If you own, manage or are looking to create a wild flower meadow in or near Carmarthenshire, however small or large, or simply have an interest in meadows, the Carmarthenshire Meadows Group may be a useful source of information. Their next meeting is on Saturday 25th March, see more details in the poster below.
Another spring time job is setting up the electric fencing on the spring / early summer grazing. Over the years I have worked with it a lot and come to appreciate its flexibility and usefulness and learnt some useful tricks to counteract some of its disadvantages. So why do we use it? Subdividing fields into small parcels means we can move grazers frequently. The sheep … Continue reading Electric Fencing to Manage Grassland
One of my personnel markers of Spring is the moment when the sheep refuse even the sweetest hay in favor of the new grass growth, sparse as that may be. Thoughts then start to turn towards making the next crop. One of the first annual tasks in the hay meadow is flattening mole hills. While moles may be indicators of a healthy worm population, mole … Continue reading Moles in the Meadows
Due to the demand we have had for both Introductory Scythe courses and Peening workshops this year we have decided to add two extra dates. The additional Introductory Scythe course will be on Wednesday 16th September. The additional Peening and Sharpening Workshop on 30th August, a perfect opportunity to give your blade a thorough service, restore it to full sharpness and put right all those … Continue reading Extra course dates added, Extra flowering in the meadow
Twice a day I go to the barn to fetch hay for the livestock. Just recently I have reached a particularly fragrant layer in one of the stacks. As I pull out the hay I am surrounded by the rich, sweet smell of summer. Happy hay munchers Looking at the hay that is coming out, which is very rich in herbs, I think this must … Continue reading The Scent of Summer
I have been busy setting up a second long electric fence across the Top Field in preparation for moving the sheep. Today I mowed under it along it’s length with the trimming scythe to stop it shorting out on the long vegetation. Electric fencing unit with solar panel to charge the battery The nature and management of this four acre field is different from the … Continue reading The Top Field – other ways to manage flower rich pastures
Spring is well underway, the grass is growing and the Yellow Rattle Rhinanthus minor is germinating in the hay meadows. It is also germinating in profusion in many of the areas that we mulched with grass and hay from Cae Mari Jones last summer and autumn. Yellow Rattle (Rhinanthus minor) seedlings germinating in hay mulch There has been a lot of interest in the role … Continue reading Establishing Yellow Rattle (Rhinanthus minor)