When it comes to your home, a beautiful garden is always a great benefit to have. If you want to have a beautiful lawn that always turns heads, you need to look after your garden all year round – and it all starts with mowing your lawn just right.
Here are 10 great lawn mowing tips to ensure that your lawn always looks its best.
Mow correctly
Mowing might seem simple enough, but every time you mow your lawn, you are paving the way for success or failure. If you mow correctly, you’ll have a turf that is healthy, strong enough to eliminate weeds, and tolerant to drought. Time your mowing sessions so that you never cut off more than one-third of the leaf surface at a time.
Avoid scalping
Always avoid scalping you grass, which means cutting it too short. When you have a scalped lawn, it can be vulnerable to weed infestations and diseases. A scalped lawn can also be very weak, and this will expose the soil, which is one of the leading contributors to weed growth.
If you have a sparse lawn (consider our instant lawn for sale), you make it much easier for sunlight to reach weed seedlings, which is something you want to avoid. Grass that is always cut too short will also start to develop a poor root system and this can lead to serious damage in high temperatures and drought.
Use a sharp blade
One of the best lawn mowing tips is to always use a sharp mower blade. A sharp blade will cut your grass cleanly, as opposed to a dull blade that will tear the grass and create uneven edges. This creates opportunities for diseases and pests to enter the blades, resulting in a whitish or brown hue as the tips of these grass blades die. Avoid mowing over branches or stones as this can lead to dull and damaged blades.
Adjust your mower height
Be sure to adjust your mower height throughout the growing season, by shifting the cutting deck higher during summer months to allow your lawn to grow longer. When you have tall grass, it helps to shade the soil and prevent the weed from growing. It also slows down water evaporation and allows the grass to develop deeper roots. This will allow you to create a lawn that can withstand drought much better throughout the rest of the year.
Shady lawn mowing
When you have a lawn area that is in the shade, remember that it benefits from a higher mowing height. The longer the grass blades, the more surface it has to conduct photosynthesis, which is great for lower light areas. This is a great lawn mowing tip for growing beautiful grass in shady areas.
Mowing dry grass
Always try to mow your lawn when the grass is dry. When you mow wet grass, it doesn’t only harm the grass but it’s also won’t give you the best results. Wet grass will fill up and clog the mower deck, as it tends to clump together, creating an uneven cut. Always be on the lookout for clumps of grass that fall off the mower, and to remove these from your lawn to avoid killing the grass in that area.
Mow in the shade
Just as pruning a plant can cause stress, the same happens with your grass. Mowing creates a lot of stress for your grass, which is why you should try and mow your lawn during cooler times of the day. If you mow when it’s hot, the grass plants lose more water and this means they recover slower than cooler parts of the day. Another option is to wait until there is shade on the grass before you mow.
Benefit from grasscycling
When you leave your grass clippings on your lawn after your mowing session, it is referred to as grasscycling. This saves you time and money, as you won’t have to bag all the clippings nor buy additional bags. These grass clippings can provide up to 25 percent of your lawn’s fertiliser needs, which is a great benefit to have.
You may want to replace your current blade with a mulching blade that cuts grass into smaller pieces, but you don’t need a specialised mower. Using fertilizer can also provide the nutrients your lawn needs.
Read More: How does fertilizer work?
Compost clippings
Grasscycling works best with grass that is mowed frequently; also keep in mind that you should only cut one-third of the grass blade length for best results. If you cut longer grass it needs to be raked and collected in a bag. You can also grasscycle turf by first cutting it and then rake out the clippings, before mowing over them to chop them up finely.
Choose your mowing pattern
Another great lawn mowing tip is to avoid cutting in the same pattern every time. If you do, you risk compacting soil and creating ruts. These can lead to an unhealthy lawn as well as weeds the thrive in soil that is compacted.
Landscaping in Pretoria offers professional landscaping services in the Gauteng area. For more information about our services, contact us on 087 550 3923 or visit us online.
