Tuesday, August 26, 2008

For today's Tuesday Tip I have chosen to talk about lawn mowing heights. The height of your grass is essential to it's well being. Do you like those lawns with the perfect thick grass with no weeds in sight? I do to, that's why I decided to give you a little tip on how to achieve that perfect grass.

Mowing height is probably the most important part of mowing. Most grasses manufacture sugars through the process of photosynthesis so they can collectively develop into a high quality lawn. If you mow your grass at low heights then you leave limited leaf area to sustain the photosynthesis rate that is necessary to maintain good vigor. Basically, a lawn mowed too short will have a shallow root system with little total root mass. This is something I notice a lot of. Mowing height can play an important role in preventing weeds from developing. I have heard that higher mowing heights resulted in less weeds . The reason for this is that higher grass provides more shading and competition to the weed seedlings during germination.

When mowing your grass you should adhere to the 1/3" mowing rule. You should not have a time when you mow your lawn, like once a week or twice a week. Your lawn will grow at different rates at different times. The best thing you can do is follow the 1/3" mowing rule. To get your recommended lawn height you need to look up your grass type and recommended growth heights. An example of the 1/3" mowing rule is if your grasses recommended height is normal at 2 inches, the height of your grass should not be allowed to grow beyond 3 inches before it is mowed back down to 2 inches. If 1 inch is mowed off, then 1/3 of the total blade length is removed and the 1/3" mowing rule has been followed properly.

With that being said, if you follow the general 1/3" mowing rule, you will have a very nice lawn. Of course regular watering and fertilizer aren't going to hurt either. So remember, break your habit of mowing the same day all the time and start listening to your lawn and only mow when it is necessary.

I hope you found this post useful. Se you again next Tuesday!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Now if I could just get some grass that would be great. I know you have seen more water than you care to, but we needed it badly and are finally getting our portion of Fay. I hope to put your advice to good use soon. The seed I put out on my new land didn't even germinate it was so hot and dry. But there is glorious rain now!!

Sheldon said...

Hey thanks for your tips. I would like to know more about Lawn mowing unit.

Anonymous said...

Very good tips, find out how to mow down the competition here.