teepeeat

Dean, sounds like one good clause in the solution to the whole planning/house building mess.

there in lies the problem - money

Hi Fagus That has been my approach so far to remove the competition, but have not been down for a couple of months to clear the nettle and bracken there are also a lot of boulders and dirt piled up on the uphill side against the now horizontal original stem. Would clearing this help or would it be too much of a shock to the tree as it has been like that for a long time?? (hope that makes sense - dont know a lot about how these things work)

:lol: top marks to the man who dreamt up that idea bet he was thinking how could they have a great day out with some big boys toys and get the boss to pay for it as well the pedant in me needs to point out that 50 ton of tank with one track on the ground does not equal 50 tons on a stove, more like half and that was then split between 2 stoves.................... That said, the dynamics involved in driving back and forth at the end would have added something I'll get my coat

tricky situation On the one hand, more of us should be building and living like this, but on the other hand, in our current socio-economic set up if anybody with a bit of land takes this as a green light to build without permission citing precedent, just imagine what would happen. My concern is not with the likes of Charlie, but the money men who would jump on this and try to make a financial killing. What really needs to happen is for the 'system' to encourage this approach to 'home' building and to outlaw the current big builder, rabbit warren approach. But then cash is king - always was and will be for a long time yet.

thanks for the responses. Alec, as always, a very detailed explanation. Thank you. the tree is luckily quite protected from the wind with the trees beyond (to the south) and a steep bank behind me in the first picture. It was also choked with elder, some of which were taller than the apple hence I guess why it was reaching for the sky. The bramble etc was well over the top of the dead branch sticking out to the right in the first pic with just the tops sticking out above. It is not very clear in the pictures, but in the third pic you can possibly make out a lot of black fungal growth along the original stem - will have to get a close up. Presumably the advice given will help to fend off the effects of this or does something specific need to be done in this respect - difficult without a close up to determine what it is I know. Something else I have noticed is that a lot of the branches higher up have splits in the bark along their length. I think a few more pictures required !!

Hi folks Got a poorly apple tree that I need a bit of advice on. Bit of history - heavily overgrown with bramble pulling down lower branches and entwined with a number of elders. These were all removed in the last year or two. I have not pruned it, just trimmed broken branches. Not sure how clear it is in the pictures, but the tree you see standing is actually a branch of the original which has fallen over possibly about 20 years ago -certainly been like that at least since 1998. Always had a lot of fruit (cookers) except last year, but then not much fruit about last year at all. What advice from the assembled experts as to what we can do to keep her going.

bloody hell !!!! Second Gnarley's Darwin nomination - definitely in with a chance

I'll have a pint of whatever Pat is on :lol:

:lol: someone obviously had a great day :lol: Good positive approach to get through it

Jon - all this talk of you and orange - you been on that Cheddar cizzer again??? :lol::lol: Terry

the bloke was claiming they were a few pence cheaper than Tubex, but not sure if that was compared to the standard Tubex or the supposedly bio-degradable ones? Will have to see how they stack up and would be interested to hear from anybody who has used them? Bits of plastic lying around the place is just irritating, without getting to the ecological debate!

:lol: their enthusiasm makes up for their lack of smarts - bless :lol:

agreed - some real character coming through:thumbup1:

Son of a forester who joined the merchant navy - currently working in the offshore sector in the North sea Bought an old cottage to fix up and was offered 8.5 acres of surrounding woodland & neglected fields for next to nothing. Related internet searches brought me to Arbtalk. NFG - the secret to deciphering Jon is to match the level of blood in his cider stream :lol:

bloody hell Paul - from the city to not a building in sight. I trust you have not gone completely mad and made sure there is a pub within striking distance

the fox hole surely Jon Looks like you landed on your feet up north Paul - well done Terry

yeeeeehaaaaa indeed my old man climbed one - nowhere near as high as the one above - when he was a lot younger and was told the top swayed about 10 feet sideways on average.

Merrells or Keen

:lol: add another 5 minutes for twitching the curtains a few times surely

Brilliant Rich - going to have to try that one :thumbup::lol:

Cheers again Kerry Ferries aint cheap - looks like that needs more attention to sort out than a camp site

but the damage you could possibly have done in the meantime might have you crying like a girl in a few years time

kawasaki worth a look - currently clearing bramble grass etc that has been growing wild for many years and so far going well.

Use it or lose it - in this case your muscles. for general stuff, use good lifting technique and look after yourself with building up core strength as Spud said. Try to avoid heavy lifting where possible, but where you have to, a support might be useful, but dont wear it all the time else, as Matt Norman said, your muscles will deteriorate. Everything in moderation - your body needs to be used, but not abused. Like most things in life, it is a balancing act.