Jaime Chestnut

Thank you all for your help! I'm going to keep it in place until I need the land for something else. I am working in sections to fill my pine and oak covered mountainside property with perennials and other edible/beneficial layer-makers.

Love the idea to use the vines for basketry and cordage, by the way!

You mean you can't tell what a vine is based on brown sticks?! {tee hee hee}

Fortunately this viney mess covers the majority of the cleared part of our property so I found some that have leaves on them. I have attached the photos below.  

Hello all! We are working on a portion of our 4 acres, which is located on the south facing slope near the  Great Smoky Mountains. We are turning this portion, which is probably about 2 acres, into a forest garden. The remaining bit will stay wild.

But we are at square one. Kinda.

We are currently utilizing chickens to help scratch and fertilize the soil, and we are bringing in trailer load after trailer load of mulch. We've had goats in this area as well to help with brush removal and fertilization but no longer have them. Our next critter purchase will be American Guinea Hogs (maybe this spring).

Sooo getting down to the point of the post: There are a great deal of vines that grow along the ground on this portion of the property. It had been somewhat cleared of trees but the former owners didn't do any landscaping so it is essentially wild as well. So what The heck are these vines? Or rather, more importantly, how do I go about reducing them down so that I can grow more helpful plants?

(I've included photos of the area I'm referring to as well as a closeup of the vines.)