hay Archives - SpadeRunner

Why mow with a scythe?

April 14, 2023 Stephen Carlin

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…

Hay, chickens and compost.

November 13, 2015December 17, 2015 Stephen Carlin

I’ve got into a routine for turning hay into compost, after trialling a few alternatives. It involves using it as bedding in the chicken house. Now that the warm wet weather has returned, it’s time to start the process again.

Compost – dam, slashing and chickens.

October 16, 2014 Stephen Carlin

The soil in my vegetable beds could do with a lot more organic matter, so I’ve been on a compost mission in preparation for the next warm season planting. I had dug in some alpaca manure (very like sheep manure) for my beets, tomatoes and tomatillos, but wanted something more like a soil conditioner for the next bed. Another task was clearing some of the dam. It is very overgrown, and in order to launch our little boat to get out and fix the pump I first had to clear a…