Mowing Tips

You know that mowing your lawn is one of the best and quickest ways to help it look maintained, cared for, and plain old better. But did you also know your mowing habits contribute to your grass’ overall health and resilience?

If you didn’t mow or only mowed very rarely, grass would actually begin to decline. It would thin, lay down, sprout flowers and just look bad. Mowing actually helps a lawn to grow thicker which prevents weeds and drying.

However, mowing too closely can have just as negative of effects as not mowing at all. It can decrease root growth, and make it more susceptible to weather and pests. Severely short or scalped grass can almost stop growing until recovering, causing extreme stress and an unhealthy, and if severely scalped, ugly, appearance. Also, cutting too much grass off at once is an unhealthy practice. Try to never cut more than 1/3 of the overall height at a time. Allow 4 days of recovery before re-mowing to remove more height if needed.  Most grasses should be kept at 2-3 inches tall. Some warm season grasses however, should be cut closer to 1 inch high. Knowing your specific variety of grass will help you determine the best height to keep your lawn.

Mowing shouldn’t be something scheduled but should be done when the grass is at the preferred height for mowing, removing only up to 1/3 of the overall height. Scheduling the mowing will sometimes cause you to waste time mowing over grass without cutting much off and other times may remove far more height than preferred depending on growing conditions.

Another consideration is the direction you mow the lawn. This should be varied to decrease compaction where the tires tread and also to prevent the grass from leaning in one specific direction. Also, overlap each pass by a few inches to make sure you get the best coverage with no missed areas.

Only mow when grass is dry. Avoid watering or wait after a rainstorm until grass dries. Mowing wet grass isn’t only bad for your mower; it can mat the grass and will almost always cut unevenly. Having dull blades on your mower can also cause uneven cutting or even rip grass, causing much more damage than help.

Developing good mowing habits will save a lot of work in the long run. Grass will be thicker and healthier and your lawn will appear dense and beautiful.  It will require less watering and have fewer weeds. Mowing correctly is one of the easiest changes to make for a more beautiful lawn.