Homeowners are often surprised to learn how much their mowing habits can impact lawn care results. But the truth is, bad lawn mowing habits can significantly affect things like the lawn’s color, thickness, and overall health.
While it seems like one of those tasks that are relatively simple, a lot of people actually don’t know how to cut grass properly. There’s a bit more to it than people tend to realize.
In this article, we’ll talk about how lawn mowing impacts lawn care results including some of the most common lawn mowing mistakes.
Common Lawn Mowing Mistakes
The following mistakes should be avoided so that you can get the thickest, healthiest lawn possible.
#1: Mowing the Lawn Too Short
This might be one of the most common mistakes that we see…and it can also be quite detrimental to your lawn’s health. When you cut your grass too short, you put a tremendous amount of stress on your lawn. This creates an environment more prone to weed growth.
We tell people to mow to a height of 3.5 inches and there is a good reason for that. The shorter that you mow the lawn, the more shallow the root system becomes. To have healthy turfgrass, you always want to have deeper roots that go further down into the soil.
Taller grass also happens to be greener grass. The taller the grass plant is, the more leaf tissue there is. Since the leaf tissue is what allows photosynthesis to occur, when you mow the lawn too short, you are impacting its ability to make food for itself. This affects the overall health and color of your lawn. You’ll notice that lawns which are mowed too short are often yellowed.
The taller that you mow the lawn, the more it shades the soil, as well. This is important when it comes to retaining moisture and preventing weed seeds from germinating. A taller-cut lawn will have better moisture retention and fewer weeds.
Finally, there is also a visual component to a taller lawn. From a visual standpoint, the more green leaf tissue you see from the street, the better the lawn looks. People will see a healthier, greener lawn.
We know that people like a short lawn but it’s important to recognize how much stress it can cause. This is a lawn mowing mistake that even some professional mowers make.
#2: Mowing Too Infrequently
Another bad lawn mowing habit is letting too much time lapse in between mows. We completely get it. Life gets busy and you forget to mow one weekend. But mowing the lawn too infrequently typically leads people to make drastic cuts (and mow the lawn too short, as we mentioned above).
It’s also important not to cut more than one-third of the grass blades at a time. Anything more than that is simply too stressful for the lawn. But when homeowners wait too long to mow, they end up cutting half or more of the grass blades, seriously stressing the lawn.
In order to achieve the optimal cut, it’s best to mow as necessary as opposed to a specific day of the week. Then you can maintain a nice height without having to make a drastic cut.
#3: Mowing With Dull Blades, an Uneven Mowing Deck, or Flat Tires
Bad lawn mowing habits also relate back to the mower that you’re using. If you’re mowing the lawn with dull blades, an uneven mowing deck, or flat tires, you might be getting a jagged or sloppy cut which is also stressful for the lawn.
Dull blades are one of the biggest problems that we see. You should be sharpening your mower blades regularly so that you’re making a nice, clean cut. But most people fail to do this. Instead, the blade is tearing the grass out instead of slicing it.
A cut like this is hard to heal from and may be the reason that your lawn is turning yellow. Unfortunately, even some professional mowers fail to keep up with regularly sharpening their blades.
#4: Scalping the Lawn with the Trimmer
Since trimming is often done following mowing, we wanted to throw this one in here. Unfortunately, a common lawn care mistake that we see is scalping the edges of the lawn…particularly in areas that border hardscaping like sidewalks or driveways.
The problem with this is that you’re creating an area that is prone to weed growth. Crabgrass, in particular, loves to creep into these spots.
Crabgrass thrives in hot, thin areas of your lawn and those scalped edges make the perfect place to grow and spread. Unfortunately, crabgrass is an opportunistic weed that is always seeking out thin areas where it can flourish.
Avoid Bad Lawn Mowing for Better Lawn Care Results
Lawn mowing is ultimately just one task that can impact your lawn care results. So can your watering habits, environmental conditions, and the weather. While we understand some elements are out of your control, it’s important to control what you can…and lawn mowing is something within your control.
If you’re investing in a lawn care program, you want to make sure that you’re getting the best possible results. That’s why it’s important to understand how lawn mowing impacts lawn care results.
At Oasis Turf & Tree, we’re also committed to helping you however we can. While we don’t handle lawn mowing, we’re always ready to provide tips and advice that will help. It’s also why we provide lots of resources on our website for you to read.
At the end of the day, we believe the best lawns come from a partnership. We are always here to answer questions that may arise. And we know that by working together, we can achieve the best possible results.
Want to learn more about professional lawn care services for your Cincinnati, Dayton, Ohio or Northern Kentucky lawn? Request your quote, choose the lawn care program that’s right for you, and then sit back and relax as the pros help you get your lawn in great shape!
Image Source: lawn mower