I have been waiting for some one else to answer this.
Unfortunately gardening is a lot of back -breaking work :(

Are you talking about just little seedling ( under a cabbage palm ? )
or do you need a little tractor ? Can you hire someone ?

We originally kept all of our native plants and then planned around them with the other needs and wants.
But after the 04/05 storms we went out and spent a big chunka change on a Kubota. One of the
best investments we ever made. DH is really good on it.

And I am also blessed with my gardening slave......... a strong man who loves this kinda therapy as much as I do.

This is the best I can do with the info you provided.

I can`t help w/ picture info..... got to learn myself.
Haven`t been in the mood to do it.

I am not sure this really helped you.
Good luck :)

I don't think a chemical would get to the core. do you mean the scrub palmettos that lay all over the place or are you talking the native Cabbage Palm our state tree? If you are talking Cabbage palms their are companies that will dig them and replant.The scrubby fellows though you will need to rent one of those lil Bobcats and go to work.

Hi Michelle, If you want to clear out some palmettos, I agree with the advice already given. An established palmetto will laugh at Round-up or other herbicides. So your only real option is to chop them up and dig out the root.( Which can go most of the way down to China so a tractor will save your back.) If you don't get out the root bulb the palmetto will come right back. The old folks would pour 1/4-1/2 cup of any type of petrolum product directly into the bud of the palmetto to kill it. A couple of months after this treatment it was a lot easier to dig out the root. I recognize that because of the ground water issues you can't go pouring gasoline around willy-nilly, but my Grandma cleared acres of palmettos with this method.
Anyway, if you have the space, you may want to leave some. Palmettos provide great habitat for wildlife.
Happy Gardening, Stay cool. Cindy

I agree I have seen a fellow with a log cabin and most of his acreage was palmettos,beats grass but if you want a garden that another story.

Thank you for the tips. We rented a small tractor and got many of them. I was just hoping for something easier for the rest of it. Looks like we will have to rent the tractor again for the rest. I do want some of them to stay, I just want to have a garden in my back yard. We have had a lot of rain so right now I have a swamp back there.

I figured out the pictures.. Here are some pics of the back yard....

A pile of palmettos that we have removed so far.

Wow, Michelle, You've made terrific progress. It's tough to do the type of clearing that you have already done. Give yourself a pat on the back. You can begin to see the potental garden already. That low area on the left side looks like it may stay moist since the native ferns are growing there. It makes me think bog garden. Of course, I garden on a sandy hill so I dream of moist soil. :)
Bravo, Bravo! Keep us posted on your progress.
Cindy