Right- windrows mown in the morning, Centre- Phil spreading hay mown the day before, Left-Hay racks Since our last Introductory Scythe Course on 18th August we have been hay making again, although in a different fashion to earlier in the season. The weather has not been classic settled hay making weather. We have had bright sunny days alternating with cloudier days and the threat of … Continue reading More Hay Making with Racks
Last Monday, after two days of dry weather I took down some of the hay racks that we built at the end of July. It was the first chance to compare how the racks with and without canvas “hats” have fared. The racks have had 133.5mm of rain on them over the four weeks that they have been standing. This included one soaking of 40mm … Continue reading Using Racks Part 4 – taking the racks down
As promised, here is a guide to how we stack our hay racks! Racks are used to save hay from bad weather when is not yet dry enough to bring into a barn. The design of the rack allows the hay to continue curing while the outside layers of hay shed the rain and protect the rest from damage. We start with a wooden frame, … Continue reading Using Racks Part 3 – building a rack
Racks in Cae Mari Jones, some with canvas “hats” tied on Yesterday we finished putting the drier grass cut on the mowing day up onto racks, making 12 in the field in all. Today, I added some canvas “hats” to 5 of the racks, made from some bits of old yurt canvas stashed in the workshop, inspired by pictures we have seen of racks built … Continue reading Using Racks Part 2
Building hay racks yesterday evening The weather is definitely on the turn now and we are drawing towards the end of this session of hay making. But there is still plenty of work to do to save as much as the crop as possible. We have dried and carted all the hay that was cut prior to the Social Mow on Sunday, except for the … Continue reading Using Hay Racks
Deciding if the hay mowed on the course on Wednesday is ready to cart This morning we spread the “mini-windrows” from yesterday to ensure there were no green bits tucked in the middle. By this evening, it was ready to cart. We have left some on the field to use when demonstrating the hand baler tomorrow on the Social Mow. Phil mowed a patch this … Continue reading Cae Mari Jones
“Mini-windrows” on Cae Mari Jones The hay from the Top Field is all in the barn and we are now working on Cae Mari Jones. The weather is still set fair, and we have been using a a different technique with rows to make it easier to fit the hay making around a busy point in the week. Thursday into Friday is a busy time … Continue reading Working with Rows