I mow 3+ acres...with lots of trees and obstacles. There areareas which can only be weed-eated due to large rocks. I suppose
other
all of that together would be close to 4 acres that would need to
be cut at least once a week, twice if it rains. James, at one
time, said how long it takes him to cut an acre, but I have
forgotten. James? How long would it take you to cut 4 acres?
Bearing in mind that James is an expert in this art.
It's a trick question. Scything is a pleasure, not a pentance. As
far as the hay fields go (and they are just now ripening), in the
early morning on dry days (which today isn't) while others are doing
the milking and tending the other animals, I will sneak off to the
lower hay fields and do, at the most, 1/8th acre, about 50' x 100'.
By then I'm ready for breakfast.
Keep in mind though that for me the goal is not to "get 'er done"
rather it's to be doing it. By plodding along like this I will get
four acres done in a month. If I wanted to get the hay put up, I
could do about four times that much and enjoy it far less.
Not only grass but clover, vetch, plantain, yellow dock, and all
manner of other high protein vegetation. When it can be thus
managed, we cut this thick growth, put it on screen racks and dry it
thoroughly, then pack it away in old fiber sacks for feeding the
rabbits and chickens in the winter. You can raise up quite a bit of
rabbit meat on this 'weed hay' alone.
Since these areas are paths and corners and odd bits around fences
and posts, the long grass blade isn't the best. So I have one of
those relatively cheapie drop forged short steel blades (brush blade)
on a curved snath that stays oiled (snath and blade) down at the
garden. Since it is not damasked steel, I keep a common 6" mill file
in my pocket and sharpen the blade by moving the file straight down
the blade (not with or against the edge but straight across it) and
then lightly strop the other side in the same manner. This gives the
blade a very slightly serrated edge and thus it cuts through the
biggest clump of fescue with no effort at all.
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