DEALING WITH WILD BLACKBERRY BUSHES WHILE FENCING THE PERIMETER OF OUR LAND
Man, I should have worn gloves for this one!
Yes, this was yesterday morning, and my hands still hurt. In fact, they kind of feel like sandpaper right now. Anyway, here is the vlog for you folks who watch videos first.
VIDEO: HERE'S WHAT I'M UP TO AND WHY
AND NOW, THE PHOTOS AND TEXT
Part of keeping us and our animals safe includes fencing in the perimeter of our property. Since we do not have a really large plot, I've chose to make the fence extra-secure. With coyotes, wild hogs, and wild dogs frequently in our area, it is not just important to keep our animals on our property, but also to keep unwanted animals off of our land.
Since we are dealing with raw land, a variety of things exist that must be dealt with as the fence goes up. These wild blackberries were one such case. The previous photo was taken after about half of this cluster was already trimmed back. I did not want to fight the bushes to get the fence up, so I had to cut them back.
Many of these branches are quite impressive, reaching lengths over twelve feet long. For me, evaluating each and every thing on our land is important, since everything can potentially be a resource. You've probably heard me speak of desiring to grow large amounts of food on our land, and blackberry bushes can help produce just that.
That is why I have only trimmed them back at the moment. The trimmed bushes will all regrow from the roots, so I haven't really lost anything permanently. At any time in the future, I can dig up the roots and move these plants to a better location. While wild blackberries may not produce in the same way that domesticated varieties will, they will still produce an edible berry. Moreover, these are obviously very well suited to my specific area, as evidenced by both their presence and their size.
The cut sections of the plants will also serve a purpose. For one, our goats will nibble on them. Actually, blackberry leaves can help goats that have scours (diarrhea) and some people feed them to their pregnant animals to help prevent miscarriages and for a number of other beneficial effects. Also, if you've ever heard me talk about the "soil" here, you know that we are trying to build it up. Chipping these branches and turning them into mulch can help with that process as well.
So far, I've still got a long way to go as far as fencing and other tasks are concerned, but each day is an adventure and I am making progress step by step. Thanks for all of your encouragement and support, and I am glad that many of you enjoy us sharing our journey! Steem on!
As always, I'm @papa-pepper and here's the proof:
proof-of-blackberries-and-fencing
Until next time…
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what a natural greenland
How much land do you have? Impressed with how much you do on the land.
Less than 10 acres right now. Would like more, but it is enough to deal with for sure.
Beautiful writeup @papa-pepper. You are doing by yourself, you're the man. You are blessed with a surrounding like that. Keep sharing these type of home-steading cause I am loving it.
Id personally chop some of those fuckers up and smoke some bacon over them, would give it a nice flavor, Cherry tree cuttings are the best for smoking tho
That is another option.
Good post
You did it right. A protection bar was built for your animals to protect them from the damage of foreign animals. There is the wild blackberry, you have retained them, wild blackberries, this is the real organic food.你做的很对，给自己的动物建起了保护栏，让他们免收外来动物的伤害。还有就是野生黑莓，你留住了他们，野生黑莓，这是真正的有机食物。
@papa-pepper Always Wise to use the Resources in the Best Ways Possible. I really enjoy reading about how you have a Plan before you tackle the Chore.......
I try to have plans. Sometimes they work! Thanks much!
you are doing good work, saving nature and natural resources,your work is inspiring and motivates us to work for a healthy world
It looks like I'm dealing with similar work. We are preparing to fence in our property to keep strangers out of our garden, to keep our kid from falling off a cliff, and to keep predators away when we get ducks next month. The biggest pain is what I think are sumac trees and vine plants that took over the last two years. The sumac trees were very invasive and spread quick. We've been cutting and digging them up for a while now. Putting up a fence isn't easy when you have mother nature to contend with. Good luck with your fence. I know you'll have peace of mine knowing your land is a bit safer with it up.
Love.the content as always @papa-pepper .. I have put up 5 strand barbed wire before and it is not easy.