We live out in the country. The ditch in the front of our property is very deep. We are unable to cut it with a riding mower as we do the rest of the lawn. Using a push mower is very strenuous. Weed-whacking is almost as impossible. We have thought that the only way to maintain the ditch would be to burn it down, but we want to do it safely. Does anyone have any good suggestions on how to burn the ditch down without causing damage to the property or to ourselves?

We had to do this on our farm from time to time. It has be, of course, a controlled blaze and we consulted with our local fire department first.

I don't know what your conditions are, but call your local fire department, tell them what you want to accomplish and ask them to advise.

We always did it a bit at a time (most damage is done when the embers go underground) so you have to keep lots of water around and make sure the area is well soaked afterwards, and even then, keep a close watch.

You got some good advice already but keep in mind you can't burn much vegaration if its green. You can kill most of the weeds with Roundup or Roundup Brush Killer, then burn or just let the dead material eventually collapse.