I'm eyeing a 50-acre property to plant fruit trees and vegetables. There is a rather ideal property that is overgrown with thistles feet tall. We are talking about 50 acres of this stuff. Before I buy, I want to know if there is any way to get rid of this weed once and for all...
Here is a picture:
Check with the local agricultural extension office. e.g. http://www.agrisk.umn.edu/cache/ARL02967.htm They can be managed, but effort is required and management varies with the exact type of thistle as well as your personal choices (such as herbicides or not, though many are actually quite hard to kill with herbicides alone.)
If your 50 acres is surrounded by more thistle-infested lands, re-infestion by seeds from neighboring lands will be an ongoing issue.
This applies to the US, if not here, you would need to look for similar organizations.
Thistles are no more a problem than any other undesirable plant. There are so many species of thistles that you really need to find out which one you have. From this photo this is not possible (If I knew where and what time of year I may be able to make a good guess). There are ways of getting rid of nearly anything. But I wonder if you looked into even more important aspects of this land. First, I would see if this property is suitable for what you want to grow. There may be issues with too much water, too little water (or access to irrigation water), alkalinity, salinity, or many other things that would make this property unsuitable for what you want to grow. The Soil Conservation Service, now the Natural Resource Conservation Service can be very helpful http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/site/soils/home/. They have soil maps (this is where the old name is important to know) and associated data that will tell you a lot. Some of these are online, some you need to seek out at their offices, which are in many communities where agriculture is carried out. Find out what soil type you have and what is suggested that it can be used for. There is a huge amount of data concerning relevant soils such as suitability for agriculture etc. If you have difficulty call your local office - that's what they are there for. The extension service (often called the County Extension Service, for your county) for most states is also very helpful. There is usually a fruit/orchard specialist as well as horticulturist on the staff or somewhere in your state. They will usually come out to see the area if you are really serious. They can tell you how to get rid of the thistles, as well as whatever else you may need to do to grow what you want on the property.
