Half Cut Meadow

We made a start on the meadow yesterday.  I used my sickle which is good for a high cut and very good for tackling the brambles, nettles and thistles.  Alistair used his scythe which is excellent in the grass and cuts it nice and low.  We managed about half of the meadow and piled the cuttings up under the trees at the back. It is important to remove the cuttings so that they do not rot down and fertilise the meadow which would encourage more grass and discourage the flowers.  

Anything that was still flowering we left standing as there are still plenty of insects around.   This morning, I sprayed weed killer on some of the brambles.  I do not like using poisons, but it is important to keep the brambles from spreading and I was very careful to target the bramble leaves and nothing else.  This spray does not affect animals.