We plough the fields and scatter

[porshiepoo]

Well we haven't actually so I'm looking for some advice on the subject.
We have approx 4 acres(give or take) that is very rough, bumpy etc and covered in Marsh Grass and Gorse.
A couple of years ago we spent a whole year methodically pulling out all the Gorse and burning it - hey ho, a clear field. Or so we thought.
The Gorse is growing back (as I said it would) and we can't keep it mowed down as the field is too rough to get a mower over it.
Hubby is convinced that he can rotavate the whole lot - albeit in sections. Me not wanting to sound as though I don't have faith in his muscular prowess :roll: have just gone along with it.
I have no doubt he can rotavate a small area but we're building a house and I don't want to chuck other work at him and take time away from the house.

Does anyone have any advice as to how to clear this land once and for all.
Who does a decent ploughing job in the lybster area? When is the best time of year? Should it be weed killed first? Do I really need to hand kill each and every Gorse bush and spray it purple so I know it's done as many websites say I should?????
There must be someone out there with experience of how to best clear and level a field of rough Caithness land.

[Errogie]

Try some tethered goats!

[George Brims]

With that much ground, I would not try it with a hand rotavator. Also Caithness soil always gives a good crop of one thing - stones! See if someone in farming (I know there are some on here) will come in with a tractor and a big rotavator. Mind you they might break that if the soil is shallow and they hit bedrock!

Maybe the goats are a better plan...

PS don't pull out gorse and burn it. Burn it where it stands. The leftover stalks, left to dry until the next year, make great kindling. Burning it year after year will gradually diminish it.

[A9RUNNER]

I like whin bushes especially when they are in bloom. Maybe leave a small token area wild and cultivate rotovate the rest.

[George Brims]

There's an old saying - "Love is oot o fashion when the whins are not in bloom". No matter the time of year there always seem to be a few yellow flowers to be seen.

[muffin]

I agree, the gorse is good, not much grows about one foot here and it helps the landscape and provides shelter for birds, plough around the gorse.