Mowing your lawn, although overlooked, greatly effects your lawns appearance and general health.
MOWING TIPS
- Don’t remove any more than one third of the grass leaf at any one cutting. If circumstances arise that a lawn gets too tall and you just have to lop off a bunch to get caught up, bight the bullet and break it down into several mowings to get caught up with 3 or so days between cuttings.
- Try to avoid mowing when the grass is wet.
- When mowing only a third with each cutting, you can safely leave the clippings that will quickly decompose and add nutrients back into the soil. Contrary to popular opinion, grass clippings do not add to thatch buildup. Grass blades are made up of about 75% water.
- Mow your lawn in a different direction with each mowing, especially with lawns of shorter grass types. Altering the direction ensures a more even cut since grass blades will grow more erect and less likely to develop into a set pattern.
- Keep your mower’s blade sharp, which means having it sharpened several times during the mowing season. A good idea is to keep several blades around so you’ll always have a sharp one on hand. Professionals often sharpen their blades after only 8 hours of usage.
- Don’t forget to change your mower’s oil at least 2 – 3 times during the mowing season.
If you didn’t drain your gas tank in late fall, or use a fuel stabilizer, don’t use that old gas, it can cause a number of problems. Better to use fresh gasoline to begin the new mowing season.
