Equipment for making hay with a scythe

Scything is one part of the process of hay making, and there are a few bits of scythe mowing equipment that take you from just cutting grass to making fine haystacks. A good selection of scythe blades and snaths, a hay rake, and a hay fork will be the core of a haying setup. Scythe blades You want to have a few blades to suit the tasks. For easy mowing of a prepared field, 75 cm blades are good. There are longer blades, but they suit perfect grass and flat…

Read More

Why mow with a scythe?

First up, it’s appealing and enjoyable. To mow with a scythe is not necessarily hard work, and it doesn’t leave me with aches and sore knees like weeding and digging do. If you like the idea of being out in the early morning, just you, the scythe and maybe a dog, wet grass and birds singing, scything could be for you too. But practically, I mow with a scythe because: A scythe makes good useful hay Wet conditions are an advantage rather than a problem Scythe mowing is suited to…

Read More

Biochar pit trial for soil amendment

A biochar pit is a way to turn waste wood into useful soil conditioner. This Winter with the return to burning season I have been making some more biochar, this time burning the wood in pits. The aim is to make optimal use of our waste timber, from camphor laurel we have cut to clean up the block. Biochar is said to be a soil conditioner that lasts for centuries, better than just burning wood to ash or leaving it to rot. I made two biochar pit fires and have been very…

Read More

Making a biochar fire

Biochar seems to be something worth trying here, and that involves either making a biochar kiln or building a biochar fire in the field. There are several aspects that make it seem an ideal soil conditioning process, from availability of raw material to the need to bolster our soils. It has taken a while to cut the wood, season it, and finally have good weather for burning, but we have at last made our first biochar fire, with good results.  

Read More

Home grown coffee; worth a try!

A couple of coffee trees can give you an interesting home addition to your coffee repertoire. Our place here came with a couple of mature coffee trees, growing under a canopy of tall trees. After some maintenance and two crops, I have learned a few things about processing them for home grown coffee, and decided it’s worth the effort. Although the processing is a little involved, it can reward you with a good home roast, with no additional equipment if you already grind your home brew.

Read More

Lablab beans for chicken feed.

Lablab, dolichos, hyacinth bean, this bean has a multitude of names, which indicate how widely grown it is. Lablab beans grow on a sprawling vine and will be handy here for covering slopes productively. The foliage is good fodder, and apparently will come again if you slash it back to use as a green manure. It gets the name hyacinth bean from the pink flower spikes, which are edible and good in a salad.

Read More

Rosella jam and cordial from the one batch.

Rosella (Hibiscus sabdariffa) makes great jam and cordial, and here’s a way I have found to make both from the one batch. The cordial is refreshing and slightly astringent, which I find perfect for a rehydrating drink on a hot day. The jam is a little like plum jam, with an intense red colour. I took our third picking of rosellas the other day, and thought I would try cordial again, but this time with a recipe suggestion from Hip Pressure Cooking. Her recipe is for blackberry essence, but it…

Read More