As far as lawn care tasks, mowing a lawn is one of the simplest…at least people tend to think. Many Louisville homeowners handle mowing on their own and don’t think much about it.
But the truth is, mowing mistakes are pretty common.
The problem with that is mowing mistakes can end up having an impact on your lawn care results. If your grass is not growing as green or as thick as it could be or seems to have a problem with weeds, improper mowing might be to blame.
In this article, we’ll talk about some of the most common mowing mistakes so that you can determine if you might be making them and try to get things back on track.
A very common mowing error is the cut height. People often don’t know how high to mow the grass and frequently mow the lawn too short. But when a lawn is mowed too short, you can create an environment that is more susceptible to weed growth. That’s because a short lawn is under a lot of stress. This can also give diseases a better chance of spreading.
We advise raising the mowing deck to 4 inches. While we know that people love a short lawn, if it’s too short, it’s not going to be healthy.
Another mowing mistake is mowing too infrequently. We know how it goes…life gets busy and suddenly you realize you haven’t mowed your lawn in two weeks or more. Sometimes people aren’t on any sort of regular mowing schedule…they just mow when they realize the lawn has gotten long.
But mowing an overgrown lawn can be traumatic for the grass. It means that you have to make a much more significant cut than had you been keeping up with regular mowing. This can really put a lot of stress on the lawn.
The goal is to cut no more than a third of the grass blade at a time.
So, you might be wondering what exactly that means in terms of frequency. How often should I mow?
We generally recommend mowing weekly as opposed to every other week. This will avoid putting too much stress on the lawn.
Of course, things happen and life gets busy. If you’ve let the lawn go for a long time and you need to catch up, it’d be ideal to try and get your lawn back to the right height over more than one mow (that way you aren’t cutting a drastic amount off all at once). It really does put a ton of stress on the lawn and can cause it to yellow.
The quality of your mowing blades also makes a big difference in how the lawn is cut. You want to make sure that you are cutting your grass with a sharp blade so that it is making a nice clean (almost “surgical”) cut.
This will give your lawn the best chance of recovering from that cut.
We know that people often don’t think of mowing a lawn as traumatic, but you are making cuts to the individual plants.
You want to ease that stress as much as possible.
Unfortunately, when you cut the grass with a dull blade, you’re actually tearing the lawn out more than making a clean and precise cut. This jagged cut is much more difficult for a lawn to bounce back.
A good rule is to change your mowing blade and prep your mower before St. Patrick’s Day. This will ensure that you have a sharp blade and help you beat the rush if you’re taking your mower to a small engine mechanic.
Besides the blades, you also want to make sure that the rest of your mower is in good, working order. An unlevel or clogged mowing deck or damaged or deflated tires can all lead to an uneven, poor cut.
It is important that you are cutting your lawn evenly.
If you are not comfortable inspecting your mower, see if you can have it professionally inspected and repaired. Often these repairs are simple and easy but make a world of difference.
Of course, sometimes cheap mowers have perpetual problems. If you are never getting a good cut, it might make sense to invest in a higher-quality mower. The fact is if you’re paying for lawn care services like fertilization and weed control, you don’t want to undo those efforts with mowing mistakes. Investing in a better mower might be worthwhile for your lawn as a whole.
Finally, another common mowing mistake that we frequently see is mowing too soon after a big rain storm. When the grass is still soggy and wet, mowing can easily leave unwanted tire tracks and ruts in the lawn.
Wet grass blades also tend to stick together and can make your cut very uneven. It’s also more likely that clippings will clog up the mower and cause you further problems.
It’s best to wait until the grass dries out significantly before mowing.
You might be wondering why we are even talking about mowing a lawn when it’s not a service that we offer. But at Limbwalker, we care deeply about helping you achieve the best possible lawn care results. We hate to see when mowing mistakes end up taking away from your investment.
That’s why we want to partner with you to help you get the best possible results. That includes providing expert advice and recommendations, even on services that we don’t provide. Ultimately, we want to work with you to achieve your best lawn.
While it might seem like an easy answer to just hire a lawn mowing company, we’ll be honest that so-called “pros” make mowing mistakes, too.
In fact, sometimes mowing companies that just go from one property to another are even worse about cutting lawns too short than homeowners. Many of them offer bi-weekly services, so they’re only out every other week. But this is not best for your lawn.
While we know it’s a pain to mow more frequently, it really is in the best interest of the health of your lawn.
Mowing a lawn is by no means rocket science. But there is definitely more to it than most people give credit to.
If you ever have lawn care questions…even if they aren’t related to the services we are performing…we are here to help. We know that yard maintenance mistakes can be a huge source of frustration. You’re just trying to do all the right things but it can be overwhelming.
But we commend you for putting in the effort…and for trying to make sure you’re doing it right! You’re already many steps ahead of a lot of homeowners and on your way to having the best-looking lawn in your neighborhood.
At Limbwalker, we truly value the relationship we have with homeowners like you and want you to know we’ve got your back. Working together, we can achieve the best results.
Are you ready to have a thick and healthy lawn that’s getting everything it needs at your Louisville, KY home? Get in touch with us to get a quote for our lawn care programs, which include three lawn care pricing options.
