Proper Mowing Part 2

Mowing Simplified

Most people would consider mowing the lawn somewhat of a chore, but it doesn’t have to feel as much of as it seems. In this post I will go over some basic ideas, time saving tips as well as some safety precautions.

First off is selecting the right lawn mower for your yard, take some time to walk around your yard, measuring any gates or other obstructions in your yard ( trees, flower beds, pools, etc.) that you may have. Selecting a lawn mower such as a one with a 60″ deck on it may seem like a real time saver, but in reality you have a small yard with rock gardens, trees and what not, leaving even smaller mow areas that this sweet mower will not fit in. Like some in town lots that have 36″ gates leading into the back yard.

On the other hand it will take around 2 1/2 hours to mow a half acre with an 18″ push mower, while you could do it in a 1/2 hour with a 36″ riding lawn mower. So knowing your yard and any obstructions that you may have therein will be key to selecting a lawn mower for your yard.

Now that you have selected the right lawn mower for the job, lets get into mowing your lawn with your new mower. Again take a look at your lawn, you will want to mow in a long, straight pattern.
Lets say your lawn is 30′ x 40′ for example, you will want to mow in 40′ long swaths, making as few turns a possible and the sooner you will finish.

In most cases you will not need a bagger or grass catcher when you mow if you are only mowing one-quarter or one-third of the lawns height. The exception being the areas that where clipping encourage disease, then you will want to bag the grass clippings.
I prefer to mulch the grass clippings and as long as you mow your lawn regularly the clipping will compost back into the soil, providing a natural fertilizer for your lawn. If you are concerned about the clippings you can install a mulch blade on your lawn mower, this will cut the grass clippings into smaller pieces and will appear less visible.

Do not mow on a wet lawn, as the lawn will be slick and wet grass is more likely to tear rather than cut, especially if the lawn mower blade is dull. The wet clippings blow out and fall into thick clumps, rather than a fine haze. The wheel of your mower, especially a rider can compact the lawns wet soil, resulting in other problems for your lawn.

Always remember the guidelines: Mow at the recommended height for your lawn. Never mow more than one-third of your lawns height. Always keep your blades sharp, dull blades can introduce disease, leading to less leaf growth and a sparse lawn. Using dull blades will also use about 20% more gas than sharp blades.

Time Saving Tips:

Mow around the perimeter  of your yard, along the sidewalks, house and an other border, mowing so that your blowing the grass clippings back into the lawn. This will allow the blade closer to the edged, which will save you some time with the trimming of the borders, as well as a time saver for blowing off any hard surfaces that you may have.

Mow in long, straight swaths, once the edges have been done. Also you will want to change your mowing pattern every once in awhile, the grass tends to lay flat after a few mowings and changing direction will pull it back up, given you a more even cut. It will also help in avoiding soil compaction.

Always use sharp mower blades, this will save you time and money.

Safety Precautions:

Mowing on slopes can be dangerous, so here are a couple of safety tips.

Never mow a slope greater than 15 degrees.

Slopes greater than 5 degrees may look flat, but in fact they are dangerous to mow. If you are using a walk-behind you will want to across the hill, the mower will be less apt to hit you if you slip or fall, also the mower will be less likely to run out of control downhill.

If your using a riding lawn mower, mow up and down the hill so that the mower is less likely to rollover on top of you. If the wheels slip or the grade is to steep, disengage the blades and back down the hill.

Lawn Mower Safety Tips

As with any new piece of equipment that we purchase, its always a good thing to read the instructions as well as all safety precautions that go along with it.

In this post I will post some lawn mower safety tips for everyone as well as some general advice that pertains to lawn mower safety as well.

1. Leave all the safety features intact. Gaurds and deadman switches are there to protect you from danger. DO NOT disable them.
2. Never reach into a mower when the blade is engaged (running.) If the lawn mower clogs up the discharge chute, shut off the engine before trying to undo the clogged chute. Mowing the lawn wen the grass is dry will prevent clogs and keeps you from slipping in the wet grass.
3. DO NOT let children operate the lawn mower. They are not big enough or mature enough to operate it safely.
4. Always do a walk around of the lawn you are about to mow, picking up sticks, rocks, dog chains, metal and other trash before mowing the area.
5. Keep your feet clear from the deck and blades at all times.
6. Wear long legged pants to protect your legs and boots to protect your feet.
7. Always wear hearing and eye protection.
8. In a well ventilated area refill the gas tank carefully. No smoking while refueling. Let the engine cool prior to refueling and never refuel while the engine is running.
9. If you are using a bagger, make sure that there are no holes in it. The mower can pick up small rocks and debris and they can be discharged through the holes. Never operate a rear bagger without a bag unless the discharge door is closed on the lawn mower.
10. Always pay attention. DO NOT operate a lawn mower after drinking, taking medication, or any other drugs.

Proper Mowing Part 1

Knowing your grass

Mowing a lawn is simple enough, but so is getting it wrong and a bad job of mowing a lawn can be worse than not, so lets take some time to break things down and go over some lawn care essentials for attaining a better lawn.
If your like most folks you run your lawn mower or garden tractor over the lawn once a week, but during the long, dry days of summer, when your lawn gets to looking ragged and worn, you may cut the grass a little shorter. Maybe your going on vacation for a week or two and you cut the grass as short as you can, hoping that the grass won’t grow all that tall before you return from your trip.

We need to look at our lawn differently and mow the grass because it is long and not because we have a day set aside or we are going off for a couple weeks. When we cut the grass, we should not cut anymore than one-quarter to one-third of the leaves.

Knowing what type of grass you have will go along way in getting the cut height right, there are both Low-cut and High-cut grasses and I will post a chart for the common grasses as well as there mowing heights.

Low-cut grasses do not have enough leaf mass to thrive, so when we cut more than a third of the blade off, we remove the tissues the grass uses in order to produce food to fuel its root growth. When root growth suffers, so does the plant, you see the grass is left without enough water and nutrients to thrive and can become vulnerable to drought and disease.

High-cut grasses on the other hand will have more leaves and a deeper root system. With a deeper root system, it can draw in more water and nutrients from the soil – nutrients that will make the plant vigorous, as well as helping it out-compete when the weeds try to sneak into the lawn. So during the dry season the deeper roots (up to 8” deep) will be vital to getting the nutrients and water that the plant needs to survive, resulting in a stronger plant the is resistant to both drought and disease.

Taller grass creates its own shade, but it also works the other way as well, you see to much shade can stunt or even kill the grass plant, the shade that the plant produces is important to the grass plants survival.
Cutting the grass at the proper height allows the plant to provide enough shade to protect the plants crown and roots from overheating from the sun; protecting the roots helps the plant conserve water. Shorter cut grass will have no protection, resulting in a sunburned lawn, killing the grass, especially in hot weather.

Grass Height: How tall is to tall?

In Theory, each variety grows best when cut at the proper mowing height, so setting your lawn mower should be based on the type of grass in your lawn.
In Practice, the grass in your lawn was planted years ago by someone else and few people have little idea what they are cutting. A general rule of thumb, although its not perfect, it does come close to what one should do: cut warm weather grasses (suited for the South) 2-2 ½ inches tall, this is the height at which they grow best.
Cool season grasses (suited for the North) will grow better when cut a little longer, keeping them at 3-3 ½ inches tall.

Again once you know the type and proper height for your grass, always remember to cut no more than one-quarter to one-third of its height. Cutting more than this stresses the grass and will leave a thick coating of clippings, which can and will smother your lawn.
Properly mowing your lawn following this simple guideline (one-quarter to one-third) and you can let the clippings compost back into the soil, acting as a natural fertilizer.

Please Note: If you live in an area that is prone to grass disease, bagging the clippings can help prevent problems.

Mowing height for different grasses

Grass                                                Optimum Height                           Mowing Height
Bluegrass                                                  2 inches                                         3 inches
Perennial Ryegrass                                   2 inches                                         3 inches
Tall Fescue                                               2 inches                                         3 inches
Fine Fescue                                              2 inches                                         3 inches
St. Augustinegrass                                   2 inches                                         3 inches
Buffalograss                                            2 inches                                          3 inches
Bermudagrass                                         1 ¼ inches                                       2 ¼ inches
Zoysiagrass                                             1 ¼ inches                                       2 ¼ inches

Choosing A Lawn Care Provider

There are many reasons as to why you may hire a lawn care provider, maybe you don’t have the time, the proper tools to get the job done. Maybe you will be spending more quality time with family and friends at the beach or camp and will require a lawn care provider to take care of your lawn and there is nothing wrong with at all.
As with anything there are a lot of folks out there claiming to be legitimate lawn care providers out there and I would suggest that you do some research before hiring one. Lawn care businesses will vary in everything from prices to services provided. This is why you will want to check with a few different lawn companies before hiring one.

This will be your chance to ask your potential provider any questions or express any concerns that you may have.

Referrals: If they have been around for a few years, you may have heard of them or even seen them in action and have checked out the finished product.
Maybe they are a new company to the area. Ask for references and check around with family, friends, neighbors and co-workers as they may have heard of them and have so input.

Insurance & Licenses: Lawn care providers are not required to have a license to cut grass in Maine, but if your looking for a lawn care provider that will also fertilize and spray for insects, then they will need an applicators license in Maine. Also ask if they carry Liability Insurance, as accidents can and will happen from time to time and you will have that piece of mind that if something does happen it will be covered by your lawn care provider.

Estimates: This may or may not be the deal breaker for you, but may I add that just because one company is cheaper it doesn’t mean that this is always the best choice, but it will give you a starting point for comparison shopping.

Services: What is included in the service price, some have a lower price, but offer less service. It will all come down to what your needs are.

Now that you have decided on a lawn care provider, are all signed up for the season and scheduled for your first lawn service. After your lawn care company has serviced your lawn, take a walk around the property and check to see if the job has been done in accordance to your contract.
Check for things like the walkways and driveway, have they been trimmed and blown off?
Did they edge the bed areas?
Are you satisfied with your lawn care providers services?
The choice is yours and it can be a difficult choice for sure, but choose the one that will provide you with the services that you will need. Like I mentioned before the cheapest is not always the best choice in the long run, but you will find a lawn care provider that is in the middle of the road as far as prices go and offer excellent service packages.
Best wishes in your search for a lawn care provider.

In my last post I touched on some basic things that you could do on how you can get started with a basic organic lawn care program.
In this post I will talk a little more in depth about step #1 in starting an organic lawn care program that you can could do or hire a lawn care provider to do for you.
If choose to take on the task yourself, there are many programs and products out there and I would suggest that you do some research before diving right in to it. There are a lot of great books at your local library and loads of good information on the web regarding the subject of organic lawn care.
Where to start? If your lawn has a lot of weeds and such or simply won’t do much of anything else, but grow these types of things, I would suggest on having your soil tested first and foremost. Depending on the results on your soil test, you may or may not have to adjust the ph levels in your soil.
You can get a soil testing kit online or from a store that sells fertilizers. There are various types of testers such as paper test strips, liquid test kits and digital meters.
The recommended ph level should be around ph6.5-7 for good plant growth, the condition of your soil is key for your organic lawn care programs success.
The soil should be alive with a variety of microorganisms and bugs, your lawn will benefit from these microbes, as they will both feed and protect the plants from disease causing microbes.
This will be covered in step #2 of organic lawn care, Preparing the Soil.

If you have been looking for a safe, simple and effective way of achieving your dream lawn that will be the envy of the neighborhood without harming family members, pets, friends, water sources and the environment, organic lawn care may just be the ideal answer for you.

One of the easiest ways to get started is simply adjusting your mower height and ensuring that your blades are kept sharp, this will ensure a clean cut without damaging the plant and the added height will provide added protection to the plants root system.

Adjusting the blade height does quite a bit for the grass, the longer blades will have more exposure to the sun, allowing them to photosynthesize additional for amplified root growth.

The additional root mass implies the larger availability of water and nutrients, ensuring that the plant can endure drought better, as well as aiding in a swift recovery from dormancy.

The recommended height for most grasses is 3-4 inches, although some types like fine fescue and centipede grass do not grow above that height and should be cut around a half inch to an inch shorter than other grasses.

What to do with grass clippings? Rather than bagging your grass clippings, simply mulch them back into the lawn. The clippings will decay and provide precious nitrogen back into to soil, roughly 2 pounds of nitrogen per 1,000 square feet of soil every season.

That is about half of your lawns annual fertilizer requirements. The grass clippings also compliment organic matter, while providing many other benefits to the soil and lawn.

Some people believe that the grass clippings will lead to thatch, dead or dying clippings atop the soil creating a deposit, blocking much needed moisture and oxygen from getting to the plants root system. However new grass clippings boost earthworm activity, which breaks down thatch.

This is simply a basic starting point for organic lawn care.

If your interested in an organically maintained lawn Down To Earth offers a Organic Lawn Care Program.