Long and tickling grass is unwelcome in a home lawn. You want to flaunt a garden that is lustrous with the grass spread over like a carpet. And if you thought that perfectly mowing a lawn involves a lot of hard work, then read below for the best lawn mowing tips to learn how to mow your lawn the the right way. These are simple to implement and go a long way in making your lawn the envy of the neighborhood.
1. Do not cut the grass too short
While it may be tempting to scale the lawn to get a thick carpet finish, it is not the right way to lawn mowing. Instead, leave some grass length because it is the grass that makes food through photosynthesis. If you cut the grass too short, your lawn will not get the adequate nutrients to survive and stay healthy.
Cutting the grass too short rips the grass off its food source. Soon your garden will start to have patchy and sick-looking growth. You may want to cut the grass short at times but avoid doing it now and then.
2. What should you do to the grass clippings?
This is a common topic of debate among lawn owners. Should you mulch the grass clippings or bag them. The best thing to do, according to us, is to use a mulching kit on the lawnmower and let the clippings stay on the lawn.
This setup will shred the grass into small clippings, and when you put it back in the lawn, it will replenish the soil with the required nutrients. In this way, you let the nutrients stay back in the lawn instead of removing them.
However, if you are not happy about dripping the clippings in the lawn, then bag them and let them form compost. The compost clippings can be used in the early summers or late spring season as a top dressing for the lawn.
3. Choose the grass that you should grow
Even after following all the lawn mowing tips, if you still feel that your lawn does not stand up to your standards, look at the kind of grass you are mowing. You may notice occasional clumps in the field, and this is a sign that you haven’t chosen the right grass variety.
There are times when it becomes impossible to maintain an inferior quality grass, like, say, crabgrass. Understand the weather and the terrain of your region and choose the grasses that are the best suited for your garden.
4. Cut the grass clean with sharp blades
Sharp blades offer a clean-cut and give a professional look to your garden. A clean-cut removes stress and shock. It also reduces the risk of mold and bacteria growth.
The concept of cutting grass is the same as the concept of cutting your hair. If you cut your hair using blunt scissors, then the effect will not be amazing. Similarly, using dull scissors to cut grass pulls, shreds, and tears the grass from the root. It is important to be gentle. A good and sharp cut is crucial for better results.
5. Edging the lawn is important too
Very few lawn owners take time to edge their lawns. Some do not think about it, and others feel it is not important.
Creating a nice straight edge automatically makes the lawn appealing to look at, adding to its aesthetics. Establish a nice edge on the driveway, walkway, or curb and maintain it well to give your lawn a clean look.
6. Blow the grass clumps
At times, when you leave the mowed grass in your lawn, then this leaves back clumps. If you cut the grass when dry, then it should not clump up. However, this, at times, can be inevitable.
Small grass clumps break down easily without causing any problems. However, if there are large grass clumps, then you may want to clear them off as these will end up killing the grass beneath them, making your garden patchy.
7. Do not cut wet grass
Mowing grass when wet does not cause any problem, but you will see grass rut left behind. The wet grass will stick to the cutting deck on the underside. Also, unless you want to take some risk, mowing slopes and hills in the rainy season are best avoided.
While today there are a few modern lawnmowers that let you mow the grass, be it sun or rain, if you are still using the traditional mower, then leave the task to a sunny day.
8. Change the Lawn mowing pattern
Another lawn mowing tip which most lawn owners do not know is that, if you cut the lawn in the same pattern each week, it does not work well for your yard. It fails to give the perfect straight stripes.
Cutting in the same pattern over and over again can cause ruts and compaction of the soil in the area where the tires ride week after week. When you change the lawn mowing pattern every week, then it helps to avoid ruts and does not let the grass lay in the mowing direction. Grasses that stand straight get evenly cut, and this now looks better.
You can follow one of the four patterns when mowing your garden. Left to right, front to back, diagonally from front right to the back left, and from the front left to the back right.
You are free to experiment with various patterns till you make sure not to repeat the same route each time.
A little secret that the pros know is that the direction of the cut determines the stripes’ shade. If you cut a line away from you, then this will make the grass dark. If you cut a line towards your viewpoint, then this will make the grass shade lighter.
The best method is to alternate the cuts towards and away from the point, you start from. This is easy when using a zero-turn mower, but alternating the stripe could be a challenge when using a standard lawnmower.
9. The double cut is fine
If the grasses have grown very long, then it may tempt you to cut it down short in a single swoop. But this will cause stress to the lawn, which will lead to poor performance.
Rather than this, mow the grass to 50% of its original height. Give it some time to recover and then take off the next 50% of the new height. If the grass is still long, then you may want to add a third cut. This is time taking but is worth it when you save yourself from months of repairing the lawn.
10. Cut the grasses short in the winter months
You get some relaxation in the length of the grass that you are allowed to cut in the winter months. Depending on the kind of lawn that you have, set the lawnmower’s cutting deck to 2 inches and start cutting the grass short.
The advantage of this is that the long grass will not get blown by the winter winds. It will also not block the sunlight from reaching the roots.
Air circulation is essential when the weather is damp and cold to prevent moss, mold, and fungi formation, which can kill the grass. Also, when you cut the grass short in the winter months, it lets you figure out the patchy areas and treat it immediately to enjoy a nice and green lawn in the spring months.
11. Self-propelling the mower is a better option
It is a great workout to push your lawnmower manually. Not only does it let you enjoy a sculpted body but a sculpted lawn as well. Let us dig into the secret of why a self-propelled lawn mower should be the ideal choice for someone particular about the look of their lawn.
A self-propelled lawnmower offers a professional finish because of its consistency. Since the lawnmower mows through the lawn at the same speed, you get a more professional and smooth finish. All the four mower wheels stay on the ground firmly whether you are going up or down the slope. This saves you from a scalped or bald lawn, letting you appreciate a fuller and thicker lawn.
12. Lines on your lawn look fine
The epitome of a professional lawn finish is the lines on your lawn. This creates an aesthetic appeal. The process is simple and easy but something that confuses the majority.
Just pick a tree, shrub, or plant at the end of the lawn and walk towards it with the mower. Look at the object at a distance to get the first line. When you reach the end of the line, do an about-turn and follow the parallel on the first line. Repeat the process.
Conclusion
Does your lawn fail to look perfect even after you have watered and fertilized it? If that is the case, then it could be that you are not mowing the lawn well. We all desire a perfect finish for our lawns and the secret to this lies in how you mow your lawn.
