Join us on Sunday 21st July for our annual social mow on the wildflower meadows of Dyfed Permaculture Farm Trust. Meet fellow scythers, share mowing tips and tricks, learn about hand hay making techniques and building hay racks followed by a bring and share lunch.
We will be mowing from 8am, join us when you can. Bring food to share. Overnight camping available. Volunteers welcome for the weekend and following week.
Learning to sharpen the scythe on the Introductory Scythe Course, May 2012
We still have a couple of places left on our Introductory Scythe Course on May 25th. An Introductory course is a great place to start using a scythe, or as a refresher if you have had one for a while. On the course we cover scythe set up, mowing, sharpening and peening with plenty of chance to have a go. We believe people learn best by doing!
We have scythes for sale at the end of each course and we strongly recommend that you attend an Introductory course before you buy your first scythe.
It gives you a chance have a go first and see what set up suits you best. Having seen a peening jig and an anvil in action and had a go yourself, you will be in a better position to decide which one will suit your needs. We will be able to advise you on which blade is best for your situation and all course participants have the chance to buy a Ready to Mow blade, that has been expertly prepared and edge-peened by Philip Batten, at no extra cost.
For more information and booking, see our courses page
With the lengthening days our thoughts are turning towards the main mowing season, and making sure our scythes are ready to mow. If your scythe has been gathering dust (or worse rust….) all winter we have just the workshop to get you set up for the year ahead.
On 7th April we are holding a Peening Workshop followed by a Social Peening event. The morning workshop will be dedicated to helping you get your blade in to tip top condition for the season ahead. Learn how to peen your blade well and see how much easier the mowing becomes.
The afternoon will be a free Social Peening event. We are inviting scythers to come along and enjoy a bring and share lunch with the morning workshop participants, then spend an afternoon practising the all important art of peening in the company of fellow scythe enthusiasts. This is a great chance to do what we all plan to do, make sure your blade is ready to mow before you need it and of course enjoy a bit of scythe related banter.
See our courses page for more information.
We have just finalised our course dates for 2013. We will be running several Introductory courses, a Peening and Sharpening workshop and a Mowing Workshop for the more experienced mower. See our courses page for more information.
Practicing scything and sharpening techniques before heading off to the field to mow, Wales
September has been an interesting month for scythe courses.
First off, on 8th September we taught a Beginners Scythe Course in Guernsey. It has been an interesting challenge, convincing the folk of the island to give the scythe a go. Here in West Wales, the Scythe Renaissance is going strong, but it is still at it’s early stages in Guernsey. In the end, four people joined us on the beautiful land of a permaculture project called WildGuernsey for a relaxed and enjoyable course. It has been fascinating meeting people who are doing land based organic/permaculture type projects in the island, and to hear about the particular challenges they face, be it the cost of land, the sometimes less then supportive attitude of fellow islanders or the difficulties of being separated from like-minded support networks in the UK. They also have some amazing advantages, not least of which is a great climate for horticulture.
Then it was time to return to Wales, and to prepare for an over-subscribed Beginners Scythe Course on 19th September. We have been amazed by the positive increase in interest in the scythe this year and this was another great course. The sun shone and a group of enthusiastic scythers set to work on the grass and bracken in one of the Trust fields. It was great not only to see people enjoy learning to use the scythe, but also making connections with other like minded people.
The scythe has been going from strength to strength here in Wales, and as another scything season draws to a close, we look forward to what the next one will bring.
This Sunday, 15th July is our Social Mow and Haymaking day at the Dyfed Permaculture Farm Trust (see previous post for details.) The event will go ahead as planned, pretty much whatever the weather does – the grass is easier to mow wet anyway and we have a nice dry barn for lunch! I do believe, though, that the weather men are promising us a nice day on Sunday – fingers crossed!
Phil will also have the scythe shop open from lunch time onwards if there is anything you need.
Hope to see you there!
