When to Cut a Field with a Scythe - Still Figuring it Out

When do you scythe a field? This is the question on my mind tonight. Most of my property is old pasture and I'm hoping this year to cut it all with my scythe. But I'm unsure when exactly to do it.

Here are my thoughts about it and I would love to hear what you all think.

The Makeup of the Old Pasture

The pasture is mostly tall grasses but there are some other plants mixed in. The one that I'm thinking about the most are 2 types of vetch.

Vetch is a nitrogen fixer and it is helping improve the soils. Since I have plans to turn this pasture into a big food forest, a native food forest, a series of ponds and wetlands, a meadow, and several large gardens I would love to improve the soils.

There are parts of my pasture that are just covered in purple and white flowers right now from the vetch. Plus the bumblebees just love all these flowers.

But the grass is tall and getting seed stalks. If I wait too long to cut it then the grass will be brown and stiff making it difficult to cut using a scythe.

So I want to cut the pasture now but if I do so now the vetch won't be able to go to seed.

Current Thoughts

My current thoughts are to start scything the pasture but limit my cutting to the areas where the grass is the tallest which also tend to not have much if any vetch growing.

In the meantime I will let the vetch go to seed and the scythe those areas once the vetch seed pods turn brown.

This way the tallest grass gets cut and the vetch has time to go to seed. I'm worried that if I cut the vetch now it might not be able to regrow and go to seed before the summer heat hits it.

What do you think? Does anyone have experience with vetch and mowing? If I cut it all will it regrow and still go to seed this year? Or is it best to just wait to cut the areas with the most vetch?

Thank you!

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