Is Monty right on this one?

allegedly, Monty Don has said we should cut our grass, our lawns, with scythes.
As much as I like him, Monty surely has got this wrong
I could use a scythe and prob enjoy the novelty of it purely for the physical side of it but how many have the skill and physicallity to do this? After the novelty has worn off I would want to use my mower
Machines are noisy...mowers, hedge trimmers, strimmers, etc.....and they do blight our quiet garden times; they do consume energy resources.
For me a mower is indispensable.....I could use a handpush model though; I often use shears instead of a hedgetrimmer and I could brush up my fallen leaves instead of using my newly acquired leaf vacuum. A scythe though on my lawn?
What do others think?

 

Well I'm not the Grim Reaper so I don't have a scythe to hand.

 

A scythe is a tool you either can use or can't, there's a nak to using them and there must be keeped sharp all the time, i used to use them many moons go and there are a good tool but you have to wacht out for people walking towards you as you could cut they're feet/legs badly, there do keep you fit and you wouldn't have a beer belly, good for the stomach muscles

 

I think he was demonstrating and talking about this in relation to a wildflower meadow and it's first cut after the spring flowers had finished. I don't think he was suggesting this for a lawn. The first cut of a wildflower meadow is problematic and most mowers can't cope with it. It was suggested as an alternative to using a strimmer as I recall.

 

Mr Kandy has used a scythe in the past on his dad’s land and over at our allotment when we first took the plots on and the grass had been allowed to grow until it looked like hay.Hewas a lot younger and fitter then but even so it was still hard going especially as it wasn’t something he did every day

I can’t see it working on our grass as we don’t let it get that long and we have so little of it,scything would be a waste of time

I did enjoy seeing Ross Poldark (Aiden Turner) using one in the first Poldark series though

 

Kandy, behave! We cornish are far taller than little Ross!:rasp:

Jiffy, think you nailed it for me too
New trousers this week and....ah!! Now need 36" waist . From 33" last year to 35" now so more scythe work might be a good idea

Prob was referring to a wild meadow......I have a feeling Monty will clarify this on GW

 

I'll add a comment to this from the perspective of this country. Scythes are used in a few areas, but one especially called "Småland." Its even possible to have courses in their use. Regarding the area mentioned.

They are used to cut lawns there. Having said that, the typical lawn is not like the typical English one. Generally, it is kept longer. So, whilst scythes are used for cutting lawns, they are not used for cutting "English style" lawns. Based on that, Monty is incorrect.

Their main use is for cutting longer grass that will be used to feed livestock over winter. The typical ground up there is quite rocky, and every farmer there knows its quicker to use a scythe. Typically, they will use two scythes. One has a smaller blade that is used for cutting around rocks. The other has a huge great blade that is used for cutting larger areas.

Someone mentioned cutting meadows. Quite a few here are protected, due to the large amount of fauna and flora that are in them. These may only be cut once a year, and then only by scythe. The always happens two weeks after Midsummer. Miss the time for some reason, and its not until the year after that it is permissible.

@Verdun As you so quite rightly say, Machines are noisy...mowers, hedge trimmers, strimmers, etc.....and they do blight our quiet garden times; they do consume energy resources. But, they do tend to be indespensible in todays world. If only because modern man does not have the skill or time to use hand tools any more.

 

Interesting....thanks Sandy

 

Monty was cutting his meadow with the scythe, he's got a lawn mower for his lawn.

 

A lot of advice dished out by tv gardening shows and the RHS is aimed at people with all the time in the world to dilly dally in their gardens. It's not real world advice that the majority can adhere to all the time, and in most cases there are alternative methods for everything that will also work well.

 

My FiL only stopped using a scythe in his late 80's.

And it's quicker cutting grass using one Green Scythe Fair