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Post by jamiecatheryn on May 9, 2015 16:23:57 GMT
Anybody ever harvested hay (or just mowed the lawn) by hand? If I get my two goats soon, I'm thinking of letting a 1/2 acre or so part of our yard grow up, getting a European scythe and cutting it down a couple times a year or so, have my boys spread it to dry flip it etc and we'd pile it up in a haystack on a platform with a tarp over. I know modern equipment is quicker but I'm not about to buy a tractor, also this seems more sustainable with less parts to break and no fuel, good exercise, and kinda "zen". Obviously if it doesn't yield much I'd buy the rest of the hay needed. I might seed it with forage plants intentionally later on (deer plot rye and clover seed maybe). Anybody here do this?
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Post by Deleted on May 9, 2015 23:11:55 GMT
I learned to swing a scythe early: I had a great-uncle who used it as punishment for various crimes and misdemeanors. There was more than one summer when I spent an hour a day watching that scythe swing back-and-forth, and promising myself that I'd never get in trouble again. . . . But I always did (I had a real problem remembering to close gates when I was a kid).
A lot depends on what you are cutting, how well the scythe is "fits" you personally, and how well you can sharpen it (in general, and to suit what you are cutting). Seriously, a half-acre is a lot to begin with; this might be something that it would be better to ramp-up to. Depending on how wet it is, my best guess is that it would take me 10-12 hours to mow a half-acre of grass.
Wear gloves, always. Learn to sharpen the thing, and touch up the edge every chance you get. You cut with your whole body, not just your arms, so stretch out completely before you begin.
And don't forget that in a pinch you can cut about as much with a good weedeater. When you just can't swing that thing any longer, you can still get the hay cut.
Good luck!
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Post by spacecase0 on May 10, 2015 0:24:57 GMT
the weedeater makes tiny parts of the grass,
the scythe makes nice long clean stalks so you can harvest the gain (if that is what you are doing)
either one seems like almost the same amount of work to me,
the domesticated gains being a bit easier with the scythe, and the weeds being a bit easier with the weedeater
got the scythe about 4 years ago
and very happy with it (and yea, keep it sharp)
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