Lawn Mowers and Mowing
Mowing of is utmost important in maintaining a lustrous healthy lawn. One of the largest mistakes made by most homeowners is cutting the lawn way too short. Many people feel that cutting the lawn shorter buys them more time before cutting again or that is provides a tighter look within the lawn.
Well, the correction to this is that no matter how short you mow the lawn, you still mow the same no matter how short tall you choose to mow. So with this said, mowing the lawn shorter not only stunts and discolors the lawn, but also causes a lot of stress to the lawn making it less tolerable to drought, disease, and of course lessens its ability to fight weed infestations.
One of the best and most effective methods of weed control is by managing a proper mowing height. By mowing at the desired heights, the lawn flourishes growing denser and thicker eliminating the needed space light for weeds to develop.
Before you ever decide to utilize a weed control program, first do yourself a favor and adjust your mowing height to the proper standards. The rule of thumb is to never mow more than 1/3 of the growth height back. For Fescues, being the most common grass in our area, the proper height in spring and fall is 2.5″ – 3″ and in the summer months 3″-3.5″. You may have a hard timem adjusting to these heights, but trust us and try it for a while and you’ll see many areas of improvement especially in the enhanced coloring of the lawn.
The next and as important to element to mowing is maintain a sharp mower blade. For residents, you should have your mower blade sharpened at least 1-2 times each year, and having your mower blades sharpened once each mowing season is even better. When cutting the lawn with dull blades, the cut end of the grass blade becomes very shredded instead of a clean sharp cut. This frayed grass blade provides a brownish hue to the lawn as well as can cause various disease problems within the lawn.
