We're in the middle of the bracken cutting season on the Lynchmere commons. Dealing with bracken is a continuous task year in and year out. Over time we do get somewthere as this photo of an area on Lynchmere common which used to be thick with bracken shows.
Nowadays its viewed as an invasive weed and the cutting season starts early, but it used to be harvested for many uses and cutting was restricted to late in the season to avoid damaging the crop in future years. That's something that's hard to believe now that its viewed as an invasive, toxic and carcinogenic plant that smothers other habitats.
A few years ago we made the decision to stop spraying the bracken every year. The spraying was a course of action which had been recommended by our consultants and to my surprise still seams to be the generally accepted wisdom today.
We were cutting in an area where the lumps, bumps and stumps make it harder to use a mechanised cutter or to roll with our bracken bruiser. So we used scythes fitted with a blade stronger than a grass blade.
Scythes are extremely efficient at cutting bracken with the added advantage that the cut bracken lies in a neat windrow ready to be taken off. In this case we build a bracken rick with it, one of my experiments with composting bracken. I still remember scything bracken during school holidays on steep Welsh moutainside fields, so it feels right to be doing it again and I am very biased. I do want to show that scything has a role to play in managing bracken effectively today.
2 comments:
Do you gather up the cut fronds and use it as bedding? Is it/was it dried first?
Perhaps late (how late is late)cutting got the balance right between dense bracken and not enough to cut?
Interested because we have a site in Derbyshire with species rich daleside glades with plants such as sorrel and bird's-foot trefoil that are sensitive to Asulam. But also the grazier might use the litter for the cattle that graze in the summer.
If it was a traditional fern-rick then the bracken would have been dried in windrows, turned and then piled up - just like hay - as you suggest. Gerenally a pile of bracken will keep quite dry, rather like the dead fronds on the ground, even if piled up while still quite green.
Because we are interested in composting it we piled it up fresh and will turn it occasionally to see if we can speed the decomposition.
I've come to learn with bracken that you cut it when its ready. Temperature and water supply make a big difference as do shade and location so each area will be different in each year and may best be cut in different weeks or months. July and August would maximise the yield of the cut, though it makes it harder work at the same time. As the bracken thins out in successive years then its harder to harvest, though easier to cut. If your site is grazed you may find that the cattle help to trample the rhizomes which will also thin the bracken.
I remember scything bracken as a teenager during August on Welsh hill farms, so late cutting was entirely normal. It's just a modern fetish to allocate dates to everything.
Sounds like a great site you have and Asulam is the last thing you need (though amazing how many people consider it first) consdering how mobile it is.
We use scythes from the the scythe shop and are very impressed at how light and easy use even beginners find them to be. They might seems expensive at first but they are faster than brushcutters and cost less than the annual spares bill for a brushcutter. I can't recommend them enough.
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