Grass Cutting Tips & Tricks

 

You may need Sat-Nav on lawns this big!

• Each run up the lawn with the lawn mower should slightly overlap the previous one; put a mark on each side of the mower as your ‘overlap marker’
• If you want 'straight stripes’ on a large lawn or a lawn without a straight edge begin by mowing a straight line down the middle of the lawn. Now mow on either side of it
• Don’t worry about cutting ALL the grass at the edges of the lawn; if you do a final cut all around the perimeter of the lawn once or twice you’ll get all the end bits and add a ‘professional’ frame to your mowing
• If your lawnmower has a roller change mowing direction at least every month
• If your mower has four wheels you MUST overlap each run so that the wheels do not go in the same place all the time. Repeated grass cutting in the same track will produce ruts and tramlines!
• If the grass is damp or long slow down your speed (not the blade speed)
• If you are ‘scalping’ the lawn in some places (high spots) raise the mowing height. Scalped areas will often be mossy and/or weedy
• Mow slopes and shady areas one setting higher than the rest of the lawn
• If the lawn has a ‘silver sheen’ or ‘frayed’ look after mowing the blade(s) need sharpening
• If you’re using a cylinder mower and the blade stutters or produces a ribbed or rippled effect in the lawn then either
  • the mower is blunt or under powered or
  • the grass is too long or too wet - slow down your lawn mowing speed and mow more frequently
• Leave the box off if the mower instructions allow and weeds and weed grasses aren’t seeding;
  • In summer to help conserve moisture
  • To lightly feed the lawn in the growing season
  • For one or two cuts after applying liquid feed, seaweed or iron products

Grass Cutting in Wet Conditions

Sometimes needs must so here are a few more Lawnsmith mowing tips to help you, your lawn mower and your lawn:

• Drag a hose across the lawn to ‘squeegee’ off the rain or dew. It will now dry much quicker if you can wait awhile, otherwise you can mow straight away
• Raise the mowing height to reduce load on the lawn mower
• Empty the bag/box more often – less weight for you and your mower
• Keep your speed down to reduce load on the mower blade
• Clogging may occur so please, no heroics with the engine/blade running
• Hose down the mower after use and leave in a ventilated area to dry
• Don’t bother and refer to mowing after holidays below

Mowing Before and After Holidays

Who hasn’t got back from holiday to find the grass up to the window cills?

Bet you were glad you gave it a close cut before you went?

Well, sorry to disappoint but the shorter you mow the grass the quicker it grows so the chances are your lawn put on a bit of a spurt whilst you were sunning in the Costa’s!

The best approach is to stick to your normal mowing height before you go. If the weather is dry don’t water the lawn as it’ll grow more and if you’re feeding the lawn don’t do it in the six weeks leading up to your holiday.

When you get back from holiday this is the time to make grass cutting adjustments. Raise the height to follow the ‘one third rule’ and give it a high cut. Then two or three days later mow it again on a lower setting still following the ‘one third rule’. You should now be able to make the next cut at your normal mowing height. This is also a good procedure if you haven’t been able to mow for a while due to bad or wet weather.

This works very well with a rotary mower but a cylinder mower will struggle and so will you. Therefore, borrow or hire (very cheap to hire) a rotary mower for a couple of days to get the highest cuts done. This is another good reason to buy a rotary mower if you’ve got anything other than an ornamental lawn. And if you’ve got an ornamental lawn you should be arranging for mowing to be done whilst you’re on holiday!

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