[tuttlm]

Hi,
I have 8 acres of grazing land that I had been letting out to a tenant farmer who was supposed to manage the fields in exchange for free grazing.

Long story short I am evicting him as he has not held up his end of the bargain and now I have a 4 acre field absolutely FULL of creeping thistles.  I have cut them all down and will continue to cut them every other week at a minimum.  This will mean doing it by headlights as it's dark when I get home from work!

Short of this is there anything I can do to get rid of them?  Dig them up?  Spray them?  Burn the field? 

Once the field is back under control I will look to get sheep back in there to keep things under control.

Any advice for this frustrated newbie would be greatly appreciated. 

Regards,
Melissa

[nimbusllama]

Hi Melissa
Sorry no-one has welcomed you to the site  I can understand your frustration regarding your thistles and I am sure cutting them down will upset them in the short term.  Previously I would have suggested you sprayed them with a selective weed killer but I am not sure now if you have to be qualified to do this?  Someone will no doubt be along shortly to confirm the situation.  Otherwise you might need a contractor to do this for you.  Some years ago ago I got my paddocks clear by using Grazeon 90 for a few seasons, and now anything that shows it's head I pull up by hand.  I hope this helps and gives you some encouragement. 

[arobwk]

Welcome to the forum Melissa.

Not an expert on creeping thistle, but I understand that, if control is by cutting, they need to be cut close to the ground (below all leaf growth) and repeatedly for a long time!!  (Any plant root system that is "starved" by repeat cutting of vegetative growth will eventually expire.)
Also, for chemical control on anything other than a domestic garden, you now need a certificate to apply "pesticide/herbicide" (the training/certificate costs somewhere around £400 at last check) or otherwise use a certified contractor. 
Nimbusllama mentioned selective weed-killer:  of course, a non-selective glyphosate based weed-killer will do the trick by applying to individual thistle growth.  Spot spraying over some 4 acres is, I would suggest, viable unless you are really struggling to find time for everything else that you want to be doing.