Brushcutter Advice/starting out strimming etc.

[Stere]

Very true  about the increased the fuel use.

 

Grass blades  can work well on upright grass but not very good if  the grass is collapsed which it often is....

 

The grass blade leaves everything unshredded more like scythe.  Not that good for very tall 6ft bracken as is collaspes over  etc.  A mulching blade   is better imo but   they are still slow-ish going on vey tall bracken....

 

 

 

 

 

Best  might  be the 4mm cord & jet fit head but I never tried one....

 

 

 

Depends on how tough & woody the stems of the bracken are atm i suppose by this time of yr...

 

Also the spores can be  very bad  atm so beware

 

 

Edited August 1 by Stere

[Muddy42]

18 hours ago, openspaceman said:

It's 4 patches that have invaded the heath over the last 40 years, Now I cut a bit as I walk the dogs, initially as an experiment but now an obsession. I guess about half an acre.

 

I'll revise that after looking at google earth to about quarter acre

 

Yes preventing it feeding the rhizome but the major effect is stopping it shading out smaller plants. Also there is something allelopathic about either the bracken or its litter, After the first year it was apparent that new heather seedlings were able to germinate, I might try and remember to take photos. I'm very pleased with the result but realise when I stop cutting it it will revert and take over, simply because the increase in available available minerals favour it over heather. The reason lowland heaths exist is because farmed animals have overgrazed it and trotted off with minerals to the abattoir. In less clement climates a desert would have formed rather than heath.

 

 

Another technique that might work is to roll it - the bracken gets crushed but the heather bounces back.  A farmer near me does this and it seems to work.  Rollers are tougher than mowers if you hit a stone.

[openspaceman]

14 minutes ago, Muddy42 said:

 

Another technique that might work is to roll it - the bracken gets crushed but the heather bounces back.  A farmer near me does this and it seems to work.  Rollers are tougher than mowers if you hit a stone.

We used to see this when we drove up and down forestry rides to get to work, over the course of the job the bracken was suppressed and the grass grew through.

 

My experience is that heather does not withstand crushing. I see this when the fire brigade bring their unimog in to damp down heath fires, the heather dies off in the wheelings. Had I seen your post before I walked the dogs I would have taken a photo to illustrate this.

 

When I did establishment work as part of the job as well as thinning I was involved with dealing with bracken. We used asulox and, for a short while, dicamba, all very well to get the trees above it and robust enough to withstand being crushed as the fronds died back in winter. As long as the planting took place within a year of the felling and the trees had their heads in the sun it didn't matter if the bracken lingered on for many years as an understorey. So there was no need to do anything further apart from shut the gate.

 

Heathland is different, if the fertility has gone up the heather cannot compete, so perennial intervention is necessary unless, somehow, the potassium status is reduced. In fact what happens is the green welly booted college graduates from the wildlife trusts and natural england prevent work and gradually the bracken takes over.

 

 

Here you can see 1 year old ling seedlings growing in the bracken litter, yesterday, and the bracken plants still growing until I knock the tops off.

 

 

A bit beyond the first shot you can see 2 year old ling well established and some tussock grass taking advantage of the lack of bracken growth.

[5thelement]

On 31/07/2024 at 19:45, Stubby said:

I agree you will cover more area with cord but a metal blade uses lees fuel than cord . Once its up and spinning you use very little throttle to keep it going . I prefer cord though .

But the engine is running for longer periods with the blade, using more fuel because the area is taking longer to complete.

Edited August 1 by 5thelement

[5thelement]

On 31/07/2024 at 19:29, woody paul said:

What Brushcutter you using, mine would be husky 252 rx with shredder blade. 

I have been using strimmers and Brushcutters for over 40 years and used many different cutting heads. 

Husqvarna 555rxt and 555fxt for tough stuff and woodland thinning. Husqvarna 535 and Stihl 460 for lighter stuff, I’ve more cord/head/blade types than you could possibly imagine. 

[Stubby]

31 minutes ago, 5thelement said:

But the engine is running for longer periods with the blade, using more fuel because the area is taking longer to complete.

OK .

[woody paul]

The thing is it all depends on what you are cutting to what setup is used, no good trying to cut thick old bramble with cord or flattened grass with blade. 

[Donnie]

Bought some Oregon 4mm square line for this bracken job. Amazing how many different cords there is… 

 

 

Now for my FS461 I’d like a shredder blade to tackle this in my garden and flatten it all down to sticks. 
 

Will need one with a guard etc?

 

Maybe document it a bit and maybe word will spread. Maybe I’ll get 6 likes on Instagram. Who knows. 

[GarethM]

So only' T's Tweet & T's use Tick Tok

 

What do Instagramers do, other than Jake Paul in a forest ?.

[doobin]

23 hours ago, Donnie said:

Bought some Oregon 4mm square line for this bracken job. Amazing how many different cords there is… 

 

 

Now for my FS461 I’d like a shredder blade to tackle this in my garden and flatten it all down to sticks. 
 

Will need one with a guard etc?

 

Maybe document it a bit and maybe word will spread. Maybe I’ll get 6 likes on Instagram. Who knows. 

Yes, the shredder guard is a decent bit of kit and I'd not want to use the shredder knife without it.

 

It's also good because it stops bits being missed, you can push it into the brambles like a tiny bulldozer blade and it will all get mulched.