When Does the Grass Start to Row Again

Lawn mowing is an of import part of keeping your grass healthy and looking expert.

Done incorrect, and your green expanse could plough brown and unattractive. And no fun at all to play on.

"Without regular mowing, fifty-fifty a fine turf quickly becomes just some other weed patch," wrote Richard L. Duble, retired professor and renowned turfgrass specialist for the University of Texas A&Thousand.

How you mow, when you mow and what yous mow with will all make a departure in the keeping your lawn looking and feeling its best.

Why mow?

You are doing your lawn a favor when y'all mow it. Mowing your lawn stimulates its growth. A grass institute'due south purpose in life is photosynthesis — that is, pulling in carbon in the air, energy from the sun and water from the earth to grow roots and blades of grass. When you cutting off the tips of the grass plants, they are stimulated to grow more.

The result: a thicker lawn with better roots, which crowds out weeds and makes your turf oh so nice to whorl effectually in and toss the ball on.

Simply as anyone with parched brown spots, patches of weeds or scalped grass can attest, a lot can go incorrect in the process.

When to mow

Ideally, you mow when your lawn needs it. Whether you lot do it yourself or rent a lawn mowing service, the idea is to schedule your lawn mowing and so that it occurs when the grass benefits near from it.

Often, that can mean regularly scheduled weekly mowing, but it can vary. If you've recently fertilized, your grass will undergo a growth spurt, and yous tin increase the frequency to prevent excess accumulation of clippings. On the other manus, during a prolonged dry spell, your backyard would be best served by setting the mowing superlative higher and reducing mowing frequency so the grass plants can retain more moisture.

There are differences in the growth patterns of warm-flavour and cool-season grass types.

You lot can cease mowing when grasses become fallow, either due to extended drought or cold. How soon that is will depend on your climate, only cool-season can accept the cold and normally go dormant in the autumn when the soil temperatures autumn to fifty degrees F. Warm-flavor grasses such every bit more often than not get fallow around mid to belatedly October.

"During your grass's growing flavour, mowing one time a week should be plenty," said Brad Leahy, owner of Blades of Green, a lawn care visitor that has been cut Maryland and Northern Virginia lawns for more than 25 years.

Proper tiptop to cutting grass

The proper summit for your grass volition depend on its species. See the chart beneath for details. But over the years, turfgrass specialists take created one of import rule: The 1/3 dominion, which states that you should never remove more than than ane/3 of your grass on any cut. If you've been out of town or just got a little backed upwardly with other chores, no affair how tempting information technology is to whack it all down to size at once, don't do information technology.  Adhere to the i/iii rule, and cut your grass down in increments. This will reduce the amount of stress you put on the grass.

Recommended Mowing Height by Grass Type
Grass species	Recommended mow height (inches)	Mow when it reaches this height (inches)
Annual ryegrass	one.v - ii	ii.25 - 3
Bermudagrass (seeded)	1 - i.five	1.5 - 2.25
Buffalograss	i - 2	one.5 - 3
Centipede grass	2	3
Colonial bentgrass	0.v - 1	0.75 - 1.5
Creeping bentgrass	0.v inch or less	0.75 inch or less
Dichondra	0.5 - 0.75	0.75 - 1.125
Hard fescue	i.5 - 2.v	2.25 - three.75
Hybrid Bermuda	0.five - ane	0.75 - 1.5
Kentucky bluegrass	2-3	3-4.v
Kikuyugrass	1 - ane.5	1.5 - 2.25
Perennial ryegrass	i.v - 2.5	2.25 - 3.75
Blood-red fescue	1.5 - 2.5	2.25 - 3.75
St. Augustinegrass	ii.5-3	3.75-4.5
Tall fescue	i.5 - 3	2.5 - 4
Zoysiagrass	0.5 - one	0.75 - 1.5
Sources: University of California-Davis Integrated Pest Management programme, University of Georgia-Augusta Richmond County Extension

"The 1/iii rule is critical," said Campbell Vaughn, agriculture and natural resources agent for the University of Georgia-Augusta Richmond County Extension. Nearly all mowers accept a pinnacle adjustment, so utilise yours. To adjust your mower, don't but eyeball it. Become out a tape measure and park your mower on a hard, fifty-fifty surface. Mensurate from that surface upwardly to the bract.  To accommodate your mower to the correct peak, identify it on a hard, even surface and mensurate from the blade to the difficult surface. In many cases, yous will find that the highest mower setting is the preferred cutting tiptop.

Best fourth dimension of day to mow your backyard

The pros say mid-forenoon is the all-time time to mow. If yous get-go too early, at that place will still be dew on the grass that volition make your lawn mower piece of work harder and cause clumps of wet grass to accrue on the mower and on your one thousand. Wait until that dew has dried and then have at it. Late afternoon, after 4 p.1000., is also a good time. Avert mowing at mid-day — it's only too hot. Avert the evening, as well, because lawn mowing is a stressful event for your lawn, and you desire to give it time to recover.

Be courteous to your neighbors when mowing

Information technology's simply mutual courtesy to avert mowing besides late or too early. The Noise pollution Clearinghouse, a nonprofit organization that fights noise pollution, has enacted a "Good Neighbor Policy."

Regarding the use of lawn equipment, the policy suggests that people:

• Use a reel mower and rake whenever possible.
• Employ ability backyard and garden equipment between 9 a.m. and 6 p.1000.
• Do not apply a leaf blower for wellness and noise reasons.
• Whenever possible, avoid the outdoor apply of power tools on Sunday.
• Avoid the apply of power lawn equipment if your neighbors are in their yards.
• Establish a schedule for motorized outdoor lawn and garden work with your neighbors (eastward.g., even number days merely).

If courtesy isn't enough of an incentive for you, exist aware that more than 500 local governments have passed noise pollution legislation, violations of which could force you to pay a hefty fine. Electric mowers are a quieter choice than gas mowers.

Sharpen mowing blades regularly

If you can't remember the concluding time you sharpened your lawn mower blade, information technology's time to practise so. "A tiresome bract is about the worse thing y'all tin do to a lawn," Vaughn said, because where sharp blades cut cleanly, wearisome blades tear. "When yous tear the foliage, it opens it up for diseases to assail it. A clean cut helps information technology regenerate a lot faster and be a healthier plant in the long run."

How often y'all need to become your blade sharpened will depend largely on how many hours of mowing it does. Mowing a big lawn frequently will crusade more wearable and tear than occasional use on a small patch of turf.

Your backyard will tell you lot if you lot have a dull bract. Accept a look at the evenness of the cut and whether the individual blades of grass have been neatly sheared. An uneven, tatty appearance and torn leaves are your cues that it'due south time to sharpen the blade.

Y'all can take the mower into a shop to have the blade professionally sharpened, or you tin do it yourself. Lawn mower blade sharpening kits cost as piffling equally $10.

Inspect your blade. If there are chips or gaps, it may be time for a new 1. Replacing a blade isn't too tough and can exist accomplished with tools most of us have around the firm.

Lawn mowing tips

Pablo Solomon says he started mowing lawns for 50 cents a thou with a human being-powered push mower when he was a 10-year-old growing up in Houston, where, he said, "the grass grows faster than the national debt."

Now 71, he is a renowned "greenish designer" who chooses his grasses carefully. "Each type of grass has its own characteristics that make up one's mind when it grows, when it grows and when it may go dormant according to the climate," he said.

Over the years, he has developed his own mowing technique, which he still practices on the large lawn surrounding his historic house north of Austin, Texas.

Check the m. That'south the first task for Solomon

"Be certain to scout out your lawn before you mow," Solomon said. "Remove any rocks, debris, toys, etc., that might damage your mower or that might be thrown by your mower and injure someone or damage something. A lot of windows are broken past lawn mowers slinging stuff and a lot of people take gone to the hospital with shrapnel wounds."

Dealing with slopes: Different rules for different mowers.

He and other experts advise that when riding a ability mower, your ride up and downwardly the slopes horizontally so that the mower is never tilted to i side. With a push mower, you practice the opposite and mow parallel to the profile of the slope.

Non too close. Don't go your mower too close to trees, the curb, bloom beds, rocks, playground equipment, your shed or annihilation else, he said. That'south what the line trimmers are for. "By trying to become besides close to stuff you rin the hazard of dissentious the stuff, the mower and/or yourself," he said. If you are using a lawn intendance professional, brand sure you convey your wishes to your service provider.

Pace yourself. If your lawn is large, intermission up the job into smaller pieces, Solomon advises. "I know that people that care about having their lawns perfect can exist somewhat neurotic at times. But allow yourself to exist a scrap less compulsive when you run the risk of a rut stroke or heart attack."

Leahy agrees. "We ever recommend starting at the places that will take the most time: effectually rocks, shrubs, buildings or other features in your lawn," he said. "By doing this at the start, y'all're yet fresh and willing to take the time to mow these areas carefully and correctly. If you await till the end, you lot may rush these parts, potentially damaging your lawn mower."

Exist careful with a mower on newly sodded grass or new lawns grown from seed. The roots of the grass are not very deep, so be gentle past minimizing turns with your mower. Make the turns off the lawn, over pavement or blank soil, where possible.

Grass clippings: Mulch them

The standard wisdom has inverse in the past few decades about grass clippings. A few decades ago, backyard clippings were thought to contribute to thatching, so the common do when mowing your lawn was to purse backyard clippings and discard them. It has since been discovered that mulching — leaving clippings in the lawn — is the better choice. Letting your mower chop the grass blades returns nitrogen to the soil and does not contribute to thatching. It does contribute to weed control and is a more organic way to maintain a healthy backyard.

Regular lawn mowers practise an adequate task of mulch, but mulching mowers have a special blade that chops the grass blades into fine pieces, hastening their decomposition. It's fine to run your mulching bract over leaves to add together them to the mulch mix. If the leaves are thick, though, rake them up for leaf removal into a compost pile.

Mowing pattern

"In one case you finish mowing effectually any features and move on to mowing the open up lawn, I suggest homeowners establish a mowing pattern, whether that'due south straight rows or circles; again, whatever works all-time for you and your lawn," says Leahy.

For the best backyard, information technology'southward meliorate to vary your mowing pattern, especially if your mower is heavy. That fashion you don't wear grooves in your yard and y'all take hold of the blades of grass that may take bent out of the way the final fourth dimension.

Picking the correct lawn mower

There are several unlike types of mowers that you can apply in your lawn maintenance. Purchasing the right mower for your needs really comes down to the size of your chiliad, your budget, and your personal preference. Riding mowers are recommended for larger yards, while push mowers can handle small to medium jobs.

Purchasing the right mower for your needs really comes downwardly to the size of your yard, your budget, and your personal preference. Riding mowers are recommended for larger yards, while button mowers tin handle minor to medium jobs.

Lot Size — A homeowner of a large property with multiple acres requires a different type of lawn mower than a person with a minor one thousand. For this person, a riding lawn mower would exist the weapon of choice. Riding lawn mowers range in toll from $600 to $14,000, depending on the power, size, and quality of the machine that a person's needs. A large property will too restrict homeowners from using electric backyard mowers that require the car to remain plugged into an outlet.

The standard rule for choosing a backyard mower based on m size is that for yards no larger than 1/2 an acre, stick with a push mower. For lawns larger than 1/2 an acre, the homeowner should begin to consider a riding mower, which will salvage fourth dimension and energy for the user. People with properties greater than three acres should then expect at upgrading to a zero-turn or garden mower, which will provide better mobility and ease each time the grass needs mowing.

Topography — You lot must decide if your yard is apartment or if in that location are variations in acme, including varying hills and valleys. A riding lawn mower, for example, wouldn't exist a great fit for a yard with steep hills and tight spaces due to the lack of mobility that they provide compared to push mowers.

Physical Fitness — Backyard care is a physical action that requires a sure level of strength and stamina. This can be start to an extent with a riding lawn mower, just the individual would then incur a greater cost. Motorized backyard mowers are mostly a perfect residue between the price (compared to that of riding lawn mowers) and the physical endeavor needed to propel a nonelectric reel lawn mower that uses merely the physical exertion of its user to cut the grass.

A written report by Harvard Medical School measured the calories burned by people in different activities, including lawn mowing. A 155-pound person pushing a manual push (reel) mower would burn 205 calories in a half hour — the same caloric output as someone doing a half 60 minutes of low-impact aerobics or foursquare dancing. Pushing a motorized mower was less strenuous, the study establish, burning off 167 calories in a half hour — the same as a good half-hour game of badminton.

Cost — Backyard mowers can be a very expensive purchase for an individual, and then cost is a very important factor to be weighed earlier purchasing a tool. Standard reel, or cylinder mowers, are more often than not the cheapest and tin can exist establish for roughly $70 to $90. Electrical and gas button mowers tin can range from $100 to $400 and riding mowers can be every bit much as $14,000.

Personal Preference — Personal preferences depending on the individual can consist of choosing an electric versus a gas push button mower or choosing to become completely low-tech with a standard reel mower. Mowers can also be personalized with features that include a mulching blade that chops upwardly the grass into tiny $.25 and distributes information technology across the 1000, or a grass pocketbook that collects the grass clippings every bit yous go to make for easier disposal.

Mow it yourself? Or hire a pro

Your other choice is to forgo the lawn mower purchase and instead hire a backyard service. Lawnstarter.com is in the business of helping consumers find qualified lawn professionals. So if yous don't desire to learn the fine art of backyard care, run across if nosotros provide service to your area. Regardless of whether you utilize us or some other service, make sure to check references and Better Business Bureau ratings.

"Get references and if people are qualified and reasonable I think it's a fair tradeoff," Vaughn said.

Master photo by Daniel Watson on Unsplash

Daniel Ray

Daniel Ray is LawnStarter.com's former editor in chief. He is an honor-winning writer and editor who previously was editor in chief of the personal finance websites Bankrate.com and CreditCards.com, but with 30 years of gardening experience, he's well qualified to help consumers abound a unlike kind of green.

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