What tools do I need to cut back all these invasive reeds and prevent them from growing there again?So far I have cut them back from the tree on the right back to where they are now. I continued to mow over fresh sprouts during summer. Now grass and other greens started to take over.I want to cut back another 30-50 feet. The ground there is low, and wet most of the year. This year has been too wet so I've had no opportunity to continue cutting these reeds.I cut them in half using a hedge trimmer, and then go over them with my riding mower turning everything to mulch. This is a slow process and I don't have the best traction out there. The tractor constantly gets stuck. Without using pesticides, what do I need to effectively cut these down?I also need to destroy the roots or the reeds will continue to grow. I'm considering buying a used tractor for around $2k that can use a bush trimmer and a cultivator.
Isn't that a crop?
You might look into a side sickle mower that way you can drive on the dried up ground and cut the cattails down. Do a pass, let it sit and dry out some to make a matt on the ground and then do another pass while driving on that matt of dried up cattails. Also tilling that ground to destroy the roots is going to be a muddy shitshow. Why not use some pesticides to kill new shoots that sprout back up and kill the roots?
>>2869241>spraying a marshsubhuman activity
>>2869225leave it like that, the sudden border and elevation change looks neat
Burn them and put down a thick layer of leaves
Stake a clear plastic sheet, use the greenhouse effect to cook it. Sometimes refered to as solar nuking soil, it is passive.
>>2869287Not great in marsh land, a French drains will move that water out drying the area
rent a mower once a year to cut it all to the ground
>>2869305naw buy the mower and in as little as 17 years it'll pay for itself
>>2869302Don't bother, it won't help, a bigger tractor will just get you more stuck. Then you need another tractor to pull it out.Herbicide won't fix it either. What you need is truckloads of fill dirt. Depending on the circumstances, there might be local restrictions on filling in wet spots.
>>2869225Get a brush mower and chop it all down. Then place clear plastic over the areas you don't want it to grow. Leave it for as long as you can making sure nothing can grow there. While that happens, build a wall, can be a low rock or brick wall. Just something simple to keep plants from freely creeping up. It makes it easier for you to maintain the line you fought for. Once all that is done, plant grass in the dead area that was under the plastic.
op here,the area is 600'x50' that I need to clear.Thats a lot of tarps.i like the french drain idea, I can rent a trench digger for $220 for the weekend. but then I have to spend $1k+ on fill. and delivery. and i dont have any heavy equipment to move the fillsame place rents brush cutters, but its pricy. they want $400 for the weekend and $800 for a tractor. for those prices, i might as well buy a used tractor from a local farm.im not trying to spend too much money on this. im fine with just cutting over the new sprouts twice a week until they stop growing and grass takes over. idk if thats true, or i the reed roots need to be removed. they are very thick, hollow, and sit a few inches under ground. they make the whole top soil soft, and spongy.i tilled some areas to kill the roots, it seems to have stopped all new growth there.another issue is the further i cut back, the more dead reeds i have to deal with. in the areas i already cleared, i had no problem mulching down to the ground, but further back its layers, and layers of old dead reeds that the mower cant touch. new reeds sprout there in the spring, and its way too wet to get in there with any equipment. i have to go there and use a weed trimmer/hedge trimmer to cut the new growth down manually. this is hard upkeep, so i need to destroy the roots so they dont grow there again.
So if you're in America the prescence of those plants (plants that grow where its wet all the time) make it a wetland that you're not sposed to destroy.Jussayin.
>>2869695I dont know about all that. I was looking at satellite photos, these reeds have creeped in about 50 feet over the last 15 years.There are some wooden fence posts another 10 feet back, and remnants of an old horse corral buried in all the high standing reeds. I think there might even be what looks like an old pier back there.I am reclaiming lost land.
>>2869752Listen, I'm not your state, I dont care, I was just pointing it out because it is obvious you are not aware you arent sposed to rent tractors and bush hog wetlands. Find where the water (used to) drain, open that back up. Thats a swamp anon.
>>2869795its been at least 50 years since that was a lake. I walked out there in the winter when the ground is frozen and found cut down tree trunks, and 3' wide willow stumps.these used to be a tree line back there, not a lot left now.im only trying to cut them back to where they used to be 20 years ago. there is a lake 2 neighbors over that used to drain into it, its side is completely overgrown with reeds. there is also a beaver dam there.last year i was awoken to gunshots at 6am, my neighbor was shooting buckballs into the beaver dam cause they would flood his grazing valley, and chomp on his oaks.im not interested in renting a tractor, the weekend costs is nearly the cost of a used tractor.
>>2869803what state do you leave in buddy?herbicides near water are ok like Roundup Custom or there's a higher end one that our parks in Virginia use called Aquacap.for french drain, you could look at using NDS EZ-Flo which comes wrapped with peanuts and can make a quick french drain. home Depot also sells a more thinner version.I work at SiteOne Landscape Supply and can recommend some products if you need anything else. set up a contractor account online and get better pricing than a homeowner would. let me know if I can help.
>>2869850very nice, how much?
>>2869225dig a trench to stop the roots spreading on the side you want to stay free
>>2869852about $1k/ac
>>2869225Brushcutter with buzzsaw or trident, so you won't have to bend down to cut, followed by gas mower you walk behind, instead of riding, its lighter so it won't get stuck so easily. Methodology worked, so it makes sense to continue.You could try to rototill the roots, but it may be more trouble than its worth.
>>2869225>invasive reedBefore anything, get back with potato cam and do an image search to find exactly what species you're dealing with.
>>2870386They're cattails. You can see the seed pod corndogs a few feet inOp's pic.99.9% surehe is using the word invasive like "they're invading my space" not like "non-native species from another place growing uncontrollably" like the rest of us.Again, obviously if theres a fence 20 feet in or whatever, this wetland used to drain. If you dry out the mushy ground those will die on their own, but OP has his head up his ass. He should be searching and playing with drainage like his neighbor, but instead is telling us where cattails are growing it isnt wet because an old fenceline runs through the middleWell, those plants only grow where theres water all year, so....
