This morning I woke up early, drank some coffee, woke up Daisy, then we headed down to the neighbor’s yard to scythe down the rest of the standing oats.
This is our second and last cutting of the cover crop patch he planted in the fall and it will provide us with more mulch for the gardens.
We now have two scythes, as a few weeks ago I bought a new scythe from One Scythe Revolution.
It’s fast, light and beautiful. I’ll have to feature it in a video eventually.
Trying to mulch a large area isn’t easy and we have been blessed to have a neighbor letting us cut and carry straw/hay from his deer patch. Our “soil” desperately needs the help.
If you have seedier material – like this second cutting of hay – and don’t want it to create weed issues in the garden, you can always use it as a layer in a lasagna garden bed.
Pile wood chips over the top and you’re all set. Though I don’t worry about the weed seeds when I’m mulching larger trees. They’re only a real problem in the annual gardens.
I’m actually filming a rather complicated lasagna gardening video this week which I hope to post soon. See you then.
6 comments
I’ll be interested in the lasagna gardening video. I’ve been reading a lot about it lately. You’re lucky to have a good neighbor but I’m sure they benefit from your help as well.
I am considering this as a low cost and self sufficient option for my rabbit colony. We shall see if scythed wild grasses give them sufficient nutrition. Ideally the rabbits turn it into grazon-free manure too.
I heard from Julieanne (Dirtpatch Heaven on YouTube) that legume plants are great food for them. Clovers, peanut, beans, peas, alfalfa, kudzu… whatever leguminous plants you can get.
Do you know if lasagna gardening over cogan grass will kill out the cogan like it does other weeds?
It would be tough – maybe with three layers of cardboard. I have had cogongrass push through the bottom of a rubber pool.
I live about 10 miles north of downtown Birmingham. I am doing a container gardening this year. I only have a small area and nothing I tried to grow last year grew. I am 65 with back and knee problems and I can’t get any help. I believe my growing zone is 7B. You mentioned wintering your fall garden. How do you do that?