June News From Scythe Cymru

The field scything season has begun at Dyfed Permaculture Farm!

The first scythe course of the year marks the date we begin mowing Cae Top, our largest hay meadow.

Ironically, after a prolonged dry spell, a change in the weather means we produced garden mulch rather then hay! But we’re grateful for the rain and there is a whole summer of hay making to come to fill the barns.

The video shows Phil giving the course participants instructions on mowing wider in a classic Welsh damp drizzle!

In this Newsletter:


Learn to Scythe, Learn to Peen…

More course dates added

Introductory Scythe Course Dates

A day of in depth tuition and practice to get your scythe journey started on the right foot, or to help you refine your technique. All set on the glorious wildflower meadows of Dyfed Permaculture Farm.

Learn to scythe

New Date

Saturday 30th August is now open for bookings

Other dates with spaces

There are spaces available on Thursday 3rd July and Sunday 20th July

Peening and Sharpening Workshops

Thursday 14th August

We have added a new date for our popular peening workshops. 

Work on your own blade, take it home sharp and ready to mow with the knowledge needed to keep it like that.


Tool Sharpening Course

New Course for 2025!

16th August 2025, 10am – 4pm

We’re pleased to be welcoming Danny and Helene (Hand Powered Traditional Land Based Skills) to the farm to teach a Tool Sharpening Course.

Bring along your edged hand tools that are in need of TLC. Over the day Danny will help you get them sharp and teach you the skills needed to keep them that way.

Bilhooks, axes, spades, chisels, secateurs, loppers, shears, saws and more are welcome.

Rediscover the joy of working with properly sharp tools!


Come and Visit us!

Moth Camp and Open Meadow Morning

As well as Scythe Courses, we run other events that offer a chance to come and visit the farm and learn about what we do.

Bookings are now open for the following events:

Moth Camp 2025

28th – 29th June

Camp over on the farm, learn all about the creatures that move at night!

Featuring a wildflower labyrinth, wildlife cameras to spot nighttime animals, a delicious homecooked supper, moth crafts and, the stars of the show, MOTHS.

Open Meadow Morning

5th July 2025

Join us for a morning meandering through the 6 acres of DPF’s glorious hay meadows. 

We’ll talk you through what grows there, and how we manage them for biodiversity and yield.

AND there will be tea and cake!


No Mow May vs The Chelsea Chop

Why we make an early start to hay making

Plantlife’s excellent NO MOW MAY campaign has done much to promote the needs of wildlife in our gardens.

Orchids and other meadow flowers

And yet at the start of this newsletter I told you that we are about to start mowing our meadows…in MAY!

For many years we have given part of Cae Top a “Chelsea Chop” as part of our policy of progressive haymaking over the whole summer.

This article will tell you what a Chelsea Chop is, why we start scything early and what benefits we find it brings.