Proper Mowing Practices - A Key to the Perfect Landscape

Enjoying Your Lawn There’s no better place for enjoying the outdoors than in the comfort and privacy of your yard. 

While the lawn plays an

Enjoying Your Lawn

There’s no better place for enjoying the outdoors than in the comfort and privacy of your yard. While the lawn plays an important role in our daily outdoor activities, it can be a challenge to maintain, especially in the summer heat.  But, once you know the proper steps in maintaining turf, it will make your lawn the perfect place to enjoy and play.

Lawn Scalping

In the summer, when the sun is beating and afternoon showers occur, grass grows vigorously. Oftentimes, in order to avoid having to mow too frequently, mowers are set lower and grass is cut shorter. This technique not only strains the health of the turf, but it also promotes weeds by exposing the soil and roots. 

The term for cutting your lawn too short is “scalping,” which disrupts the photosynthesis process. Without this process, grass turns brown and can eventually die. Shown here, the left side is a lawn cut too short, which depletes color from the lawn. On the right side is a healthy lawn cut at the correct height.

Also, cutting your lawn too short will stunt root growth, making it harder for the roots to reach the needed nutrients and water. 

The 1/3rd Rule

The best rule of thumb when mowing your lawn is to use the 1/3rd rule. This rule states that you should never cut off more than 1/3rd of the leaf blade within the same mowing, which causes undue stress to the turf. By using this rule, you’ll save time and energy removing weeds and preventing the need for surplus fertilizers and chemicals.

How to Adjust Your Mowing Height

Sharpening Your Mower Blades

Safety & Equipment

Each time before you begin mowing the lawn, always check the gasoline and oil levels. Refill and adjust as needed. This will help avoid putting gasoline into a hot mower, which is not recommended.

Also, make sure you wear the proper attire, which includes leather shoes.

Grass-cycling

Finally, when mowing, take part in grass-cycling. This is the release of the grass clippings back into the lawn. The clippings contain many of the same elements found in fertilizer and already in the correct quantities. In fact, when clippings are removed, 20-25 percent more fertilizer is needed to maintain comparable color and quality then when the clippings aren’t removed. The only instance when grass-cycling isn’t the best option is when the lawn has a disease or is weed infested. If this is the case, then bag the clippings until the problems are eradicated.

 Want to learn more? Watch our video on Mowing Practices!