Blackberry

I like weeds because they are tough survivors
plus they are job security because I am a gardener
my favorite weed is the himalayan blackberry spread by birds eating the berries and dropping the seeds
blackberry seeds grow into huge thick canes and impassable thickets
tips touch the dirt, grow more roots, and up they go again arching into the sky
to remove them by hand
you need a good pair of gloves and a spade

Find the roots, they look like this
you want to get the whole nugget, not only cut the top
if you just cut the canes, it resprouts and hunkers down for the fight
so dig all around about eight ten inches deep
use the spade like a spear in a cutting motion
watch out for buried pipes and conduits
it is extra difficult when the blackberry root is tangled inside a tree root

When you pull the big root out of the earth it looks something like this

or this
try to get as much of the root as possible
that will slow it down over time
our goal is not total eradication, just management and some control
in localized place

if you tug on the small end of the vine
where a young stem touched down and rooted
the roots may be white and fibrous
these fine branching roots are usually pretty easy to pluck from moist soil
they havent yet grown that obstinate woody hunk of anchorage

if you are lucky and you pull out the whole vine
it is a happy and satisfying feeling
like you battled a small beast and won
bloody cuts on your arms
make sure you soap and clean it later
all the way up the forearms past the elbows

then its time to pack em up
you fold the vine back and forth
same as you would for a 100’ climbing rope or an outdoor extension cord

at the end of the vine I like to use the thin apical stem to tie it together in a neat manner
so bundle it across perpendicular to the bundle
the spines grab itself and holds it all tight for easy transport
you do this for a bit and pretty soon its a whole burlap full of the stuff

thats it!
I weed algerian ivy in the same way
make little packages of weeds


the ivy pulls easier than blackberry
but it is not as fun or as exciting
because ivy does not put up a fight as hard as good ol
Rubus discolor Rubus armeniacus
my favorite weed