OH with a machete, (don't ask - RIP raspberry bushes ) Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicken shack Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 I wear gloves and pull them up. I do get a few stings however they do come up easy. My sisters have bought me a strimmer/brush cutter but I have not used it yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 If you're taking up nettles then stamp on them to get rid of the sting hairs and feed them to the chooks, you can also hang them up to dry and feed later. Don't feed them stringy grass though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craftyhunnypie Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 Hiya - we battle our nettles with a brush cutter. A bit more robust than a strimmer & will cut down nettles easily. Hubby got one from Argos & it has been brilliant! Has handle bars a bit like a bike. You must wear safety goggles when doing a job like that & gloves are advisable too, as little stingy bits fly up. Emma.x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gertie Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 A strimmer will do the job if the fruit bushes are not interspersed with the nettles, but unless the roots are removed they'll just grow back (we are in same situation). Our strimmer is an industrial petrol one with brush cutter as well as coil. It works well on all kinds of shrubbery. It has the cow horn bars & you sweep it from side to side. It's very easy to use but you need a harness with it as its heavy & bulky. I can use the strimmer around the edge of our fruit bushes but I'll have to pull them up by hand as they are all between the plants as well Good luck - nothing gets through pigskin riggers!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjp Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 I started off with a battery strimmer which is not a lot of use as they battery life is to short. now I use a petrol one which copes with most plants but I find that the variety of nettle we have on our allotment site get very woody very quickly and I end up using a lot of strimmer cord Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicken deficient Posted July 10, 2012 Author Share Posted July 10, 2012 Thanks for all the moral support. It's nice to know I'm not alone battling the triffid invasion. I'm pleased to hear that the raspberries should grow back. I didn't mean to leave him out there unsupervised with a machete - I was dealing with a nappy incident. 10 minutes alone and it was all over for this years raspberry crop. I had a serious go with the shears today. My arms feel like jelly, (with needles sticking in them from the nettles), but I think I'm beginning to win the battle! I'll be off to look at strimmers on Thursday AS BUSY GETTING NEW CHICKENS TOMORROW!!! I think I'd be too scared to use a brush cutter - hover mowers give me the jitters and I can't even look at chainsaws. Is B & Q the best bet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gertie Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 The stings tingle for ages don't they...I hate nettles and brambles grrr! B&Q don't have a very wide or industrial selection. Mole Valley Farmers has a bit of a range or garden machinery places usually sell them and you can sometimes get second hand reconditioned ones from those places. I got mine from good ole eBay but I checked out the model before buying and offset the cost with that of service and repair which it inevitably needed, so it worked out a good buy as I went for a very expensive model. The best recommended models seem to be Stihl and Husqvarna. We can strim for about 30 mins with ours and it uses 2 stroke fluid and unleaded petrol. Have fun chicken shopping! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicken deficient Posted July 10, 2012 Author Share Posted July 10, 2012 Mole Valley Farmers is great - we go in when we are down there, but, unfortunately, they aren't around here. I don't know if there is anything similar in these parts? I forgot to say - the chickens were absolutely disgusted when I suggested they might like to eat some nettles. Still, I've got a big dustbin of nettle and chicken poo soup brewing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 If you're over towards N Oxon then pop into F N Piles (yes, really!) in Warmington, opposite the National Herb Centre. They have a very comprehensive selection of machinery..... my guilty secret is going there to get a power tool fix Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickencam Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 I forgot to say - the chickens were absolutely disgusted when I suggested they might like to eat some nettles. Still, I've got a big dustbin of nettle and chicken poo soup brewing. I was going to suggest that, we do this with some of the nettles from around our allotment pond, smells fab Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
