[borg]

Hello all
 
I need a little advice please with regards getting pasture back into shape that has not been used for about 5 years
The land has now both bracken and bramble growing which I would like to clear without the use of weed killers
I have an old tractor (international 454)  and flail mower( joe turner)  which I am hoping will deal with the bracken and bramble , but the problem is the land also has a large number of large ant hills and I’m not sure the best way to proceed .
Will I be able to just drive over the ant hills without damaging the flail mower?
Will it be best do a couple of passers over each time lowering the mower a little more or I be able to just drive over in one go ?
With regards the bracken can I just leave the this on the ground once it has been cut or will I need to collect it , I seem to remember reading something about if you leave the bracken on the ground new grass will not grow, not sure if that is correct?
Once last thing what’s the best time to start the work
thanks for any advice

[Foobar]

Flail it now whilst the ground is dry.  Start as high as possible and then lower.  You need to check for any foreign objects too as you go so starting high is always best!
You can leave the bracken to break down, the grass will grow through, especially as you are using a flail mower which will break it up into small pieces.
You will need to mow the bracken again next year - wait until the fronds have unfurled then mow.  Repeat until they stop coming up (could take a few years).


You might consider rolling once you have mowed to flatten your ant hills.

[stufe35]

Agree with the above, 

Regarding the ant hills , you need something more robust to flatten them....hitting them with your flail will just blunt it.

A heavy framed chain Harrow ,  a ménage leveller,  rotavator or power Harrow used just above normal ground level are all ideas.

What else do you have for the back of your tractor ?  How big is the area ?

[borg]

thank you for the reply's
we have about 8 acres of land to sort out we have a front loader for the tractor which we can use to flatten the ant hills , the problem is that the grass is so long that its not easy to see them,


thanks again for the information 
 

[stufe35]

Mow as low as you can now, as the winter progresses and everything rots down the lumps and bumps will become more visible.