If you love to mow a lawn and you have a lawn, lucky you. Lawn mowing can be quite relaxing if done under proper conditions. Just as lawn mowing is important in creating a clean looking and beautiful environment, it is also necessary for supporting the healthy growth of the grass itself. If you want your lawn to look it’s best, mowing is a must.
For lawn mowing enthusiasts and those of us who dread having to mow a lawn, but have to do it anyway, here are some guides to follow.
Get the Right Lawn Mower
Budget, environmental concerns, topography and size of your lawn will more or less determine the type of lawnmower you get. Manual mowers, electric and gas-powered mowers all have their unique advantages and pitfalls. All-in-all, get a lawnmower from a reputable brand that will always get the job done and will require little or no maintenance.
Always Use Sharp Blades
Dull blades will only harm your grass. Instead of actually cutting, dull blades will cause the grass blades to become slightly uprooted. This goes on to affect the health of your grass. So, before any lawn mowing session, sharpen your blade. If you don’t know how to go about it, hire a professional.
Prepare the Lawn Mower
Be sure to check the oil and fuel levels before mowing and top-up and liquid that appears to be depleted. It’s a bad idea to fuel your lawn mower while it is still running or when the engine is still hot. So, allow the engine to cool down for some time before fueling or better still, fill up the tank before you start mowing.
Pay Attention to Your Mowing Height
Different types of grasses are expected to be cut at different mowing heights. A rule known as the one-third rule prescribes that you don’t cut more than one-third of the grass blade in a single mowing session.
Your Lawn Determines When It Will Be Cut, Not You.
Sometimes, it’s pretty common practice for people to cut their grass at specific times every week, irrespective of how high or not their lawn has grown. This isn’t proper. Like I said in the previous tip, cut one-third of your grass blade each time you mow your lawn. If you mow your lawn at specific times every week, it is quite possible that your lawn hasn’t recovered the one-third height it lost from your last mowing session. This will result in your lawn being too low for comfort. Healthy lawns are made up of taller grasses, sometimes up to 4 inches. Taller grasses retain moisture content and have healthier roots.
Safety First
Clear your lawn of branches, debris or any other hazard that could damage your mower. Keep your kids and others as far away from the mowing machine when it is being used. Put on closed-toe footwear, long trousers, protective eye, and ear gear.
Mow in a Pattern, Remember to Alternate the pattern.
The common patterns when mowing the lawn are straight-line and circular patterns. The straight-line pattern involves starting at one end, moving to the other end and then coming back, all in a straight line. The straight-line pattern is usually used for mowing rectangular lawns.
If your lawn isn’t in any way rectangular, or ha some trees at the center, mowing in a circular pattern is the way to go. It basically involves mowing in a circular pattern. You can either go inward out or outward in.
As a rule of thumb, don’t mow in the same direction over and over again. Change your direction each mowing session. If you went left to right last time, go right to left this time. Same applies for the circular pattern.
Leave Grass Clippings on Your Lawn
Grass clippings can be quite nourishing to your lawn. They decompose and act as fertilizer to your lawn. If your lawn was already very tall to begin with, and mowing it resulted in an outrageous amount of clippings, you use a rake to remove some of it.
Prepare for Next Time
After each mowing session, do well to clean your blades and the underside of your lawn mower. You could also sharpen your blades in preparation for your next session.
More Tips
Here are some additional tips to help you effectively mow your lawn.
- Don’t mow up and down a slope, always mow perpendicular to the slope to avoid accidents as a result of slipping.
- Always mow in the forward direction of you are using a push mower.
- If you happen to step away from your lawn mower, turn it off.
