When to Mow your Wildflower Meadow
RHS Chelsea Flower show starts next week. And we will soon begin hay making with our annual “Chelsea Chop” Conventional advise has suggested waiting until July or later before beginning to cut wildflower meadows. In recent years this advice has begun to change. We now begin our hay making at … Continue reading When to Mow your Wildflower Meadow
Spring Cleaning with the Scythe
At last the grass is growing! Spring has been slow to get underway this year, but now it has the garden is beginning to look rather ragged around the edges. Here is how we use the scythe to give the garden a bit of a Spring tidy up. The short … Continue reading Spring Cleaning with the Scythe
Field Names of Wales – Enwau Caeau Cymru
Field names are much more attractive and memorable then Welsh Government identifying numbers. One of the benefits of learning Welsh is a better understanding of the meaning of these names, as well as a better chance of pronouncing them correctly! Mae’r enwau caeau mwy tlws a llawer mwy cofiadwy na … Continue reading Field Names of Wales – Enwau Caeau Cymru
Planning your Meadow Management
Although it does not feel like it, spring will be upon us soon. Whether you have acres of grassland or a wildlife patch in the corner of your allotment, this is an ideal time to plan how you will manage your meadow over the coming year. Below are some tasks … Continue reading Planning your Meadow Management
Planning a busy summer
What better way to spend a cold January day then laying plans for Summer? ….and it looks like it will be a busy one! Here is how it looks so far, I expect there will be more to come. There will be hay making to fit in somewhere too! Courses … Continue reading Planning a busy summer
Learn to Scythe and Learn to Peen in 2018
Introductory Scythe Course The first Introductory Scythe Course of the year, Saturday 26th May 2018, is available to book now. Peening Workshop The first Peening and Sharpening workshop will be on Sunday 8th April. This is a great opportunity to get your blade ready at the start of the main … Continue reading Learn to Scythe and Learn to Peen in 2018
You Can Scythe in the Rain.
Unlike mechanical mowers a scythe is perfectly happy cutting wet vegetation ….which is lucky really, considering the weather we have been having. The view out of the window may not be very enticing, but sometimes you just have to get out there and mow! In fact, damp drizzly days can … Continue reading You Can Scythe in the Rain.
The Austrian Scythe – a versatile tool
People buy a scythe for lots of reasons – for managing everything from a smallholding to the edges of a heritage railway line. Looking at our site at this time of year it can appear that our scythe use is restricted to the hay meadow, but this is far from … Continue reading The Austrian Scythe – a versatile tool
Hay Making during unsettled weather
Occasionally we get a long spell of settled weather when we can make hay at full pace. Our early hay making was like this, with about 1.5 acres in the barn by the end. Right now we are in a patch of unsettled weather, a few dry days interspersed … Continue reading Hay Making during unsettled weather