Lawn and Landscape Blog

While there can be a numerous amount of things that can affect your lawn, the three most common influences are the weather, the soil and lawn care and mowing techniques. Since the weather and soil can be quite difficult to control, proper lawn care and mowing techniques are a manageable variable that can show a big difference.

Proper lawn aeration, care and mowing techniques are vital to having a healthy lawn and landscape and usually cost a minimal amount. Coming up with lawn care and mowing techniques can never happen too early or soon. Some tips for healthy lawn care and mowing techniques are:

High Mowing

The higher the grass, the healthier your lawn will be. With the height of the grass and the depth of the roots, there is a one to one relationship, which means if you mow at two inches, your roots will have a depth of two inches. The one-third rule states that you should never remove more than one third of the high of the grass in one clipping, because it leaves the grass more prone to diseases. High mowing will add root mass and will make your lawn more disease and drought-resistant.

Variation of Mowing Pattern

Mowing pattern variation makes sure that the wheels of the mower are not running over the same areas every time. This can cause bald spots in the grass and can eventually weaken it.

Sharp Mower Blade

A good thing to remember is to keep the blade on your mower sharp. Cutting with a dull blade will leave the grass jagged, which will brown the grass quickly and will leave the grass prone to disease.

 Mulch Clippings

When people bag clippings, they are losing a lot of nitrogen they are applying when fertilizing. Leaving the clippings on your yard will help maintain soil activity. One environmental positive of not bagging mowing clippings is the landfills are not being filled with good healthy nitrogen.

Water Dry Grass

Especially during the summer months, grass needs at least one inch of water per week. Watering deeply in the morning to reduce the possibility of disease once a week is a good technique.

The frequency of watering isn’t the most important issue anymore, the amount of moisture and the timing is what matters the most.

Aerate

Aeration reduces compaction, which makes root development easier. This also pulls microorganisms to the surface, which helps break down thatch and other organisms.