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4 Grass Cutting Tips

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You can almost see the grass grow

Mowing the lawn can seem like a bit of a mystery the first time you attempt it. You’ve seen the neat pale and dark green lines that appear whenever someone mows a lawn on the telly, but whenever you attempt it in your own back garden you seem to get a weird, splotchy green mess.

Mowing the lawn is one of those skills that nobody ever really gets taught. They’re just expected to know how to do it instinctively. However, there are a few common sense tips you can use to make sure that your lawn comes out looking healthy, neat and tidy.

Overlapping

When you start mowing the lawn you should do so in a sort of zigzag pattern, going from one end of the lawn to the other, turning around and coming back alongside where you’ve just been. A lot of first time mowers assume this means that the mower should be travelling next to the freshly mown grass, but don’t cross onto it.

Instead you want to make sure that the lawnmower slightly overlaps the area you’ve just mown. To make this easier and more precise, make a mark on your lawnmower to show how far you want the overlap to go. This will be your “overlap marker”.

This is particularly important if your lawnmower isn’t a hover mower but one with wheels. If you take a second to think about it you’ll realise that running wheels up and down exactly the same path is going to wear tracks into the soil, which isn’t going to look good for the lawn as a whole.

Obstacles

For the easiest mowing results you want a completely flat, level and rectangular lawn with grass that is entirely uniform in length, but of course, lawns like that seldom exist outside of the gardener’s imagination.

There are a number of obstacles you’ll probably face while mowing the lawn. If you find that some of the grass is damp or longer than the rest you can get round it simply by slowing down a little. Just push the mower through the grass at a slightly slower speed and it shouldn’t present any problems.

A slightly trickier area is the bumps and high spots in the lawn. When you approach these it’s worth stopping to raise the height of your blades, otherwise you could end up with a slightly too close shave that leaves bald patches on your lawn, or worse, you could accidentally stop the blade. The same is true when you’re approaching slopes or shady areas.

Maintenance

Of course, it doesn’t matter one jot about your mowing technique if your tools are in poor condition. There are a number of maintenance steps you should take on a regular basis to ensure good mower performance.

If you have a cylinder mower and you find that the blade stutters regularly, or the lawn is coming out in a “ribbed” or “rippled” effect, it could be that the blades are blunt or the mower is under-powered   The same is true if the lawn starts to take on a frayed look, or a sort of silvery sheen.

Getting just the right look

Now you’ve got the basics sorted, you need to focus on getting the look of your lawn just the way you want it. There are a number of tricks to this. Firstly, if you’re using a cylinder mower, change the direction that you’re mowing at least once a month. This stops the grass being constantly pushed down in one direction.

If you want the famed “striped” look on a large lawn or one without a straight edge, the best place to start isn’t on one side of the lawn but straight down the middle. From there you can mow outwards on either side of the central strip.

Naturally it’s important that you have the right tools for the job, whether you buy lawnmowers online or from a store direct it’s worth spending time to make sure you have the right machine

Finally, when you get to the edges of the lawn, don’t worry about getting all the grass. A quick final cut once or twice around the edge of the lawn will give it a professional looking frame.

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Mark Bartram is Managing Director of Lawnmowers Direct, so he knows a thing or two about lawn maintenance.






Lawn care tips from Spring through Autumn

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Now that Autumn has arrived and the garden is winding down it might be time to think about the health of your lawn.

Here in Toronto there’s a ban on pesticide and insecticide use (not that I used them on my garden or lawn anyway as we are fully organic) so for some, it’s become harder to maintain the quality of their lawn.

The best defense against pests and weeds is a healthy turf, so I thought I’d post some lawn care tips that you can do now and in the spring to ensure that your lawn is healthy.

Autumn Lawn Care

Autumn is the best time to apply grass seed, repair damaged areas and thicken existing turf.

If you have weeds growing on your lawn take some time to carefully dig them out of the ground or if you are so inclined apply an appropriate weed killer to affected areas.

We usually aerate our lawn in the fall and late spring. Aeration will increase the amount of air, water and nutrients getting to the soil, which will strengthen grass roots and help create a healthier lawn. We use a simple two pronged tool that we can push into the earth with our foot, but I believe you can rent an aeration machine at your local hardware store.

A great time to fertilize and reseed the lawn is after aerating.

We also cut the grass at least once during this time of year (mower set to 2 – 3 inches) and give it a watering if it’s been dry.

Spring Lawn Care

If you live in a cool area that gets snow or a lot of moisture in the spring it’s best to stay off the lawn until the ground has dried and it’s firm to walk on.

Begin your spring lawn care by raking up dead grass, leaves and any other debris that might have accumulated throughout the winter season.

If your lawn is uneven or has “frost bumps” this is also a good time of year to roll out the bumps with a light roller.

Aerate the lawn – particularly in high traffic area and then apply a slow release lawn fertilizer. You might purchase a fertilizer with a crab grass preventer if that’s been a problem in previous years.

Spring through fall Mowing guidelines

As spring progresses you should apply grass seed either to the whole lawn or at least to thin areas. Remember a lawn with healthy thick turf will have fewer weeds.

Once the grass begins to grow and it’s time to mow it, remember to set your lawn mower to cut at a height of 2 to 3 inches and in the summer especially when it’s hot and dry outside raise the mower another 1/2 to raise drought resistance. Mowing short weakens the root system and gives weeds a chance to compete with the grass.

Mow in different directions and alter the pattern each time if you can. For example, go north-south, east-west, clockwise, counter-clockwise, diagonally, and so forth. This will cut more leaf surface on weeds that may tend to lean in the direction of mowing and may help the grass compete with them. It also reduces soil compaction and turf wear from the wheels.

Sharpen your mower blades at least once a year. Dull mower blades tear-off rather than cut grass blades. The torn leaves give the lawn a whitish caste and may leave it more vulnerable to disease problems.

It’s fine to leave the clippings on the lawn and if you have a mulching mower that will chop up the clippings further as it will speed up their decomposition. During the summer, clippings decompose and return nitrogen and other nutrients to your lawn. The decomposition is slower in cool weather.

Watering your Lawn

It’s best to water your lawn deeply, but infrequently rather than water regularly, but lightly – as infrequent and deep watering encourage deep roots.

Most lawns require approximately 1 inch of water per week. Use a rain gauge, coffee tin or aluminum pie plate to measure if the correct amount of water is being applied. High spots and south-facing slopes will need more water than other areas. Apply less water in shady areas that receive less than 4 hours of direct sunlight daily. Grass under large trees will need more water since the tree roots will consume water and the tree canopy may intercept rainfall.

Early morning watering is ideal as you’ll lose less water through evaporation. Watering in the evening or at night leaves the grass wetter long and can contribute to the development of diseases or fungus growth.

If you have a hot dry spell during the summer don’t be alarmed if your grass browns. It’s normal for it to go dormant during these kinds of conditions. It will come back nicely once the weather cools again.

Hopefully some of these tips will help you have a healthy lawn next year!

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