Top tips for mowing the perfect lawn
Nothing can make normally placid gardeners hotter under the collar and more likely to start criticizing the skills of others than the topic of how to mow the lawn.
Let us make it absolutely clear here that what follows is a matter of personal opinion based on the experience of many years. There is an excellent chance that you will find many excellent and notable articles with recommendations that flatly contradict some of what is said below.
In the end, you may just need to weigh things up, form your own opinion, and then decide whether or not to try some of them for yourself.
1. Don’t cut too much. There is no real, firm definition of how often you should mow for the best effect and healthiest result. It has a lot to do with personal preferences, the time of year, and the condition of your lawn.
Still, try not to take the mower out onto the lawn every five minutes, as that will inevitably compact the soil and put pressure on the roots.
2. Buy or use a lawn mower that is the right size for your lawn area. Trying to make do with one that’s too small is likely to tire you out a bit quicker and that means you’ll be less inclined to do a good, thorough job.
3. Consider a zero-turn mower if you have a lot of trees, posts, and other obstructions on your lawn. You’ll get a cut much closer to the edge of the obstacle, reducing the need to go back over it with a trimmer or other basic edge-trimming device. Yes, you can get fantastic results with hand scissors, perfect if you have a LOT of free time!
4. Avoid mowing the lawn when it is very wet. You will get pull marks and indentations in the ground not to mention a poorer quality cut and jamming under the surface of your mower due to sticky residue etc.
5. Whatever your cutting surfaces, keep them in tip-top condition. Trying to cut anything with a blunt edge or damaged, frayed surfaces will likely end up with your lawn looking like a patchwork quilt.
6. If you decide to leave a thin layer of clippings on the lawn as a mulch, as controversial as that may be, then that’s fine. However, be sure to remove it fairly quickly to allow light to reach the grass and seeds still living below.
7. Learn to check how compact your soil is and be sure to aerate it regularly. There are all kinds of different tools and techniques to do this, some of which may involve the use of your tractor or lawn mower.
8. Make sure you have selected the right grass type for your lawn. No matter how carefully and meticulously you mow your lawn, if you have the wrong type of grass, the results will be disappointing. A classic example is of course using a very fine grass in high use areas.
Good luck with how your lawn looks in the coming season!