hay time

[jac]

14/6/2010 ..Weather breezy sunny and warm..Cut the headlands with the 2 mares Ruth and Belle yesterday..had a slight mishap with the pole on the mower and had 2 put a tractor drawbar back on..but I was damned if I was taking the tractor. hitched them to the hitch cart and our KT worked the mower .. not great but got the job done till I get another pole..Tedded today with old Tyde in the locally made “Dickie” turner of the 1900s..
John

[mitchmaine]

nice looking hay, john. i can smell it from here. we used to run a tedder similar to yours. had 5 two tine forks flipping the hay. did a great job but rattled itself into the scrap pile. we are still waiting for three good days. but at least its dryer than it was last june. good haying. mitch

[jac]

Hay would normally be a bit more mature Mitch but this year Im trying to get it in the shed before I have to go and meet the combine. Weathers to break next monday over here and then Id only have a week..and I hate rushing hay..
John

[Marshall]

John, you do a better job cutting with horses than i do with the tractor. The hay looks great. I hope mine turns out that well.

[cousin jack]

Looks good, horses look well too.

[jac]

Thank you for the compliments guys, but honestly, the horses make it look easy. Those 2 mares are incredible and old Tyde in the turner could do that job himself. Away now to drop some more..
John

[clayfoot-sandyman]

Nice photos. Did you get it made in time?

QUESTION; Here the weather broke and my ‘traditional’ hay mix (i.e heaps of thick stemmed flowers) ain’t doing much, with all this cool windy cloud passing overhead.
Just got it rowed up and awaiting the next good bit of weather. Am loathed to make haylage, hate all the plastic, how long do you reckon you can leave hay down for awaiting good weather before you’ve just got to cut your losses and bale and bag it? I’ve read accounts of people leaving it down for up to a fortnight??? Next week’s looking touch and go…..

[jac]

Hi Ed .. the last of the hay should be in the shed tomorrow… the rain that was forecast didnt:).. By thick stemmed flowers do you mean buttercup ?? I hate that stuff.. A lot depends on how much tedding youv given it up till now. If a lot of the juice is gone and the weather is looking dodgy Id bale and wrap. You need that juice to ferment the crop when wrapped and if the moisture is too far down and nearly hay you get a cold ferment and it can sometimes come out worse than it went in.. However if its just down and not been touched it can stand a bit but think 2 weeks is pushing it !!. Recon it would be starting to mold by then.. I usually go with wrapping if its a day short of hay and there is a chance of rain .. good luck with it …
John

[clayfoot-sandyman]

Thanks for the advice John.
By thick stemmed flowers I mean Ox-eye daisies – they look pretty and must be good for pollinating insects but not sure how much good they do for the hay accept slow down the process!
Looks like the weather may be smiling on us, next week according to the met office looks likely to be sunny – 🙂

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