Home Owners Manual to Lawn Care

Lawn Mowing

Height:

Grass should be mowed at a height of 2½ to 3 inches. This is likely the highest setting on your lawnmower. Grass cut at this height will have plenty of grass blades to absorb the sun’s energy and still retain moisture. It is also a good height for root development and for crowding out weeds. Try to never cut more than 1/3 of the grass blade at once. This means that ideally, you are never cutting more than one inch of grass at a time.

Keep your mower blades sharp:

Sharp blades make a clean cut on the grass blade that will heal quickly. A dull blade will leave a ragged and torn rip that will leave the grass blade susceptible to disease, the tips will turn brown and excessive moisture will be lost from the grass plant.

Mulching the Clippings:

When you mow the lawn, do so often enough that you will not be removing more than an inch or so. By doing this, your lawnmower should be able to effectively mulch the grass clippings back into your lawn without leaving clumps of grass behind. Mowing when the lawn is dry will also help significantly with unwanted grass clumps. If your lawnmower is leaving clumps behind, make sure the underside of your mower deck is clean. If it is clean, your blades are sharp and it is still leaving clumps behind, you can easily and quickly scatter those clumps with a leaf blower, or a simple quick drag of your foot through the clump, or with a rake. Mulching recycles valuable nutrients and organic matter back into the lawn.

A lawn that has its clippings regularly mulched will break down thatch quicker, will be less inviting to harmful insects, will require less watering, and will require less fertilizer to stay green. The only times where bagging should be done is the first cut or two in the spring, the last cut or two in the fall to help pick up fallen leaves, or when you come back from vacation and your lawn is a jungle.

How often:

Lawns should be cut when they have grown about an inch more than the last time you cut the lawn. In the spring and fall when the temperature is cooler grass grows quickly and therefore you may need to mow your lawn every 4 or 5 days. In the heat of the summer, mowing may only need to be done every 10 to 14 days. The best time of day to cut your lawn is in the evening a few hours before the sun goes down. This gives the lawn a chance to heal during the cooler temperatures of the night.