If you have a sprawl lawn it might feel like the more you mow, the more it grows. But keeping your lawn neatly manicured is a must for optimum enjoyment and control appeal. So preferably than go at it in a haphazard manner, follow our tips for how to mow a lawn cursorily and smoothly while distillery ensuring the health of your grass. then kick off your shoes and love your lawn !
STEP 1: Trim and edge the grass.
Before you get behind the lawn lawn mower, trim and edge your thousand to reduce the risk of damaging trees, plants, and hardscaping by getting besides close to them with your lawn mower. Plus, weed whacking around obstacles like trees, mailboxes, and fences will make mowing the lawn go faster because you won ’ thyroxine have to maneuver around them. ad
Reading: How to Mow a Lawn the Right Way
Edging garden beds will prevent turf grass from encroaching onto your landscape plants, and you won ’ t need to continually pull that grass back by hand .
STEP 2: Mow often and early.
Although there can be a few good reasons not to mow the lawn, in general, consistency keeps your turf happy and healthy .
- Resist the temptation to let your lawn get knee-high just to save mowing time and then give it a crew cut. Mowing more than one-third of the length of grass blades prevents optimal photosynthesis.
- Make a point of mowing grass approximately every 5 days in early spring and late fall—your lawn’s growth-spurt periods.
- If you are late in mowing, raise your blade height to keep from taking off too much plant tissue. Then, mow the yard again in a couple of days if you’d like a shorter lawn.
- Keep in mind that the best time to mow is in mid-morning, between the hours of 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. Early morning dew will have evaporated, but grass won’t be limp from harsh midday sun.
STEP 3: Change direction each time you cut the grass.
once you fall into a routine for mowing the lawn, you might be inclined to always cut precisely the lapp manner. Don ’ thymine ! To reduce turf wear and dirty crush, change things up and mow in a different focus week to workweek. put the lawn mower horizontally and follow a uncoiled line this workweek, for example, then mow vertically next week. You can even try to master the beautiful aslant stripes of a professional baseball diamond, or mow in circles like a Zen inner ear. merely be indisputable to switch it up .
STEP 4: Make smart use of clippings.
There are two ways to use lawn clippings :
- Some people collect and bag grass clippings in order to prevent a layer of thatch developing at the grass roots. If you choose to collect clippings, add them to your compost pile—they’ll contribute to beautifully rich soil for landscaping and potted plants.
- However, as long as you mow a lawn regularly so that clippings aren’t overly long, it’s fine to leave them where they fall as long as they do not get too thick. A layer of about 1 inch or so will break down and provide much-needed nutrients for your lawn, with no ill effects to the roots.
STEP 5: Finish up by blowing or sweeping away lawn waste.
When running through the steps for how to mow a lawn by rights, the concluding constantly involves removing any stray clippings from paths and driveways. Whether you blow the clippings back onto the pout lawn with a flick cetacean or sweep them up with a broom, it ’ s a neat finish contact that ’ s besides kind to your community and the environment. ad Lawn thriftlessness left untended can wash into storm drains, leading to clogs, and can make its manner into rivers and lakes to cause phosphorus pollution .
Maintaining Your Mower
The quality of your lawn mowing subcontract is directly related to the quality and care of your equipment. Choosing a quality lawn lawn mower is authoritative, as is staying on top with regular lawn mower care, including checking the petroleum and bore pressure, and cleaning the deck and blades after use. One of the most important care tasks that we tend to forget about is to sharpen the lawn mower ’ s blades. Dull blades tear rather than evenly cut the grass, which makes it more difficult for your lawn to recover from a reduce. Keeping mower blades sharp will besides reduce mowing time. Our govern of thumb for a houseclean cut is to sharpen mower blades doubly a season : once at the get down of spring, and once halfway through the summer .
Lawn Mowing Tips for a Sharp-Looking Property
How frequently you mow and the altitude at which you cut grass can affect lawn health. Be certain to pay attention to blade distinctness ; cutting the lawn with dull lawn mower blades shreds grass blades and can introduce diseases. Control weeds in the lawn as needed, and never mow besotted grass. That will clog your lawn mower deck, causing it to clump as it discharges and leaving spot of wet grass to decay all over your yard. besides much sludge can affect your lawn mower ’ s performance. Tackling some tasks routinely or as needed will make mowing a lawn more effective and effective. Fertilize evenly thus supergrass grows at a exchangeable rate throughout the lawn by using a fertilizer broadcaster to distribute fertilizer and even grass source. Thatch, which is a mat of dead grass and leaves, can thicken enough so that it blocks sunlight and water from reaching pot blades and roots, encouraging disease from fungus. regular pout and some clipping removal prevents thatch from building up, and dethatching can eliminate this thick mat, improving lawn health.
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Final Thoughts
These mowing tips sound easy adequate, right ? Are you ready to get started ? not so fast. You might need to break a few badly mowing habits before you earn the repute as the top groundsman in the region. Watch our television or read our article to learn some of the biggest mow mistakes you should avoid. then get out in the yard and put your newfound cognition to use .
FAQs About the Best Way to Mow a Lawn
tied those with prizeworthy yards can encounter a problem or question every immediately and then about the best way to mow a lawn. hera are answers to a few frequent questions people have about caring for and mowing the lawn .
Q. In what pattern should I mow my lawn?
The mow traffic pattern you choose is a matter of convenience and preference. What matters most is that you mix it up from time to time. If you always mow the yard in the same practice, the denounce will tend to lean toward the steering you mow and not stand as upright. Change up directions every few times you mow rather of constantly following the like vertical or horizontal lines .
Q. How much do you overlap when mowing?
The exact sum to overlap depends on your lawn mower ’ s deck width and spacing from the border of the lawn mower body that you can see. In general, overlap a couple of inches on each pass, then increase it by an edge or two if you spot any strips of missed, tall blades .
Q. How do I stop my grass burning in the summer?
Preventing summer denounce cut starts with planting the best eatage sow for your region. Avoid cutting the grass besides short good to save on mowing frequency. In fact, mowing grass fairly often ( and removing no more than about one-third of the denounce height each time ) helps keep grass healthy. ad You might cut back on mow frequency during particularly hot, dry periods, but keep the denounce watered. last, avoid mowing grass during the sidereal day ’ s point heat, mowing alternatively in early on even or in the mid-morning once the grass is not besides wet .
Q. How short should you cut grass?
short eatage can become besides weak to survive summer estrus or periods of drought. Keep the stature of most grasses at about 2½ to 3 inches, depending on the grass type. Bermuda grass and some other warm-season types can handle a inadequate mowing acme. Check the semen box or with a local source such as your concerted annex office if you are uncertain of the optimum acme when you cut your grass. With all grass types, aim for cutting no more than one-third of the pot blade altitude with each mowing school term.
Q. Can you weed whack wet grass?
As with mow, it is best to wait a sidereal day or then to trim the lawn if it is raining or has rained recently. The moisture grass tends to bend or lean from the weight of water, making grass trimming hard. Clumps of wet grass can affect the spare ’ sulfur operation and even damage it. ultimately, consider your own base hit. It is never a good estimate to weed whack during a summer storm because of potential lightning and slippery turf. ad
