I was thinking about my tough vines. After cutting off, maybe dab some gas on each end. I can't see pouring any on as that kills everything
Mary that would be a lot of 'dabbing' and picking up and putting down loppers to do so. But that would be a good idea in a smaller patch. There are literary 1000s of these vines.
Vines are killing more trees but pulling -cutting them is becoming too much. Jake said I have a obsession but so do the vines. I can truthfully say in past 27 years I've saved 1000s of trees some huge some small. I'm soon to be 75 so not what I once was. Plus it keeps my mind busy. I do watch for snakes, Jake caught two more in chicken pen last month on his snake grabber. Took them to the woods and let them go.
Jakes having fun on his tractor clearing a place so that I can get to vines on fence and yard that have taken over.
Depending on how the vines are situated, the spikes on that box blade might dig down and pull them up by the roots.
Yes he tried that, there's a lot. I'll start with the fence then he can go for the ones in the field. He did make a path through the woods ro fence.
Some of those things can be nasty. And I've been a little disappointed with my 32hp Kubota regarding the stuff it won't pull out. I wonder if manual transmission tractors get more torque than the hydrostatic (automatic) transmissions do. I got stuff I wind up pulling out with my truck that I expected my tractor to get. If I were rich, I'd buy a skid loader.
Just yesterday I got a slice through my forearm from one of them, I seldom get that kind of cut though. I pour table salt on it for a couple days and brings the soreness out plus no infection. Been doing this all my life. I don't use antibiotic cream like jake, lately he uses salt more too. It burns for awhile but it takes the soreness out. The Helene took much of the forest out this time. It is sad to see.
This is how God prunes the world. All those felled trees were weak, and they'll decay to provide habitat for critters and food for the stronger trees. But you already know this...
John this is true for many of them, but some were healthy trees with big canopies and cat 4 winds did a number on some of those too. Snapped them in half or uprooted them. As the crow fly's we are only about 50 or 60 miles from the gulf. But so true about the critters, I see the wild mushrooms on the bark where they lay and the birds do like them. I'm sure the deer enjoy the debree too since we saw 5 deer this morning running together. First time to see that many deer at once.
I just cut lots of vines that were on 2 medium size trees. I have 4 piles of vines from this last couple of weeks to pull to the field now. I'm not feeling well last month, so I'm slower. glad the weather is nice. I've learned over the years to be careful when I cut the big ones with thorns, but one popped back at me today just missing me to remind me about the tension some have.
Jake is cutting a path beside the fence, so I can start working on clearing a couple hundred feet of it now. Some places the vines are 20' high reaching over the fence. I was getting them under control till my stoke happened and partial loss of vision. I've learned how to adjust fairly well.
This is what I've been dealing with since spring of 1998. I have saved many trees but also lost many from these invasive types of vines, which many are briars and thorns adding injury to the job. This is a picture like ours.
I'm convinced these black briars actually reach for you and like wrapping around your angle, bottom legs, socks don't stop their attack. Believe it or not there is a vine that checks out it's next tree victim. It has a bushy little head that observes the tree. Most people don't study these killers like I do so not aware of how devious they really are. The ones with thorns can be large, can rip you open in a flash or pop back and hit you if you ignore the tension. Other risks are bugs and snakes. Although there are lots of negative, there is also some positive, it gets me outside and gives me something to do. I call it "vine therapy".