 As you can imagine, on my scythe-based farm, I don't use roto-tillers either. I have heavy clay soil here. If I need to work the soil under a mulched garden bed, I use the tools pictured on the right. First, I remove the mulch. Then I sprinkle on soil amendments (minerals, bio-char and compost.) Next, I loosen the bed with my Gulland Forge broadfork. Then I use the Japanese garden knife to dig out any deep rooted weeds, like thistles, dandelion, and burdock. I then work the amendments into the soil with a 3-tine cultivator. I like this Swiss made one from Johnnies. Next, I rake the bed smooth for the seeds with a garden rake with short teeth.
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 Larry and J.R. are making progress on developing the 1SR snath. After endless hurdles with building codes and local politics, they are finally able to use the building for the woodworking division, to some extent at least. They are using Bird's Eye Ash, from a specialist tool handle wood supplier in Kentucky, to make the first run of 1SR snaths. The blacksmithing will have to be done in a separate new building, currently under construction. I have been a huge fan of Larry's broad fork, for quite some time, and I am very happy to be partnering with him in developing a series of scythe related products, exclusively for One Scythe Revolution. First and foremost, is the 1SR snath. In my 12 years of experience with mowing and farming with a scythe, and the 7 years of experience in teaching scythe workshops and individual customers on my farm, I have come to realize that the best of the available snaths in the world, so far, can be improved on in both fit and function, and also quality of construction. Our goal is to design a snath that transfers the force generated by your body motion, as directly and efficiently as possible to the cutting action of the blade. A snath to power the One Scythe Revolution. Will we succeed?
 As some of you know, I have had to move off my farm. A long, dark, and bitter story, that I will save for another time. This is the last and final thing that I moved off my farm yesterday. My friends and family think I was nuts to go back and get it, but it's my favorite "invention" from my farm. ("Invention" like in re-inventing the wheel. Haystack frames have been around for a long time, of course.) It was the latest and most successful evolvement of my Pyramid Haystack frames. It was in continues use for over 5 years, and left outside the entire time. All the wood and ropes are still completely sound. I hope to use it again somewhere this summer, and for many to come.
"Rewilding, grazing, mowing. All examples of how we can preserve nature so that we ensure good living conditions for a great variety of animals and plants. It helps to provide biodiversity." Wish I could understand Danish! A beautifully filmed documentary posted on YouTube by the Danish Nature Agency. Niels Johansson of http://www.legrej.dk talks about how he uses the scythe to mow delicate native wetlands, timed to set back the dominant or invasive species, in order to enable a greater bio-diversity of native plant species to emerge and recover. I think that's what he is saying, anyway. Niels is an expert on native wetland restoration and the scythe. The Basques have a tradition of powerful scythe competitions. Below are some videos with examples of offset competition snaths. By offset, I mean that the snath is curved to the right (when looking down on the top side), so that the mid-point of the long competition blades can be more easily balanced.  Here are 2 videos on harvesting grain with Spanish-style scythes, and sickles in the Canary Islands. "From Farm to Table" A documentary posted on YouTube by Lucio Hernández, that shows the growing and harvesting of grains in the Brena Alta region of the island of La Palma, of the Canary Islands. It shows the cycle of plowing the field, seeding by hand broadcasting, handweeding of the grain field, and harvesting with sickles. Also threshing with oxen drawn sleds. Anybody that reads this post that speaks Spanish, please add any useful info in the comments section below. This historical film shows the complexity of the scythe blade manufacturing process, and then gives a brief glimpse of peening and honing a scythe blade, and then a team of three scythes harvesting grain in the field. |
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March 2023
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