departed
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Everything posted by departed
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Interesting. The first and only time I've used glyph instead of asulox all the plant life died. Sorry, I meant how much chemical you applied to the frond not the dilution. Either way, if it works for you then great 👍
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My experience of glyphosate on bracken differs from yours. Yes it's very effective and about a third of the price of asulox but in my experience the run off from the fronds is enough the kill a lot of plants under the bracken. Perhaps you use less chemical?
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For the last 5 years (I think!!) asulox has been available in may/June and then withdrawn in October. Every time it's withdrawn everybody has to return their left over chemical, by law. I can only assume that every October they are hoping to have a different and safer chemical ready for sale the following year, but this doesn't happen so they release asulox again! Until there's an alternative to asulox they can't stop selling it, otherwise all the millions of pounds of grants given to upland farmers and foresters will have been wasted. Left unchecked, bracken will come back in 3-5 years. Cheers.
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I would assume it wouldn't work, if it did work it wouldn't be as effective as a foliar spray.It's not a method I've considered using. If it's a large flat area use a tractor, if it's rough and uneven use a knapsack. You don't say how big the job is but you can cover a large area using a knapsack. You only need to wet the fronds so you can use the wind to your advantage too. Cheers.
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Glyphosate is good stuff, just remember that it kills everything whereas asulox only targets bracken (other species are affected if the dose is high enough though). Even plants growing beneath dense bracken will be affected by roundup.
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I've been off work this week so can't comment on hot weather starting but have you tried the hot start method? Choke up then you push it off (fast idle) and 'prime' three times. Ensure the chain brake is on! Pull the saw over and it should start. This method works every time on a hot 550/560 for me. Cheers.
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How big of an area is it? Around here it's pretty rare to be able to access bracken sites with a tractor so our method is to use a quad with a lance and have someone with a knapsack to get any bits the quad can't reach. You need to avoid bruising or cutting any stems when spraying as it affects how the asulox is taken down into the rhizomes, possibly making the chemical ineffective. Maybe the un bruised stems would carry enough chemical down into the rhizomes but why risk it considering the cost of asulox and labour! Like you said, bruising is an effective method but takes a few years to eradicate bracken, and shouldn't be used on the same year as spraying. Perhaps if you sprayed using a quad and boom the lower fronds would get a sufficient dose of chemical to work but that's not something I've tried. Cheers.
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Nice one, cheers pal.
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Good idea. We would only be able to grow them to plug size though, as we only have a small garden and certainly no land to grow Christmas trees 👎 Thanks for your input. Sion
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My daughter and I recently collected about a dozen Monterrey pine cones to paint up ready for xmas.....early I know! But, they've all opened up in this heat so last night we stripped all the seed out of them. We've now got half a kilo of pine seed and I'm not sure what to do with it all!! Does anybody have a use for the 500g of Monterrey pine seed we've collected?? Do the FC (NRW) still buy tree seed? If they do, is it worth the effort of collecting and processing seed? I'm not expecting huge £ but a bit of pocket money for the kids to keep them keen on being in the woods would be nice. Thanks, Sion
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Lucky indeed! I've been in the woods all my life (30 years) and it's the first I've seen. Pic below shows it on the top strand of some stock fencing and that is how we found it. We'd erected the fence the night before! [ATTACH]221636[/ATTACH]
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Thanks for that. I've been cutting for 12+ years and I've never been shown/seen that cut. Looks really useful. Cheers.
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[ATTACH]221634[/ATTACH][ATTACH]221635[/ATTACH] I've just come across this thread and thought this might be of interest to some of you. Lobster moth caterpillar that I found in an ancient oak woodland in Gwynedd. The woodland has been managed for years by the CCW (now NRW) for mosses and lichen. Sion
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Might be too far but I know of a really good instructor in north Wales, about 45min from chester? Let me know if you want his details. Sion
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'No just thought they might be the better options, although this is not backed up by any expert knowledge. I'll have a good look at the various options everyone's mentioned Thanks for the advice.' I used to have a fourtrak and my previous employer had a pajero for years. Never had a problem with either (except a bit of rust!!) and both are great for towing and off road. But, they are getting on a bit now so finding a good nick low mileage one might be difficult. Cheers
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Is there a reason why you'd prefer a freelander or terrano? There's plenty of choice in similar sized 4x4's. Shogun/pajero swb, fourtrak, rav4....all for similar money too. You can find decent pickups for £3k too, they just take a little longer to find in good nick. Cheers
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+1 for fenn traps. Body grip traps kill well but can be a bit of chore to set. Plus they're dearer than fenns. There are plenty of options but fenn traps are cheap, easy to set and easy to conceal. Cheers.
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Thinking of selling up, any advice?
departed replied to voj maintenance's topic in Business Management
Shame you're South Wales and not up north like me, I'd either buy it off you or come and work for you!😉 It's such a shame that there's a shortage of decent lads. All the good ones are self employed I guess. -
Yes that filter is ridiculous and I agree that most people don't clean the filters enough. Do you think that on older saws the particles would just be pulled through the carb rather than trapped inside the filter? Meaning that even though the filter on a 550/560 looks poor it's actually doing a decent job? Do Stihl saws not have a material type filter or is that just the lower end home owner type saws?
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Thinking of selling up, any advice?
departed replied to voj maintenance's topic in Business Management
Not sure if this will help you, a couple of years ago I sold my gardening and landscaping business that I'd built over 3 years. I sold the business to a friend of the family as I was offered a job I couldn't refuse. I sold the assets, i.e. Van, trailer, tools for part ex price & I wanted him to get up and running asap so I sold the client base for 3 months turnover. I definitely undersold the business but it was a quick and fair sale that I was after, I didn't want the friend to struggle and I didn't want 'my' customers messed around. I don't know your circumstances but I'd advise you to think before selling up, I regretted selling almost as soon as I started my new job! I will be self employed again once funds allow, hopefully in 1-2 years. I don't know how much that'll help you or even if what I've written will make sense!! Cheers, Sion -
We've run 560's since their release and despite regular cleaning, our filters allow small particles through. Similar to you first pic, our saws seems to collect any particles in the black plastic bit between the filter and carb. Surely some of the particles will get though to the engine causing unnecessary wear? Which could be the reason that 3 of our oldest (2 year old) 560's have just died?
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Do you have a pic of the foliage? Or a close up of the bark/twigs?
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I managed to source a small spine sprocket so was able to use the original oiler gear. I went for a 15" bar to trial it against my 15" .325 bar & chain. The saw seems faster in the cut with the 3/8 chain but I haven't timed it so I guess time will tell. I'll have to see how things go on a variety of timber. I'll be getting a 20" 3/8 bar & chain combo next month. Cheers for the help guys.
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Thank you for your help 👍🏻
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Oh right, thanks! I'd heard somewhere that a part relating to the chain oiler needs changing too? Sounds like a simple job. Thanks
