Lawns are growing rapidly now, with the warm spring weather. Let’s talk about how to mow to help keep your lawn healthy and help it perform well over the growing season.

How to mow: Start with your mower.

Next time you haul your mower out of the garage, take a good look.

Is the blade sharp? A dull blade will tear the grass instead of making a clean cut. Clean cuts reduce the chance of disease potential and brown tipping. See our blog post on red thread.

Sharpening your mower blade is not difficult. Here is a video from This Old House with instructions on how to sharpen a lawn mower blade. And here are detailed instructions from Home Depot on mower blade sharpening.

Is the mower clean? You should clean the blade regularly. Use alcohol wipes or a spray bottle with a diluted bleach solution. This helps prevent any spreading of diseases.

What is the height setting? See mowing height recommendations below.

Do you need that grass catcher? It is better for your lawn’s health to mulch mow, leaving clippings on the lawn. See more about mulch mowing below.

How to mow: Mowing height recommendations

Keep your grass longer. Two and a half to three inches is the ideal mowing height for most grass types.

Three inches is the perfect height. This height will develop and maintain a strong, robust and healthy lawn. The lawn will develop and maintain a deep, healthy root system and excellent color.

As it gets hotter this summer, a taller lawn will help keep your lawn healthy. The taller grass will shade the soil. This reduces evaporation and makes it more difficult for weeds to work their way into the sunlight. It also allows plenty of leaf blade to perform photosynthesis.

Two inches is a bit too short. Color and growth will be average to poor. If you set your mower up to two and a half to three inches, it will improve the strength and color of your turf.

One inch is too low. The root system will disintegrate and the lawn will become susceptible to disease, drought, heat, cold and stress. Raise the mower height!

Early spring. We recommend the first cut to be at one and half to two inches, then raise the blade to the regular setting.

How to mow: Use a 2/3 mowing system.

The best mowing results come from a 2/3 system. Never let your grass grow more than one-third longer than your desired height. When your grass reaches that height, you cut the top 1/3 away. For example, if you want your grass to be two and a half to three inches tall, you mow away the top one to one and a half inches each time your grass reaches four inches tall.

According to Kansas State University, “Removing more than one-third of the grass blades may cause root growth to cease while the leaves and shoots are regrowing. This practice can be especially destructive if practiced continuously over a period of successive mowings. Roots may not have a chance to fully develop and the plants will thus be more susceptible to environmental and management stresses.”

How to mow: Mulch mow!

Leave clippings on the lawn. Mulch mowing adds organic matter to the soil. As the grass blades break down, they add nitrogen, reducing the amount of fertilizer you need to apply. Mulch mowing can reduce fertilizer needs by as much as 25 percent.

Mulch mowing can also reduce your total mowing, bagging and disposal time by up to 40 percent. No more bagging and dragging clippings to the curb!

Mulch mowing does not contribute to thatch when mowed properly. Do not mow tall grass too short, which results in long clippings. Long clippings may contribute to thatch because they break down more slowly. Using the 2/3 mowing system will prevent thatch buildup.

You can mulch mow with any mower. If you are in the market for a new mower, consider buying a mulching mower. Mulching mowers have special blades that cut the grass, then cut the clippings over and over again until they’re very small. They almost disappear into the lawn. Here are some mulching mower buying tips from Seattle Public Utilities.

In the spring, you may want to mow every four to five days instead of every seven days. (You may be able to reduce frequency in summer.)

How to mow: Dry vs. wet grass

Try to avoid mowing wet grass. Dry grass cuts more easily. According to Penn State Extension, “Timing tests show that mowing dry grass requires less time than mowing wet grass.”

Rain tends to weigh down grass so it bends over. This makes it tough to get a straight cut. Wet grass may ball up and clog the mower, especially if you are using a mulching mower. It may also form clumpy masses on the lawn surface. Mowing dry grass gives a finer appearing lawn.

If you need to mow the grass while it’s still wet, raise the mowing height and mow slowly. This will reduce the load on the lawn mower. You may need to stop periodically and clean out the clogs.

Rake up any clumps of grass on the lawn. Or give them a day to dry out and run the mower over them to break them up. After you have finished mowing, hose the mower down and leave it in a ventilated area to dry.

What if your lawn has grown too long?

As we said above, you should never cut off more than one-third of the height of the grass when you mow. If you reduce the height too quickly, the grass will send all of its energy into growing grass blades. The roots won’t develop as well.

If your lawn has gotten too long, begin by measuring the length of the grass blades with a ruler or yardstick. Divide that number by three. Set your mower to the height that will remove one-third of the length of the grass blades. Mow your lawn.

Wait a couple of days to mow again. This time, reduce the length of the grass blades by one-third. Repeat until the grass is the right height, about two and a half to three inches.

Even if you usually mulch mow, you should rake up the too-long clippings. They will form unsightly clumps of dead grass. They may also be too long to filter down into the grass and break down.

Other steps for lawn health 

While mowing properly will improve your lawn’s health, other steps, such as watering and fertilizing, are also important. Here is a link to our infographic on essential lawn care tips. We also have a YouTube playlist on natural lawn care.

If you would like professional help to improve your lawn’s health, check out our natural lawn care services. We focus on building the health of your soil and lawn.

Our services include fertilization, aeration and overseeding, lime, corn gluten, weed management and more. We monitor the health of your lawn and soil and adjust treatments as necessary. Contact us for more information.