Why we use scythes instead of a brushcutter | MOWING MEADOWS E03: Lagmansro vs Styra
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- Опубликовано: 11 июл 2024
- Welcome to another episode of Mowing Meadows where we take a look at two meadows that make it very clear why we use scythes instead of machines. A lot of people say we should be using brushcutters, weedwackers, clearing saws... but they fail to understand the natural environment where we work.
We don't scythe to eliminate plants, we scythe so that they can live.
By showing the different results from using axes, blade hoes and scythes, versus machines, I hope this video can be helpful when making decisions about how to restore and care for these very valuable natural areas that meadows and bogs are.
▶ Videos mentioned:
Our work at Norrköpings aiport: • Scythe Mowing at Swedi...
Want to see more of work? Check out this Mowing Meadows playlist: • Mowing Meadows
Sources:
📃 Evasdotter, L. 2011. Rikkärrsrestaurering med grävmaskin - kan man gräva sig till biologisk mångfald? [Successful restoration of a rich fen.] - Svensk Botanisk Tidskrift 105: 94-98.
📃 Jonsson, O. 2014. Att återskapa rikkärr ; Rapport från kunskapsdagen i Östergötland 17 juni 2014. Länsstyrelsen Östergötland Rapport 2014:29. Photos by Henry Stahre & Dan Nilsson.
📸 Bird's-eye Primrose (majviva) Photo by Sebastian Sundberg.
📸 Long stalked yellow sedge (näbbstarr) Photo by Sebastian Sundberg.
📸 Marsh helleborine (kärrknipprot) Photo by Hans Bjuringer.
🌍 Maps Data: Copyright 2024 Google.
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⭐ All about the Nordic snath (in English):
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We ship internationally, products such as our exclusive Nordic snath and peening jig, scythe blades, honing stones, and much more. Find everything you need for scythe mowing in our webshop!
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🕒 Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
00:20 Background
01:51 When we first got here
02:44 How to clear saplings
04:48 Maintainting Lagmansro
05:55 Rare species
07:15 Lunch break with the scything team
07:50 Back to work! And the time we got scolded...
09:00 Why we don't use clearing saws
13:43 The reason for this video
#scythe #scything #meadow #preservation #biodiversity #sweden #nature #manualwork #saplings #brushcutter
My family thought I was nuts when I spent an entire summer a few years back pulling saplings from our meadow by hand and with an ax, but I had an inkling it would be better than cutting them. I finally got my confirmation I wasn't mad!
Certainly not! You were able to predict and realize how plants behaive and act upon your determination!
I wanted a shortcut - brush hogging, but after this video I'll be back to manually removing the rest of the saplings which didn't get fully eaten by my goats.
My Father ALWAYS cut with his Scythe. I still have it, and I am 64 years Old this year. Now a Grandma. I use it, maintain it. Love your Videos! Beautiful! Thank You! 🗡🇺🇸
I think this video demonstrates not only the value of scything over clearing saws in these limestone marshes. but it also more broadly demonstrates principals of how favoring small amounts of foresight and attention to nature can prevent significant hurdles in the future.
Great work out there folks, and thank you for sharing! ^_^
So happy i randomly found this video, im working on creating a native flower meadow in my garden, and after 4 year of mowing and removing biomass i am finally starting to see a little bit of a difference.
@@gardentogrill970 great job!
Be patient! I work on restoring and maintaining a farm with old meadows, and it has taken many years to get improvement. Just a little bit every year, until you finally are rewarded and see a big difference!
Very nice video. I appreciate very much that you make some in English. Sadly, most of us here in America are monolingual, lol. Great content! I enjoy using my scythe.
Thanks! Keep up scything 🙏
Most people in general are monolingual. What's sad about it? Most people have no need. Aren't connected to the culture. Have no one to talk to. Not everyone is interested in knowing another language just to know it. And there isn't anything wrong with that. Until of course you cross into the states and suddenly for some reason we tell ourselves we should know every language bc we are at a Mexican and Chinese restaurant in the same week 💀
@@digitalclown2008It’s not just about the language but also about understanding other cultures. Knowing other languages helps understanding other people better. Connecting to outside your bubble enriches you.
Thanks for showing us how to use a scythe. I own a half hectare land in Chile and I became interested in plants during the pandemy because I realized that our lives can be easily destroyed either by a pandemy, a big earthquake or a national economic failure. So living out of the land is the best insurance we can have to survive. I plan to have at least 40 fruit trees, vegetables and wide variety of roses, tulips, etc. for my wife.
That sounds amazing, I hope your garden grows well!
You are a true steward of nature. You are also more wise than your local government.
Looking forward to a new season of scythe mowing myself. 😁👍
This is really about the use of a blade hoe to remove the stumps rather than comparing a scythe to a brushcutter as suggested in the title. Removing the stumps is essential to the long term management of grassland, as ANY method of cutting will just coppice the trees/scrub. Do you know about Tree Poppers? They're a good alternative to blade hoes.
Yes, I know about them and we do use them. But only when the saplings are of more uniform size and uncut. The virtue with the blade hoe is it's flexibility, it takes everything
@@slattergubben6702 What qualities should I look for in a blade hoe? I am battling many saplings of a variety of invasive species of trees, in Tennessee, USA. I was thinking about getting an extractagator, but maybe a should start with a blade hoe and see if I still want an additional tool after trying that first.
@@Guishan_Lingyou look at our little blade hoe in the webshop. We do ship oversees.
www.slattergubben.se
I'd say it's also about scythe vs brushcutter. It's _because_ the scythe can't cut through saplings like the brushcutter can (depending on the blade used) that you have to go in with the blade hoe and remove the saplings including their roots. My dad has one plot that he mows with the brushcutter a handful of times per year, and he always complains how hard it is even with the three-star blade specifically for undergrowth. Because he doesn't (need to) go in and remove all the saplings properly.
My grandfather on my mum's side still could mow with a scythe. Unfortunately he died way too early for me to learn it from him. And while there are courses, they are quite expensive.
There is always hope, thank you for posting this fantastic video. Your knowledge of flowers and wild plants is impressive to say the least.
Beautiful work my friends, thank you.
Excellent content as usual. Thank you for this channel.
Super interesting stuff! Really enjoy your videos and hearing you explain your work.
Thank you!
Wonderful video as always! Thanks
Very interesting. Thanks for making this video. And thanks for your hard work.
Excellent and informative.
Brilliant information Thank You
Great video and really informative, it’s so interesting learning about different environments and the challenges it comes with maintaining them
Thank you so much!
Greeting from Mexico!!! I've learned a lot about scythe by watching your videos
Thanks! I have understood that the scythe is very widespread and used in Mexico
So interesting about the helleborine which relies on fungus to reproduce and survive!
Isn't it absolutely fantastic!
A little bit like some parasites that can survive in our blod as eggs for many years , and can start to hatch only in a mosquito after its meal on us. Then to get fully adult the parasite the parasite need to hitch back to a human getting stung by a mosquito which carry the first stadium of hatched parasite.
Thank you. Very interesting.
Thank you!
i worked for a company contracted by the railways and we mowed around the rails and cleared bushes and trees. we were only there to fell the trees and cut the grass and bushes but nobody ever disposed of the branches and so that made it very hard to walk and do our job, which means it took longer to do it and cost more (taxpayer money). we also couldn't cut as low with all the branches piled up and the half rotten ones got very slippery if it rained. but nobody ever looks at the long term effects and costs of this kind of work and it always screws them (and us) over. lots of thorns in my skin that time...
I don't know how or why I got this recommended but this was enjoyable to watch.
I'm clearing an area in Norway at the moment. It was pastureland, but there hasn't been any sheep for the last 10-15 years. Little by little it opens up by uting a sythe. I can really recommend "The extractigator". I've pulled thousands of maple with it. It makes quick and easy work of saplings up to 3 cm. Beyond that I dig or uproot with my Land Rover❤
"Extractigator" is highly recommended👌
I would say extractigator can be very good in some special conditons - you seem to have this. We work in many differend areas and many places have saplings cut by brush cutter before. Then the blade hoe is outstanding. The blade hoe is much more flexible in what it can do. But as you say, if it is saplings that is not willow or "slån" or lilac or aspen from roots and they are not cut before and of pretty even sizes - extractigator can be very effective. We sometimes have it as a complement to the blade hoes.
Keep up the spirit and good work for the meadows and biodiversity! Thanks!
Love this
how would the marsh maintain itself naturally? Through grazing animals - or wouldn't it be a problem in the first place if it wasn't overgrown (and got too many nutrients out of that?)
Answered down in the comments
Thank you so much!
It is so wild to see mowing and soil depletion as a means of conservation
@@rockyvillano777 just need to put it in the local and historical cantext and then it make sense
Interesting, and I think many viewers will be glad you haven't given up! I get a lot of ash saplings, and you'll know they can quite quickly grow deep. Revenge of the saplings 😢.
Yes, ash is possible to pull by hand first year. Then you need the bladehoe!
For balance, my nephew borrowed my father's (probably his father's) scythe to cut very mature nettles and put a tear in the blade.
This quite interesting. I work in ecology too. And its interesting because we often use chemicals and fire to control our woody invasives plants. But it’s also interesting because in alot of prairies we are seeking to add back carbon. Get that great prairie sod that was so famous. I feel there is alot to learn from you guys across the big pond but there i also its in a different place in relation to how humans used the land for millennia .
I cleared a field overgrown with aspen sapings mostly just by cutting them very close to the ground. I have cut the field every year since with a scythe without issues. I think perhaps willow is a different story though, as you have shown. Cutting willow only seems to encourage more shoots. Nice video!
We cut also aspen with good result with the blade hoe a bit under the ground, trying to damage and sometimes get up pieces of roots. I have a video about that too. After is as you say possible to scythe several years if done close to ground
isn¨t there in addition to scythes a multicultural opportunity for herbivores. I mean whoever will do it (government, farmers, hobbyists) to get a small group of water buffalo, sheep, goats, donkey out there. Smashing the ground with big hooves and open up the ground, eating plants in different stages of development, poops for insects and more...
nice work - just learned last year a bit about scything related to etablishing a wild flower meadow and how it can helps preserving the rootstock for young or new flowers and keeping more seeds by letting them drying some dayes before removing.
Love it - nice profession
Sure, grazing is great as well. But they also need to be cared for year round, whereas we can come in for a couple of days and then take care of ourselves for the rest of the year :)
Yes, scything is the best for a wild flower meadow. And you can leave the cuttings to dry to drop the seeds, but most plants have probably dropped their seeds already, if you're scything late in the summer. But it doesn't hurt. We mostly leave the grass to dry for a week or so, as it weighs a lot less, so is easier to rake up. Which is the most important part.
@@slattergubben6702European bison.
Do you have any tips for trees that form underground shoots, such as plums? I try to pull them out when its wet but i feel the coming back each year
Hey sorry for asking but this is hell interesting. How you handle ticks?
I wonder if programs like these could be a good thing for unemployed people and refugees. Seems like good honest satisfying work
Under good supervision yes it can be!
This is like Yaupon where I am from. Yaupon, a form of Holly, grow from root runners and will take over any area if you let them. I just dug up a patch that was over 5 meters high and about 20 meters square. It took 3 full days just to remove the parts above ground and now I have to remove the roots - another 2 days work. You never get all of the root, so monthly maintenance is key to controlling the area. After a few years the Yaupon will be gone.
Sounds like that! But you have also understood how plants reacts and what is needed to do!
suburbanite who just moved to the countryside. I live on the side of a gravely hill. I think me and my husband will be switching to scythes to manage our land. Thanks for the helpful info
Historically, what kept the woody vegetation like willows and birches out of these meadows? Some kind of herbivore that is no long present or fire? How do you clean up the biomass left after scything? Great video and good work!
Yes, big herbivores that is now extinct and until 50 years ago mowing and grazing was a natural part of farming before it became industry
The area is fenced, would it make more sense to graze animals on it? That's what the scythe is simulating right? Also, I'm still not sure I understand the reason for the scythe as opposed to the brush cutter. You can stop and pull willow saplings first regardless of the method you use to clear the grass.
Thx for this video ! I'd like to suggest a new subject that I think you still didn't talk about: what to do with the grass ? You can put it between the vegetables of course, or to cover a bare soil, but when you mow a meadow with pretty tall grass it gives a huge volume... What do you and your team usually do with it ? Same question when you mow at someone home who hasn't got a vegetable garden...
That's correct, there is no such video.
Usually I recommend private customers to make a compost. But sometimes we provide getting rid of the grass just put it in the trailer.
On larger natural meadows we usually just bring the grass with tarps to one ore more composts "in the bordering forest"
But there are all types of solutions. Pile it up and let someone fetch it if it is in towns for example. Let farmers collect it rationally and make fodder or bring to compost. Burn it.
I also like to do a video with all tips and tricks about raking by hand smart and efficient.
Perhaps they should introduce large grazing animals like cattle or sheep. Ancient marshes would have been kept under control the same way.
I absolutly love these "worked experience and meadow tour" video's. l have a question, but about peening jigs. Is there any preparation work you need to do for new jigs to work properly? I have a new "Atlas" peening jig but it leaves a ridge after the second plug and i am not sure if it's me doing something wrong or the smal edge i see on the inside of the second plug.
Thanks, peening jigs is a really good invention but unfortunately no one of the manufacturers have fully understood the importance of how the caps is shaped to achieve a perfect bevel. They are all shaped in a more or less stupid way. I let a precision hard metal industry shape each cap after my wish before selling any jigg. You find them in our shop www.slattergubben.se
Thx for the reply. I will first try to 'fix' the 1 i have. No point of wasting it when i potentialy can fix it... hopefully🥶
@@leviathanmdk try, with some feeling and curiosity you can file with a sharp file or anglegrind the forging heads on the caps. First one with a flatter angle and a larger radious. Second one steeper angle and less radious - and let the lowest part of the forgihg head be just 1/10 of a millimiter from the hole in the middle of the cap.
Hi! I've been watching some of your videos with great interest. I have a decent amount of high grass to cut around my vegetable patch and i tried doing it with an entry level scythe but i struggled a lot and ended up using a brush cutter. I have a question though : how am i supposed to use a scythe effectively on bumpy "unflat" land?
That's where it is most effective! I have a few videos on scything among stones and in tricky areas. ruclips.net/video/m7j3AUjXMjY/видео.htmlsi=i92SgWkPbFHJLs2i
@@slattergubben6702 awesome, thanks! I'll watch that!
Great video, I have not yet bought a scythe (Nordic or Austrian) alas I’m not rich and would have to save up the pennies for a long time. (Though I know you recommended one of your own and I’d love one of yours). I want to do No-Dig in my garden. Growing a bit of food. I have a Bosch Strimmer/Brush Cutter, I’ve only used the strimmer part yet, not the extra brush cutter blade. And only on grass really. I don’t own a meadow, but some very grassy areas of ground, with different plants in, lots of shrubs. But mostly Bracken which is a nightmare, you are meant to just pull that out, really, and I have done in the past, but there’s also a lot of ticks in my garden (and I’ve been bitten over 40 times, one time I got Lyme Disease), so I’m not always keen on going into the garden to pull the Bracken, because inevitably I end up getting bitten by a tick…. But I need to tackle it, and at least for now I could really do with getting a blade hoe, I was going to get a mattock, this is mostly to get rid of Brambles from the garden, and maybe other saplings and shrubs. It’s really interesting anyway to see why you shouldn’t use a Brush cutter! But I still do ultimately want a scythe…
I understand your dilemma, and your ambitions are great! Makes me happy to hear. A scythe does cost a bit of money, but if you take care of it, it's a one time investment. No need to pay for gas or even electricity to charge any batteries. If you own a brush cutter and don't want to use it anymore, you could always sell that and use the money for a scythe instead :) A scythe is great to remove the tall grass where the ticks are, before going in with a blade hoe. There is also vaccines and repellents you could try. You could also ask people in your area with similar ambitions if they would want to share a scythe.
Can you get some kind of bird in there like turkeys or chickens?
That's horrible to have ticks in your garden. Dang.
Great video, and thank you for your work in restoring, maintaining, and educating!
Would it be possible to get rid of the saplings with the brushcutter by cutting two, three or four times a season? Would that make the saplings die and break down eventually and make way for the scythe? Maybe that would take less than 10 000 work hours.
Yes three or four times annually for three or four years would have a great impact on the saplings and other vegetation as well. But in this case I doubt as here is 98%willow. Their roots is tough survivors.
Thanks for the reply!
tack, mate. would plowing the brush-cutted field with the saplings then pulling them each year return the field to natural marsh or meadow condition after a few years?
Yes, that would be doable, a very radical solution and would really reveal that the county administration did a wrong desicion which delayd the process to a more natural meadow.
@@slattergubben6702Honestly it just sounds like they chose a very simple and cheap "solution" that sounded good rather than something thought out.
All they realistically did was strip away some top soil then bushhog the land once(?) a year. They got lucky on the first run, but nature will do what it wants and trees are very opertunistic and more than happy to fill the gap which is why the willows moved right in.
That makes sense. I want one, ngl.
Great video. I'm uncertain why you use the scythe over the brush cutter once you have pulled the saplings. Could you clarify for me?
Because its faster, always start, silent, doesnt smell, it put the cut grass in a nice row possible to rake rather than smashing it into debris. Also cheaper to work with, does not spread plastic debris. And you hear wasps usually when going into their nest before they sting you. Such things
@@slattergubben6702 Thanks for the reply. It definitely looks more pleasant to use. I'm trying to clear Hemlock trees that are taking over areas at my work. A sturdy chain and hook attached to a scaffolding pole as leverage works great for pulling larger saplings that won't come out by hand.
@@TheDizastarmaster yes, that's a good solution for larger things!
Very interesting - thanks for sharing. Stupid question maybe, but surely if the ecosystem is naturally going to suceed into woodland that would also not be bad for biodiversity (albeit a different kind)? Or is it that you are simply trying to maintain the unique marsh habitat?
A forest has very different species. Here we preserve them who are dependent on Sun all way down to the ground.
It is tragic that conservation isnt taken as seriosltly as it used to be. Preserving natural and historical lands for future generations to see is more important than people now realize.
After you mow, you have large windrows of plant material. If you are not cutting it for hay, what do you do with it? I had so much material yesterday, I hauled it and put it in a pile out of the way in the woods. I guess it will compost. What else can you do? What is the best way to haul it away?
That's what we do on most of our objects. Sometimes a farmer makes hay of the grass if close by and easy access with tractors.
Very nice video’s! I have a request, can you show us how to mowe a ditch side?
I could do a video about that but very often the best way is to go from up to down in like short rows. Then you naturally throw the bottom grass a bit up which ease raking and drying
Thanks for your reaction. Do you use the same scythe blade as if you were mowing a meadow, or do you use a shorter and wider scythe?
@@arnoldmajoor8767 same
I have two questions. Do you know a good place to purchase a scythe in America? And have you heard of a grain cradle?
Haven't heard of that. I suggest my webshop as I know what I sell. We ship almost daily to U.S. www.slattergubben.se
I apologize for my ignorance, but this is the first video of yours that I have seen. What animal normally live in these marshes would eat this vegetation and maintain it naturally? Have they gone extinct or just don't live in the area anymore? If not extinct could they be re-introduced? If they are extinct, aren't you fight nature, keeping nature from turning the marsh into something useful for another animal?
See back in the comments, already answers!
Is there a plan to let the site evolve on it's own at some point or are the local conditions too bad to maintain a self-sustaining meadow? Relying on human intervention to maintain an ecosystem doesn't seem reliable for the long term.
It is for some areas. The time where we had big flocks of herbivores strolling around in the landscape is since long ago passed.
Can I suggest you try a tool called a Pulaski in the US?
It is like the one you use but the handle is much longer do you do not have to bend over .
It also has an axe on the other side of the hoe .
Wildland forest fire fighters use them .
Holy crap...That's a lot of work! Did anyone consider goat intervention?
Se other answers
Can you cut 5 or 6" tall with a scythe or does it need to be really close to the ground?
Yes I can, you too!
Mulching mower for the win
Be honest, you just wanted to look 'ninja' while moving the lawn :) on a serious front im totally on board :)
Very nice video -- why are you called slåttergubben?
@@NSBarnett its the Swedish name for a flower that thrives on wild meadows. Arnica montana
would there be a s[ecies of animal, be it half wild or domestic that eats saplings to below the growth line? pigs can go deep, but probably not very selective. cheers.
I think you answered your own question there :)
You NEED to get the "tree popper". A tool made in australia
@@thomastuohy7688 I know very well what you mean and I have a similar. But for already cutted trees and small sprouts with large roots it is worthless.
Would using goats work for managing this type of area if your manpower is too expensive for local government?
@@JonasKFriedChicken got a point but there is no such service or opportunities for that
It would be good if the cut grass and stumps were processed into biochar.
Why not clear the stumps with the blade hoe, and then go in to mow with a mechanical mower of some kind? It sounds like the important thing is to properly remove the saplings, but once you've done that, what's the advantage in the scythe over a mower?
@@heliomance760 faster, cheaper, now plastic in the nature, much more flexibility to cut the grass low to the ground, possible to rake as it does not just tear the grass in small debris, always starts, doesn't break, does not need fuelling or charging. Such things is the scythe advantages on fields where you can not mow rationally with a tractor.
Where and why did they go with all the topsoil? I’m trying to understand what the purpose of this piece of land is for?
Do not know really. Biodiversity is purpose
har du provat discgolf? jag tror att lieträningen ger dig en onaturlig styrka i kasten :')
@@Toksuri1 ha ha! Ja det har jag där sticker jag inte ut på något sätt. Mina barn kastar längre än mig
I think your scythes might be different in design to English ones. I remember seeing my grandfather use his and I think the shaft of his was longer and he had a different body position when working. He was born in 1893 and was a farm labourer his whole life.
The comments are debating whether it’s better or worse than a machine and I just keep thinking about trench foot. Is it preferable to put your feet in the water than to wear boots?
Certainly, unless it is not too cold. Then I wear boots.
As this is a physical work where mobility, walking and being flexible it can be compared more with endurance running and I have never seen any friend, neither me in boots while running.
@@slattergubben6702 I guess you get used to it either way, over here we don’t really have marshes and boots are often required even when it’s not logical. Also In this other video your not wearing any shoes so it seems your not really a shoe guy, which is ok. Less safety precautions are necessary when machinery is not involved. One time I was using a gasoline mower a the blade launched a rock right into my crotch 😂
This definitely showed me the benefits of a blade hoe, not so much a scythe though. I didn't really see a benefit to the scythe over any type of machine, elecric or combustion.
Quieter, cheaper in the long run, zero risk of gas/oil spillage on sensitive grounds (like a marsh), cleaner cuts, more even cutting
You guys want an automated blade hoe? I work with an agricultural robotics company and I think I know how to do it. It might make some of these crazy jobs a lot more accessible so you guys can keep scything.
@@AronFigaro would be fun to see. But no, it is not possible, there are so many decisions to be made . Each one is a new situation.
Ever consider integrating livestock like goats, sheep, or cattle in this particular meadow maintenance? I bet that would present an entirely new set of challenges in management, beaurocracy…!
It would be great and when it is possible they are the far best and cheapest beaters of sapplings and bushes. I am totally open for this but it is not what me and my company focus on.
Will this place be able to eventually maintain itself on its own, or will it require permanent intervention???
As all meadows it will require permanent mowing and raking. Se many answers earlier in the comments on the topic!
Why not control the brush with goats? Seems very labourious to maintain a frozen succession otherwise.
I have answered that question in the comments
I think if you used cattle a few times a year for a day or two you would see a huge improvement.
That's true, unfortunately we can not. Read more earlier in the comments
Hello. I watched a lot of your videos. I am curious to know why your holding your scythe with the handgrips opposite way ? It should be on your side of the handle.
This is the Nordic snath that is my own design, you can see more in our webshop and even make orders, we ship worldwide. www.slattergubben.se
Will it be possible to leave these meadows unmanaged at some point? Maybe some large plant eaters are needed to ‘cut the grass’ and prevent new trees from growing.
@@Conservator. Yes and they are not there. So the few remaining limemarshes we do have in the area with concurrence weak plants is needed to be taking care of
@@slattergubben6702 Thanks!
Maybe I missed it, how long does it take to mow .5 hectare with a scythe
Mow and handrake one hectar is in average around 70 hours for our team
So then, why does the county want traditional scythes to be used instead of a modern mower?
Didn't get that answer either. I mean, I understand why you wouldn't want to use string trimmer that spits bits of plastic trash left and right and is mulching the grass (they want to be able remove it), but there are options that are pretty quiet (electric), do not mulch the grass, and don't produce plastic waste, e.g. blade trimmers or, better yet, ground trimmers or plain hedge trimmers with a long shaft that you can use as a scythe easily.
Maybe because it is a marsh and that means water. A mower would also compress the soil where the tires had been.
@@strangebear6992 No, the idea was that people with brush cutters or alike don't remove saplings beforehand, because they can cut them. This argument makes zero sense, however, because, in this case, removing saplings is part of the job and one should do that independent of how he intends to cut the grass.
How does using a scythe compares to grazing animals like sheep or goats in areas like this? In the area where I live sheep are often used to clear out difficult terrain. Or to prevent certain plants to take over...
If possible it can be good. But for long-term grazing by sheep it must be very controlled as they extinct many flowers by their precision grazing and taste for flowers.
@@slattergubben6702 Here in Belgium they started using sheep on a military training area to control certain plants that create a great fire hazard. They say in this situation sheep were the best method because they love the plants that create the problem.
What's being called a brush cutter problem is the same with the scythe. You still have to dig up the sapplings either way. Seems like a huge waste of time to try and feel "cool".
Is there a reason not to just let a couple cows eat the marsh for a week and collect the patties. That would strip the nutrients a lot faster
Agree, too much fencing and regulations and finding cattle. Not doable here. Eager to the day movable gps-fencing is allowed. So stupid to delay it by the ministry of agriculture. It is the best thing for biodiversity that happened for a long time.
@@slattergubben6702 damn government ruining everything
Sapling stronger, so this land belong to him.
A company called puller bear has a product you might like for the sapling removal
I know but good only for very uniform size saplings that is not yet cut by strimmers. Sometimes we use a similar product as complement to the little blade hoe
Is there anything a weedwhacker can do that a person with a scythe cannot?
Not really, but wit plastic strings you can of course go hard down in narrow cracks and so.
Hold a hedge cutter upside down! Power scythe!
That seems odd that you can't establish a nature balance and stop maintaining it
The environment has probably changed too much. Newly introduced species acting as weeds, animals that roamed the area are now extinct, things like that
The land has been managed by people for tens of thousands of years, it's probably impossible to establish a balanced habitat without human intervention
I would love to volunteer in a workparty
Welcome!
I still didng understand why not use string trimmer combine withe a hoe or some kind of blade on trimmer that would cut grass in bigger pieces for easyer rake, or even better ride on mower with collector?
Because it does not work, this is a bumpy, stony and sometimes deep marsh. A strimmer does not make the grass rakable
We have stuff like that in Illinois, but the tradition is to burn it
How would nature maintain a marsh? I'm guessing all this labor was not needed in the past? what has changed? Invasive species?
have you considered goats? if properly managed you'd have solid pasture in 2 years plus all the manure!
Answered earlier in the comments
Goats? What about grazing the area with goats from time to time?
That could work but its not doable here. Discussed earlier in the comments
@@slattergubben6702 Sorry, I should have searched first. In the US there are a few goat farmers here and there who rent out their herd of goats to clean up overgrown areas for a few days at a time. I see how goats would not work in your situation needing them for only a few days per year.
Was considering to buy a bush hog to cut the saplings on my piece of property where I want a meadow and a garden. The saplings are mostly dead, broken and dry already because of my goats, but seeing the mess the bush hog creates leaving long sharp stubs I'm deciding to follow your advice and pull/dig out saplings manually.
Absolutely, go for the roots! A blade hoe or axe is excellent for this.
What about goats?
I have answered that a lot of times earlier in the comments. But you have a point!
Aw, c'm'on! Yeah, you Swedish dudes are goofy, and environmentally friendly, and have cool accents and stuff. But surely to gawd there must be a rule against using a scythe while wearing flip-flops!?
So you are saying that land needs a personal touch to keep what you want where you want it, and neglect will only produce the least wanted outcome and plants.
I'd have to learn how to scythe right and left just to even out the muscle groupings. The county should have grazed it after you pulled. sheep would have worked. Maybe not every round the a maintaince run of sheep or goats would have worked out well. What don't understand is without humans how was this maintain in the first place. Is the willow invasive, was there something that use to eat the willow.
Big flocks of grazing large herbivores roaming around before we started to hunt them
@@slattergubben6702 nice but did the same thing happen on the property that the city had you pull? Because if they had regular brought in grazer namely sheep or goats they almost always eat willows down. geese will eat willow as well.
С удовольствием смотрю ваши видео, спасибо вам за вашу работу. Я сделал себе окосье по вашему образцу, мне очень нравится. Скажете пожалуйста из какого материала вы делаете , и какой получается вес вашего окосья. Благодарю вас, и Божьих вам благословений.
ruclips.net/video/IAlweRDIQxo/видео.htmlsi=Zu6o3-LC-jJ0jqOP