Cutting Your Lawn Properly

There are people who love their outdoor duty of mowing their lawn and there are those who consider it a time consuming pain in the butt. For those who love the task, it can become almost an art form as they lovingly and carefully follow proper lawn care practices. They also appreciate the benefits of the workout they get and the satisfaction they feel when they’ve completed the task and can look upon their freshly mowed and tidy lawn. Those who hate to spend time cutting their grass will whip through it in record time, mostly ignoring the fact that in order to have a healthy and hearty lawn, there are certain basic principles that should be followed.

So this article is for those out there who hate to cut their grass but who’ve realized the folly of their way and would like a few pointers on how to do it properly.

First thing to consider is when to mow. That may seems like a dumb place to start, but if you always follow the same mowing routine, it’s something you should consider. For instance, never mow when your lawn is wet because the grass doesn’t bag or mulch properly and it can also cause clumping of the lawn. You should also schedule your lawn mowing for late afternoon or evening, rather than the morning. This time of day will not only be cooler, it will also give your grass plenty of time to dry from the morning dew or after an early morning watering. Mowing while damp is also a bad idea because this can spread lawn fungus very quickly. Now, this can also happen when the lawn is dry, but it’s much more likely to happen when mowing a wet lawn.

Do you mow every Saturday? While it’s understandable that Saturday might be the most convenient time for you, it’s not necessarily the best time because some grasses will flourish during the summer and should be mowed every 3-4 days. On the other hand, if there’s been little rainfall, mowing may not be needed more than once a month. Grass has its peak-growing season and you should adapt your lawn-mowing schedule to the needs of your grass. Sorry, but your grass just won’t make any concessions for your convenience!

So what happens when you’ve been away for a few weeks and your lawn gets overgrown? Believe it or not, the worst thing you can do is to get out the mower and cut it down to the standard height you usually mow it to. Instead, mow one third of the overgrown height at a time. So, if the grass has overgrown by more than six inches, cut off two inches and then take a break for a couple of days in order to give your lawn time to recover before finishing the job. If you do cut it too short, then it’s important that you watch closely for weeds and give it plenty of water, because weeds crop up much faster in a scalped lawn.

Have you been mowing your lawn in the same pattern and direction every time out? If so, you might be creating streaks and striped lines that will grow back irregularly and look really bad. It’s a better idea to change your the direction of your mowing each time you mow. Go side to side one time and then top to bottom the next time. By cross cutting you’ll help your lawn grow better and it won’t be matted or trampled in the same place each time you mow.

And now that all important decision should you bag or mulch? Good question, so consider the following: In order to mulch while cutting, you’ll need to have a lawn mower with lots of horsepower because you’re cutting and, essentially, re-cutting the grass to drop back into the lawn. Lawn clippings are a perfectly balanced, slow release, non chemical lawn fertilizer and that’s a good thing. So, if you mulch, you’ll reduce the need for fertilizer by 50% with this free and natural fertilizer.

Mulching your lawn, however, does increase the development of thatch and too much thatch build up is harmful to your lawn. So please make sure your blades are sharp by sharpening them at least twice during the mowing season because this will keep your mulching mower working more efficiently. If you insist on cutting your grass with dull blades, then you’re tearing the blades of grass rather than cutting them. Not a good idea as this will make your lawn look ragged and increase its susceptibility to disease. If you do notice thatch building up, you should probably bag your clippings occasionally.

Mulching is recommended during heat waves, after fertilization and during times of drought because it will provide the soil with increased cover to hold in the moisture it does receive. Your lawn clippings can contain as much as 80% water and 5% nitrogen with other nutrients found in small quantities and thus it will continually fertilize your lawn.

So, if you’ve been zipping through your lawn cutting just to get this duty out of the way and you’ve notice your lawn is getting ragged and sick looking, take a few moments to follow some of these basic lawn care principles and you should see an improvement.

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Glenn Cutforth is a writer, eBook publisher and graphic designer.

For comprehensive information on all aspects of lawn and garden care,

visit his website at Lawn and Garden Magic.com

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