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!
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.
Ya mate I've removed more willow saplings then I've had hot dinners. A sapling is far easier then it is to follow the mother plant about the swamp cutting the thing in various places only to go back in the spring to see a stump or a sapling regrowing again. Who ever invented willows had to be mad.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
An old fellow told me when i was younger, (I'm 60 now) they would hang there syths in apple orchard over winter and brush off the rust in spring. Apparently he said it strengthened the steel and made a thinner sharper edge. Not sure if it's true or not but it's brilliant to see traditional methods used. Good luck in all you do.
Your cinematography is very good for a channel with only 50k subs! It looks like you and your friends live a good life and enjoy your work. Watching you mow and talk about plants and birds reminds me of Bob Ross, your peaceful vibe comes right through.
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!
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...
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.
very useful video and encouraging ! I live in the NW of Scotland next to the sea.After the building and ground work was finished we planted a scottish coastal meadow mix and started sything. This worked well for the first three years, but this year we were overrun with knapweed Centaurea nigra. This prevented the other smaller plants growing. I will get the blade hoe out this winter and try to bring balance back to the meadow.
@@AlexAllin1 great initiative! Those spieces can sometimes be problematic if you have added layer sandy nonfertile soil above a more firtile. As they have deeper roots than many other meadow plants. Else I regard it as a native and pretty good plant for insects, but I am not fully aware how it is in your district. Also keep in mind a sown natural meadow has it's succession over many years until it reaches some kind of balance. With a blade hoe you can of course keep them down as you easy spot them , probably best to do it one time in autumn and one time in beginning of June when the stems start to raise.
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.
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.
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 😢.
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
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 .
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
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.
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?)
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!
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.
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.
Anyone know the music? It's really beautiful, I wish I could put it on to listen to throughout my day If the uploader sees this, I'd love to know what you were playing! Lovely video, I learned a lot ☺️
Didn't know marsh orchids need mycelium - makes sense! My dad's side, great-grandfather, moved here from Sweden and my dad studied in Sweden for his Ph.D. work in the late 50s. thanks
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.
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?
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?
As a biologist, I was wondering why you'd want to mow the meadows at all; usually letting things go to a more natural state is better IF they're starting from a natural succession point. It makes sense after watching that you're trying to improve biodiversity by mowing and removing nutrients, with the overall goal of the mowing to keep the marsh from becoming a forest. I'm curious what you would make of the forest management techniques that are used to maintain trails here in Idaho. I spent some time with the US Forest Service, and in places where there has been a fire, the under story (particularly Ceanothus velutinus) is running rampant and devouring trails. Much of the management involves using loppers to trim back the plants, but the roots remain, as well as sharp stubs. Occasionally a brush saw is brought in, with much the same effect. How would you manage such a task along miles of trail?
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.
Then their manure would increse fertility? If cut and the biomass dried and saved for winter when animals are in stables the manure can go to veggie garden instead. You get three diffrent plant populations from the animsl. The field they eat in summer. The medow that is cut for winterfeed and the veggie garden :)
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.
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.
Thank you for posting - very informative! I would need to do something similar for removing mesquite in Texas. Where did you get the blade hoe from? I cannot find one that is as long as the one you use.
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.
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
@@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.
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
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
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?
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.
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
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 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 😂
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.
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
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 .
The pulaski is also much, much heavier and requires more momentum - which requires you to swing your whole body instead of only your arms and some of your back. You also can't use the pulaski with one hand, which is not good when digging up roots because occasionally you'll want to hold the root taut when hitting it or it will just spring back. The pulaski is more suited for breaking up ground in a wide area, the short hoe is good for digging up specific roots, since it's much easier to handle and as such is more precise. The pulaski is great for quickly removing the top layer of soil so that wildfires don't spread further, but I'm not sure I would use it for this purpose. Also, you do have to bend over with the pulaski, unless you are very short I suppose. If you don't bend over then you will just hit your shins (imagine you were chopping firewood on the grass, same result).
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Ya mate I've removed more willow saplings then I've had hot dinners.
A sapling is far easier then it is to follow the mother plant about the swamp cutting the thing in various places only to go back in the spring to see a stump or a sapling regrowing again.
Who ever invented willows had to be mad.
you're in good company.
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. 😁👍
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.
@Conservator. The United States is the most diverse country on the planet.
I love immigrants.
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! 🗡🇺🇸
There's something special about using the tools passed down to us, isn't there? 🙂
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!
There is always hope, thank you for posting this fantastic video. Your knowledge of flowers and wild plants is impressive to say the least.
This kind of work is quite therapeutic, having passion for the land you live in and how it looks and how it’s cared for is understandable
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!
I have been scything for about 3 years and I love that I can still learn more. Thank you for your videos and the clear explanations.
@@stormagorist6129 Thanks! Nice to hear!
An old fellow told me when i was younger, (I'm 60 now) they would hang there syths in apple orchard over winter and brush off the rust in spring. Apparently he said it strengthened the steel and made a thinner sharper edge. Not sure if it's true or not but it's brilliant to see traditional methods used. Good luck in all you do.
Your cinematography is very good for a channel with only 50k subs! It looks like you and your friends live a good life and enjoy your work. Watching you mow and talk about plants and birds reminds me of Bob Ross, your peaceful vibe comes right through.
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!
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...
Super interesting stuff! Really enjoy your videos and hearing you explain your work.
Thank you!
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.
very useful video and encouraging ! I live in the NW of Scotland next to the sea.After the building and ground work was finished we planted a scottish coastal meadow mix and started sything. This worked well for the first three years, but this year we were overrun with knapweed Centaurea nigra. This prevented the other smaller plants growing. I will get the blade hoe out this winter and try to bring balance back to the meadow.
@@AlexAllin1 great initiative!
Those spieces can sometimes be problematic if you have added layer sandy nonfertile soil above a more firtile. As they have deeper roots than many other meadow plants.
Else I regard it as a native and pretty good plant for insects, but I am not fully aware how it is in your district.
Also keep in mind a sown natural meadow has it's succession over many years until it reaches some kind of balance.
With a blade hoe you can of course keep them down as you easy spot them , probably best to do it one time in autumn and one time in beginning of June when the stems start to raise.
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.
@@rolfs2165
Experience can be the instructor for those of us with limited cash.
Excellent content as usual. Thank you for this channel.
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!
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
Excellent and informative.
never seen that step ladder over a fence before! nice.
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 .
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
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!
Fantastic work! Youre way ahead of your time!
Brilliant information Thank You
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
I don't know how or why I got this recommended but this was enjoyable to watch.
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!
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
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.
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
Beautiful work my friends, thank you.
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
Wonderful video as always! Thanks
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.
Very interesting. Thanks for making this video. And thanks for your hard work.
What a wonderful way to live.
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.
Anyone know the music? It's really beautiful, I wish I could put it on to listen to throughout my day
If the uploader sees this, I'd love to know what you were playing! Lovely video, I learned a lot ☺️
Didn't know marsh orchids need mycelium - makes sense! My dad's side, great-grandfather, moved here from Sweden and my dad studied in Sweden for his Ph.D. work in the late 50s. thanks
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.
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!
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.
As a biologist, I was wondering why you'd want to mow the meadows at all; usually letting things go to a more natural state is better IF they're starting from a natural succession point. It makes sense after watching that you're trying to improve biodiversity by mowing and removing nutrients, with the overall goal of the mowing to keep the marsh from becoming a forest.
I'm curious what you would make of the forest management techniques that are used to maintain trails here in Idaho. I spent some time with the US Forest Service, and in places where there has been a fire, the under story (particularly Ceanothus velutinus) is running rampant and devouring trails. Much of the management involves using loppers to trim back the plants, but the roots remain, as well as sharp stubs. Occasionally a brush saw is brought in, with much the same effect. How would you manage such a task along miles of trail?
brilliant video!
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!
Thank you. Very interesting.
Thank you!
Perhaps they should introduce large grazing animals like cattle or sheep. Ancient marshes would have been kept under control the same way.
Then their manure would increse fertility? If cut and the biomass dried and saved for winter when animals are in stables the manure can go to veggie garden instead. You get three diffrent plant populations from the animsl. The field they eat in summer. The medow that is cut for winterfeed and the veggie garden :)
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.
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.
Ive been battling with invasive bamboo for a couple years now on and off, its hard work.
Damn I don’t use a scythe, I have no reason to use one yet here I am fascinated by the difference between one and a brushcutter!!
😅😅😅
Thank you for posting - very informative! I would need to do something similar for removing mesquite in Texas. Where did you get the blade hoe from? I cannot find one that is as long as the one you use.
Sorry, I just saw it on your website.
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!
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.
FREYR BLESS THIS CHANNEL
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!
Mulching mower for the win
Holy crap...That's a lot of work! Did anyone consider goat intervention?
Se other answers
Very nice video -- why are you called slåttergubben?
@@NSBarnett its the Swedish name for a flower that thrives on wild meadows. Arnica montana
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
Hey sorry for asking but this is hell interesting. How you handle ticks?
Thank you so much!
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.
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.
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
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!
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!
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
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
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 :)
Great video! Have you tried using pigs? I think they digg out the roots and eat them.
Love this
That makes sense. I want one, ngl.
Be honest, you just wanted to look 'ninja' while moving the lawn :) on a serious front im totally on board :)
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
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 😂
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.
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
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 .
The pulaski is also much, much heavier and requires more momentum - which requires you to swing your whole body instead of only your arms and some of your back. You also can't use the pulaski with one hand, which is not good when digging up roots because occasionally you'll want to hold the root taut when hitting it or it will just spring back.
The pulaski is more suited for breaking up ground in a wide area, the short hoe is good for digging up specific roots, since it's much easier to handle and as such is more precise. The pulaski is great for quickly removing the top layer of soil so that wildfires don't spread further, but I'm not sure I would use it for this purpose.
Also, you do have to bend over with the pulaski, unless you are very short I suppose. If you don't bend over then you will just hit your shins (imagine you were chopping firewood on the grass, same result).
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
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
It would be good if the cut grass and stumps were processed into biochar.
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.
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.
Why not control the brush with goats? Seems very labourious to maintain a frozen succession otherwise.
I have answered that question in the comments
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!
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.
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
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
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
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.
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
Sapling stronger, so this land belong to him.
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.