Mowing The Perfect lawn Tips
How to Have the Perfect Lawn?
Along with choosing the right mower, you also need to be adept at using it correctly in order to make the most of your expenditure.The lawn should be mostly flat; however gentle gradations and slight slopes are not a hindrance.
- Area should have good drainage and sunlight exposure.
- Soil type – sandy to light loam
- A few trees or roots are acceptable
- A simple shape is ideal for less mower turns.
- The site should not be used for gardening.
If your lawn doesn’t meet the above criteria, compromise with lawn care is needed. Less intensive mowing is recommended if your lawn has poor drainage and ventilation, clay soil, etc as excess mowing on unhealthy grass will cause thinning, weeds and disease.
Tips to Mow Your Lawn
The environment of most domestic lawns doesn’t grant for the perfect conditions required for high standard ornamental lawns. However, these accommodations will lead to excellent lawns and lawn care:
- Mow in as dry weather as possible – squeegeeing helps.
- Brush off worm casts
- Maximum mowing frequency: every 3-4 days.
- Refer to How to Mow Wet or Long Grass when it’s rainy.
- Mowing height should be low in ideal weather and higher in extreme conditions.
- Rotary mower for lower cuts, cylinder mower for higher.
Mowing in a good environment
If your environment is perfect, take the following measures before mowing:
- Ground should be levelled with topdressing.
- Grasses should not have weeds at all; they should be fine fescues and bents. If weeds are present reseeding is recommended.
- Fertilisation, scarification, aeration and weed removal are all vital.
A petrol cylinder mower with a minimum of seven blades should be used though 9-12 blades are ideal.
In good conditions, a tournament level lawn is cut at 3/8” to ¼”. A bowling green is cut at 3/16” to 5/32” when a match is to be held. This is extreme mowing for accuracy of a rolling ball; 3/8” to 5/8” is a much better height for domestic lawns.
- Mowing height should be adjusted in different climate conditions for a croquet or ornamental lawn to, applying the ‘one third rule’.
- Daily mowing is best for your lawn and you; it is good for joints and waistline, gets rid of weeds and results in dense growth. Twice a week is the minimum frequency.
- Mow both closely and frequently. Doing one without the other will invite weeds. Collect the clippings to prevent the growth of worms due to organic matter.
- The size of the mower should be proportional to that of your lawn. A 24” wide mower is regularly used for croquet lawns and bowling greens. An 18” mower would be better suited for an ornamental lawn.
If you are short on time and have sufficient lawn area, 30” or 36” mowers could be of use to you. Mowers this large tend to scalp minor bumps and gradients. Your lawn should be completely free from irregularities to make use of a mower this big.
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