Dan's Power Scythe

Once upon a time we had a sickle mower.

our old sickle mower

It was a great alternative to the scythe, as it could cover more ground, more quickly. Not that we're always in a tearing hurry to get things done, but sometimes expediency is helpful. Unfortunately, this Troy Bilt was discontinued years ago, and replacement parts are impossible to find. Eventually, it stopped running and Dan couldn't fix it. So that was that. 

Since then, Dan's done all of the hay cutting, wheat harvesting, and tall pasture grass mowing with his scythe. But we've discussed options. Such as a new walk-behind sickle mower (selling for something like $6000), a sickle bar for the tractor (large and also expensive). or better yet, a sickle attachment for our old John Deere garden tractor. It will take attachments, except the small bars are now longer manufactured, and we have searched in vain for a used one. 

What about "inventing" something of our own? We discussed that for years. The best idea we could come up with was to somehow rig a hedge trimmer for sickle work. Here's Dan's first experiment.

Dan's power scythe, the prototype

He attached a hedge trimmer to the snath (handle) of his old American scythe (he prefers to use his European scythe) Here's it's first test run.

As you can see, it worked well. It even cuts through clump grass easily! (Something the scythe doesn't do well). Even so, it needed improvements. For one thing the wooden snath made it even heavier than it already is, and the controls couldn't be accessed except by bending over (not always convenient.)

Here's version 2. 

Lighter aluminum frame

Hand control for the throttle

 

Wiring for the throttle.

Here's version 2's test run.

That went well, so the next test was to put it to work, cutting a small patch of hay. It worked really well. He's able to catch the cut grass on the trimmer's blade guard and then lay it down in nice, neat rows. 

Can you see the rows? (Probably not enough contrast.)

As with most of our tools, we have both a power version and a manual version. We'll take advantage of the benefits of power tools while we can, but we have a backup in case we need it. 

Dan's Power Scythe  © July 2023

by Leigh at http://www.5acresandadream.com

Unexpected Hay Harvest

The paddock was thick with lush grass. The only thing was, that's not what I planted. What I planted was grain sorghum, cushaws, amaranth, black turtle beans, and a living mulch of ladino clover. But all we could see was grass; completely engulfing everything else, except some of the cushaws, which have managed to send out quite a few sprawling vines over the top. So much for weed control.

It looked really good though, and we wondered what it was. In looking through a website about native grasses, my best guess is Florida paspalum. I would have liked to turn the goats into it, except I didn't want them eating the few planted plants that actually made it. What else to do but cut it for hay.

Dan has both high-tech and low-tech tools for haying: a sickle mower and a scythe. This would be a good job for the sickle mower, but it's on the fritz (again) and at a point where replacement parts can't be found. That's the bad thing about buying older used equipment. Fortunately he still has the scythe.

Actually, he has two scythes. The first he bought is an American scythe (shown in this blog post, "New hand Tools"). The one he prefers is pictured above, a European scythe (which I thought I had blogged about but apparently not because I can't find a post about it.) He prefers it for several reasons.

I don't know who manufacturers American scythes, but they are all the same size and have fixed hand grips. Unfortunately, that size is only appropriate for a very short person. Anyone taller has to stoop to use it. That's tiring! Comfortable scything is done with a straight back. The rhythmic swinging movement is in the hips. Because people are different sizes, there is no one-size-fits-all tool for the job. That means the American scythe is only going to be useful for a limited number of folks. 

European scythes are ordered according to one's height. The snath (wooden part) is straighter, lighter weight, and has hand grips that are adjustable. All of that makes it comfortable to use.

Unlike the American scythe, a variety of blades are available for European scythes. Dan has been slowly acquiring different blades and finds it's very helpful to have a choice depending on vegetation and terrain.

The other tool we've found extremely useful for haying is a hay rake.

Ours is wood but nylon hay rakes are also available. We used to use a garden rake, but the hard tines continually got caught in the underlying uncut vegetation. A proper hay rake makes the job of turning and raking up so much easier!

Dan tried to work around the cushaw vines and discovered one squash.

My black turtle beans were completely engulfed and didn't do well, but I managed to find a small harvest of dried bean pods. He left the grain sorghum too, which hasn't done well either. It looks pretty spindly and I suspect it's getting too much shade.

However, if I can at least get a seed crop out of it and the black turtle beans for next year, then I'll feel like I at least broke even. Ditto for the amaranth.

The funny thing is that Dan had recently suggested that we use this paddock for growing our hay next year. It appears nature got a jump start on that one.

The grass was thick and took several days of turning to dry it. It dried more brown than green, but had a very nice scent. Once dry, we raked it up and carted if off to the barn. That evening the goats all got a sample. Approved!

Native grasses tend to be regional. If you are interested in identifying some of your own native grasses, head on over to this article at On Pasture online magazine. It has links to good resources for identifying those native grasses by your region.

Unexpected Hay Harvest © August 2018 by

Leigh at http://www.5acresandadream.com/