While mowing a lawn does seem like a very simple task, there is more to it than just walking or riding the mower around the lawn a few times. When and how you mow your lawn is important and so is what is done with the resultant clippings. This article aims to educate you on the mowing aspect of DIY exterior lawn maintenance.
One of the most common mowing mistakes that most people make in mowing their lawns is to cut the grass very short. Scalping down your lawn is definitely not suggested, and no, you not have to take a putting green as your ideal lawn. The many reasons that cutting grass too short is bad include:
- The near decapitation of the grass results in increased demands for moisture and nutrition.
- It results in the faster drying out of the soil.
- Chlorophyll contents are reduced, and chlorophyll serves as fuel for energy production. Long blades would have more chlorophyll resulting in better looking grass.
- In the absence of tall blades of grass, weeds can germinate in a better way.
The one thing that makes a lawn look good is the evenness with which it has been mowed. Badly mowed grass does result in the lawn getting dehydrated and also promoting the growth of weeds.
Moreover, the notion that mowing your grass close to the ground will increase the time between mows does not hold true. Cutting the grass too short results in the grass growing faster. This is because it is trying to get back to its natural form.
A good setting to keep your lawn mower on during ‘season’ is at 2.5 – 3 inches. However, cutting your grass a little shorter just before the onset of winter is a good idea as this would help ward off fungal related problems.
Once you’ve mowed the lawn, leaving the clipping behind can stop the supply of sunlight to the grass that lies underneath. You should ideally rake up your clippings, and using them in a compost pit is the best way to make use of them. However, if you are regular with your mowing you can let the clippings stay on the lawn as these short clippings would enrich the soil while breaking down.
Do remember that how your lawn looks depends largely on what you subject it to.