Talking about the fruit bush, not the personal information manager.
 
20 years I've been at war with blackberry bushes. Love the fruit they bear, but they are too aggressive, too fast-growing, and kill every other plant they envelop. The annual battle itself isn't too bad. I can get them under control in a couple of afternoons. My problem, and what I am seeking advice on, is their disposal.
 
They refuse to burn. If I try to bag them up, they poke through the bags. Taking them to the dump is a hassle as I don't have a pickup truck anymore, plus it's expensive. Stashing them in a remote corner of the yard isn't practical, as even after death they remain a threat to passing flesh. Dumping them into the neighbor's yard might have negative consequences.
 
So lately I've been thinking about chippers. I'm just not sure they're capable of chewing up the smaller branches. I want sawdust when I'm done. What sort of product would I be looking for that could completely mulch these damn blackberries?

bitflipper
 
What sort of product would I be looking for that could completely mulch these damn blackberries?

Are you using plastic trash bags or those thick paper yard waste bags? And does your town/neighborhood not have yard waste pickup? I thought that was pretty common in most suburban-ish neighborhoods these days (likely to avoid people burning stuff in their yards).

Just prune the crap out of them like rose bushes in the fall. Cut off all the branches and drive a copper rod into the base. Once they're long dead you can dig out the stumps. If they manage to survive, they will be much more manageable.
 
If you want fast AND effective, get a backhoe. 

Yeah Duke and I pass some of those bushes in our walks .
Some of those blackberry bushes are dangerous to be around . They sort of remind me of  an organic emulation of the barbed wire they used in no mans land in WW1 .
 
Kenny

I read your post carefully.
 
I'd say if you have a gas powered string trimmer, with some nice size (thick) string (it actually looks like braided plastic line) you could beat the crap out of the trimmings in short order. Easier and cheaper than getting a chipper.
 
You'd still have bits and pieces of blackberry detritus, but that might be manageable. You'd need the kind of trimmer head that you can manually replace the line in, as opposed to the "bump and here comes out more line" type head, which in my experience doesn't really work because the line gets fouled and it's hard to replace the line in the head-spool thingy.
 
Plus you will feel like Shiva.
 
 
 
 
-Tom
 
 
 

James had the same idea I did.  Especially down here nearer to Portland, I know of a few people who have either had goats or rented some for a while just to get rid of those prickly things.

emeraldsoul
I read your post carefully.
 
I'd say if you have a gas powered string trimmer, with some nice size (thick) string (it actually looks like braided plastic line) you could beat the crap out of the trimmings in short order. Easier and cheaper than getting a chipper.
 
You'd still have bits and pieces of blackberry detritus, but that might be manageable. You'd need the kind of trimmer head that you can manually replace the line in, as opposed to the "bump and here comes out more line" type head, which in my experience doesn't really work because the line gets fouled and it's hard to replace the line in the head-spool thingy.
 
Plus you will feel like Shiva.
 
 
 
 
-Tom
 
 
 

Wait...  I thought Shiva's weed whacker was electric, no? 

emeraldsoul
I read your post carefully.
 
I'd say if you have a gas powered string trimmer, with some nice size (thick) string (it actually looks like braided plastic line) you could beat the crap out of the trimmings in short order. Easier and cheaper than getting a chipper.
 
You'd still have bits and pieces of blackberry detritus, but that might be manageable. You'd need the kind of trimmer head that you can manually replace the line in, as opposed to the "bump and here comes out more line" type head, which in my experience doesn't really work because the line gets fouled and it's hard to replace the line in the head-spool thingy.
 
Plus you will feel like Shiva.
 
 
 
 
-Tom
 
 
 

I use my bump-feed Stihl strimmer every day, works perfectly. Won't cut through blackberries though, you need a brush cutter with a metal blade for that.
 
If it's a matter of getting rid of them altogether, the only way is to dig out the roots as soon as they appear. Cutting them back will make them reproduce 5-fold from the cut.
 
If it's dealing with prunings, cut them up small with a pair of secateurs into a large bucket, or ideally a metal incinerator, leave them until they go brown and brittle then burn them.

I think you should put them right in your thieving neighbor's yard.