Once spring arrives, some of us will be looking to mow the lawn and start getting ready for the first grass cut of the year. This means dusting off the lawnmower and gardening tools to prepare for the season ahead. But when should we mow the lawn for the first time in a year and what important things should we consider?

Our lawns play an important part in our al fresco summer enjoyment – they host parties, provide a space to play, relax and read, and offer our borders and flora a plain backdrop from which they can shine. Therefore, it’s crucial we get the first grass cut of the year just right to set our lawns up for a summer of use. Here are some practical tips on how to mow the lawn for the first time this year.

WHEN SHOULD YOU MOW THE LAWN FOR THE FIRST TIME THAT YEAR?

Although the difference in climate can vary depending on where you are in the country, In Indiana, research has shown that the first two weeks in April are the most popular time to dig the lawnmower out for the first grass cut of the year.

1. DON’T MOW ALL OF YOUR LAWN

Choose the part you’d like to be neat and tidy but then let the rest stay a little messy. This is much better for wildlife and will encourage habitats to flourish throughout summer. You could even plant some wildflower seeds here and make it a real visual feature of your garden.

2. CONSIDER A MOW PATH

In the spirit of helping wildlife, do you need a whole area to be mown or could a pathway leading through your wildflowers be enough? Remember that a rich garden ecosystem can keep pests under control naturally.

3. HAVE A PRE-CUT TIDY

After months of being starved of sunshine, your garden may look a little neglected. It’s important, before your first grass cut of the year, to take time to clear any mess around the area you wish to mow, including dead sticks, leaves, and any rubbish that may have gathered.

Check to see what is hiding in the garden; the likes of stones and thick branches may have made their way into the overgrown lawn and if the lawnmower catches these, it can damage the mower blade. Keeping the mower blade sharp is vital as the damage a dull blade can cause could be detrimental to the grass.

Don’t get rid of what you’ve collected. Add it to your wilder are as natural debris makes great habitats for wildlife.

4. CHECK FOR NESTING ANIMALS

Check the area you are about to mow for any animals that might have made it their home during winter. Hedgehogs can often be found in piles of grass and leaves. If you do find a habitat, consider mowing a different part of the lawn instead and leaving it be.

5. USE THE ONE THIRD RULE

When mowing your lawn for the first time, you should always follow the one-third rule: Never cut more than a third of the blade of grass off in one go. Cutting more than this can stress the grass.

You should gradually reduce the grass length over a number of weeks to reach the desired length. Cutting the grass too short, too fast, is known as ‘scalping’ which can lead to disease and weed infestation.

6. AND IF YOUR GRASS IS REALLY OUT OF CONTROL?

If your lawn has been a little unkempt throughout the colder months and has grown with a mind of its own then fear not, still follow the one-third rule but take it in stages over a number of weeks. Gradually decrease the cutting height on your lawnmower each time to reach your preferred grass length.

But only apply this to the smaller area you’d like to maintain, as mentioned above. Embrace the wildness in the rest of the lawn and allow it to flourish.

7. CONTOUR YOUR GARDEN

Don’t forget about the edges when cutting your lawn for the first time. Overgrown edges can look unsightly and can mean time and effort spent working in the garden has been in vain. Trim the edges straight after mowing.

8. DON’T WATER IMMEDIATELY AFTER

It’s best to avoid getting into the habit of watering your lawn immediately after mowing. There is no specific point in the month to give your lawn a hose down – it should simply be done whenever it needs moisture – however, there are a few guidelines on what time it should be done during the day:

• Watering late in the evening or at night can lead to fungal problems due to the fact the grass doesn’t have time to dry out.
• The middle of the day tends to be when the sun is at its hottest, which can lead to the water evaporating instantly or the droplets acting as a magnifying glass, burning the blades of grass.
• Therefore, the best time is first thing in the morning as the air is cool and the water can travel to the roots before drying up.

9. KNOW HOW LONG TO LEAVE A NEW LAWN BEFORE CUTTING IT

New grass that has been grown from the seed will be noticeably weaker than the rest of the lawn and can be easily damaged if cut incorrectly. It’s best to wait until the grass has grown over three inches in length until mowing for the first time to allow it time to build up strength.

10. MAKE IT A HABIT

Following your first cut of the season, you may need to mow the maintained part of your lawn once or twice a week to maintain the length you desire. This is due to the warm weather encouraging your garden to grow.

DON’T FORGET TO SERVICE OR CHECK YOUR LAWNMOWER

After months of sitting in the shed, your lawn mower may be a little rusty. Don’t forget to check for chipped or blunt blades — these will bruise the grass. As well as this, remember to clean yours out regularly to remove a build-up of clippings. The better you take of your lawn mower, the longer it will last. Contact North Central Outdoor for any repairs or service needs you may have.

How high you should allow the grass on lawns to reach before cutting it is perhaps the most frequently asked question about lawn care that people have. And, “How much of the grass blade should be removed when you are cutting grass?” is a natural companion to that first question. So let’s tackle both queries below.

A Rule of Thumb

How high should you cut the grass when you mow? Well, there is a general rule of thumb for determining what the grass height should be on your lawn. An optimal height for a cool-season grass generally is about 2 1/2 inches. And at each mowing, you should only be removing about the top 1/3 of the grass blade. Consequently, a good time to mow lawns is when your grass is about 3 2/3 inches high.

It is especially recommended that you stick to this rule of thumb in fall (and, to a lesser degree, in spring, but see below). In summer, meanwhile, if can’t remember the measurements, err on the side of mowing at a greater height. It is not a bad idea, in fact, to choose one of the higher settings on your lawnmower wheels when the weather starts getting really hot, and just mow at that height until we approach the fall season and the weather starts to cool off a bit.

Explanation of the Rule of Thumb

Why are 2 1/2 inches an optimal grass height, generally? Well, what you are striving for is a balance. On the one hand, mowing the grass is like “pinching” a garden plant to stimulate rugged growth. So if you are letting the grass get tall, you are not mowing very much, which means you are passing up opportunities to stimulate good grass growth and make your lawn healthier and more attractive. But if you cut the grass too short (known as “scalping,” for obvious reasons), you stress it.

Take note that it is the height that the grass has attained that should determine when it is time to mow: it is your lawn’s way of giving you a cue (straight from the horse’s mouth, so to speak). It would be arbitrary to establish a schedule for mowing based on the length of time between mowings. For instance, advising someone to “mow every other week” fails to take into account the growing conditions during that period of time. For example, rainfall stimulates growth in lawns, so the presence or absence of rain will have a great impact on mowing frequency.

While the 2 1/2-inch height for a cool-season grass is optimal for the fall, it is hardly an absolute figure that must be adhered to throughout the mowing season. If you are trying to get rid of crabgrass, for instance, you may wish to make an adjustment in spring and summer. That is because it is during these seasons that this annual weed (here is what crabgrass looks like) competes for space with your lawn grass.

Some experts recommend keeping lawn grass around 3 inches tall during spring and summer. Why? Because the extra shading that results may inhibit crabgrass enough to keep it in check. In fall, you can go back to maintaining the 2 1/2-inch height, since, by then, frost will have killed the tender crabgrass.

A Trick to Help You Remember These Measurements

So how do you remember this rule of thumb? You do not want to have to go out there with a tape measure to gauge the height of your lawn and determine when it’s time to mow, right?

A tip to make things easier on yourself is to draw a line across one of your lawn mower tires that stands 3 2/3 inches above surface level. Draw an arrow, as well, to indicate which direction is up/down. That way, when you think mowing time might be near, you can just wheel the mower out and see where the grass level stands in relation to your line.

As for achieving that ideal grass mowing height (at the end of the operation), initially, you’ll have to play around with the ​tire adjustment mechanism on your mower. But once you’ve figured out what slot results in the mowing height you want (namely, leaving the grass at 2 1/2 inches tall), mark that slot so that you’ll always know where it is.

July is here. Even in high elevation and northern locations — where we’ve just set out plants and are seeing germination from the previous weeks’ seed sowing — we’ve already mowed our lawns a handful of times. In earlier zones, we’ve been mowing for months. No matter where we live, it’s time to review some lawn mowing tips and tricks.

How is summer mowing different than spring mowing? It’s less frequent. As spring moisture conditions give way to the dryness of summer, lawns grow less quickly. Higher temperatures also encourage faster moisture evaporation. The most important thing you can do at this time of year is to encourage moisture retention. The best way to do it? Set your mower to cut less grass. Generally, three-and-a-half, even four inches is a good height for the most common grasses (Bermuda, zoysia and other warm-climate grasses can be cut shorter). This is the highest setting on most mowers. Carrying a yardstick around your lawn and measuring different places — shaded and not, northern exposure and southern exposure — will give you a good idea of how your grass is faring (and bring a kid-friendly pun to the common usage of the word “yardstick”). Longer grasses in your yard help shade the ground, thus lessening moisture evaporation. Shading the ground also discourages weed seed from germinating. Different types of grasses require different mowing heights.

Another general rule: don’t cut more than a third of the grass’ height. If you’ve been away on vacation or otherwise have not been able to mow, don’t immediately trim your lawn down to three-and-half inches. Grass needs length to generate the energy it requires and produce chlorophyll. Removing a large part of this generating surface may cause your lawn to brown prematurely. If your lawn is overgrown, cut it in stages.

Many lawn experts recommend you mow in the early morning or early evening to avoid placing stress on your grass while protecting the person pushing the mower from heat-related problems. Mow with a sharp blade. Dull, nicked blades cut grass unevenly and damage its ends leaving an entry point for disease and extra surface for evaporation. Finally, do you leave your clippings on the lawn or collect them? Organic gardeners know clippings are a good source of nitrogen for your grass. Regular mowing leaves clippings of just the right size to settle into your turf, inhibiting evaporation and eventually breaking down into the soil. Unless your clippings are long and thick enough to shade your grasses, let them return to the soil from which they came. In the organic garden, everything is part of a cycle.