Lawn Mowing Basics

The frequency with which you mow your lawn depends on a range of factors from how much time you have to devote to lawn care, how fast your grass grows (which is in turn a factor of the amount of fertiliser, water and sun it gets) and the extent to which you are lawn-proud. Some people have to mow as soon as the stripes disappear whereas others are happy to let the grass grow until the cat if it steps on the grass! A rule of thumb is that a fortnightly trim in summer is the minimum to keep lawn grass in good condition.

There's a fairly common misconception that damages lawns, namely that the shorter you cut it, the less often you’ll have to repeat the chore. It’s only true to the extent that too short grass can be prone to scorching by the sun, or to flooding in wet weather, both of which can permanently damage the growing ability of the plant at root level.

Grass generally will grow better when mowed at a higher setting and the general guidance is that you should never be removing more than one third of the height of the lawn in a mowing session. So if you have let your grass get too long, the recommended process is make a first mow at the highest possible cut, then remow the following day at a lower setting. Then, if the grass is still too long, leave it 48 hours before mowing again to give the grass time to heal and recover from the first two cuts.

If you are cutting grass that hasn’t been mown for a while, it’s important to make sure that if your mower has blades rather than line, they must be sharp and in good condition. It’s also vital that you walk the lawn first, removing stones or other debris from the grass to avoid damaging either mower or lawn.

Perfect lawn photograph shows the right cut height to balance cutting frequency with lawn appearance, courtesy of doortoriver.

 

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