It's been almost 6 months since I started spraying autumn olive bushes, I'll make a note of what they look like now.

The olives that I've sprayed, looking at a bush from say, 50 yards, you can see daylight through the bush. I'm finding more and more dead branches, I mean branches that are dry and brittle.

We haven't had our first frost yet, but it won't be long. For the time being, I'm going to let things ride, and we'll see what things look like next Spring.

There is one olive bush, that I am going to cut down, the stump on that one is right at 6 inches in diameter. That's the biggest one that I've found. I'd like to count the growth rings. Just curious.

Most of the olives that I've sprayed are growing more like in a clump. Some of them have over 20 stems.

Another thing that I'll comment on, the multiflora bushes that I've sprayed pretty heavy. The tops are dead, I mean from the ground up. Who knows about the roots?

I found an article about the best way to control multiflora, it said to spray them during the growing season. It's too late to spray this year. But my plan is to start on them next spring.

We've got quite a few rose bushes on the farm, honestly they are not really that bad. That will take quite a bit of spray, but it'd be nice to kill them off too.

Thinking about the olive that I'm going cut, thinking about giving the "log" to one of my friends who has a wood lathe, and see what he comes up with. I might be able to get a 15 inch log?

This morning before work, I sneaked out to the Ratliff place, cut and sprayed the olive bushes. Pretty sure I missed a couple, but I'll get them next time.

I cut them off at the stump pretty much, sprayed them with Roundup this time.

I won't know till late spring, if they are dead or not.

Anyway, I'll keep pecking away at the rascals, and try to kill that trash.

5/30/25: Before work this morning, Dog and I went up on the mountain, and started cutting and spraying the olive bushes.

Some of the bushes that I sprayed last spring are dead, most are alive. Some of the bushes are about 50 years old, and big enough for firewood. I cut them at ground level, sprayed the base with Roundup.

Where I started today, the bushes are big, and thick. I'd guess I cut down 2 dozen or so, maybe 3 dozen? I'd guess that I cut maybe 1/3rd of them in that area. Years ago it was a log landing. Otherwise, they are not really growing in the woods. Just disturbed dirt/land.

Next time I go out spraying, I'm going to take a buddy with me. It'd be so much easier to have someone walk behind and spray the stumps.

6/04/25: I cut and sprayed olives on the King property. Intersection and honeybee area. I did cut one yesterday that would be right at 5" in diameter, at the stump. Gotta cut your way in, and most times on the way back out too. Some are just covered up and/or surrounded by rose bushes, a tangled up mess. As of now, I'm only spraying olives.

After work today, I stopped and picked up my buddy Moe, took him out to the end of the road where I sprayed olives last week. Of course the tops that I cut are dry and wilty. You know the stumps of those bushes, are brown looking and the bark is peeling off. I like the looks of them, hopefully those plants are dead!

I should have a break tomorrow morning, think I'll commence cutting and spraying on Mom's homeplace. There are not really that many up there, but once they get started, olives will take over.

Wanted to tell you this too. 10 or 15 years ago I bought a used Stihl MS-170, other than to start it up and see if it'd run, I'd never used it. It'd been sitting on a shelf in the back room. Took it out the other day, after 10 or 12 pulls, she was running smooth. I'll tell you, for a tiny little saw, it's a cutting machine. For what I'm doing with the olives, it's working good.

6/06/25: Cut and sprayed olives, house side of ditch, Wolfe mtn. Also cut and sprayed cedar trees, upper garden area.

6/11/25: Burnt 2 tanks of gas (pretty much) through the little saw. Cut and sprayed olives on the south end of the mountain. Still a few more to cut.

Had to waste an hour cutting a tree out of the road. The olives I cut, almost 2 weeks ago, are looking dead. Bark has peeled off the stumps even more.

Should have a break tomorrow evening, planning on cutting/spraying on the King's place again.

Didn't get a chance to work on olives last evening, calling for a 60% chance of rain.

6/13/25: Cut and sprayed olives on the farm. From shalepit, up chicken house road, below pond, down new fence line to road.

I'll tell you the man that has the farm leased, took his skid-steer on tracks and pushed out an area of olives, below the pond. The new sprouts are really thick. Knee high or so? Same as the grass, give or take. My brother is to spray the fence line, using 2-4-D. I asked him today to hit that area, when it dries off.

Making progress, but lots more to go.

6/20/25: Cut and sprayed olives on the King property. Above the road in south hollow.

I made good headway today, short on time to start with, dodging rain storms and all the past few days.

I made a comment above about, "cutting my way in and out". After reading it again, sometimes I have had to cut (with a chainsaw) into the olive patch. But, really what I meant, some of the autumn olive bushes are so big. It's just a bush, but some of the olives I've cut might be 12, 15 or so feet wide. Sometimes you'll need to cut the same branch 3 or 4 times just to get into the main stump.

Add in the rose bushes, cedar brush, and all, it's a mess. But I will keep pecking away.

6/25/25: Cut and sprayed olives on the farm, from the gate above Lucy's to above the garden. That's only 150 yards or so?

I missed a couple bushes. Honestly, it's way too hot to be running a chainsaw.

6/27/25: Cut and sprayed olive bushes on the farm. Garden up to run crossing above barn, back down on the high side to garden.

If this cut/spray system works like I've been told, more than half of the olive bushes on our property should be dead or getting close. I'll keep pecking away.