'There is no specific date at which to begin mowing your lawn in the spring,' says Eric DeBoer, agronomist at Simple Lawn Solutions. 'If soil temperatures have risen north of 50˚F your grass is probably initiating some sort of growth.
Most gardeners will agree that the earliest time you can safely mow your lawn is around 8-9 AM. That's because at this time the grass has already dried, and it will typically be standing tall already.
Mowing the grass so early in the season, especially at a low mower setting is going to put that grass into survival stress. In March, unless it is incredibly warm in late February and into early March, the grass is still dormant or just beginning to awaken from its winter dormancy.
When Should I Rake My Lawn In The Spring? It's best to give the lawn time to warm up, dry out and start waking up from dormancy before raking it. So wait until all the snow has melted, the ground has thawed, and your lawn begins to turn green before you start to rake grass in spring.
The goal of No Mow May is to pause mowing during the month of May, allowing flowers to bloom in your lawn to help early season pollinators. Late winter and early spring is a time when floral resources are often limited.
If the grass is too wet, you shouldn't mow and if it's too dry you shouldn't either. Remember, mowing is a stressful event for your lawn. If you mow when it's already under stress, such as during dry spell or drought, then it will become even more stressed. You don't like to be stressed and neither does your poor lawn.
No Mow May claims to be less work for you in the month of May. Although that is true (because the intention is not to mow for a month), it can often result in more long-term effort in trying to reign in your turfgrass in the after-effects.
The first mow should be more of a trim leaving grass as long as 3 or 3.5 inches. Later on in spring, you can begin cutting your lawn shorter, depending on the type of turf you have.
Wait until temperatures have been consistently reaching at least 40 degrees Fahrenheit. Trying to cut grass that hasn't fully thawed from its winter nap can damage the tender blades. 2.
Remember the mowing “rule of thumb”. For optimum turf health “try not to remove more than 1/3 of the leaf blade during any one single mowing”. For example, this means that for a lawn being maintained at 3 inches you should not be removing more than 1.5 inches of leaf tissue or mow when the turf reaches 4.5 inches.
No Mow May has captured the public's attention in the last few years. The idea of not mowing a lawn during the month of May in order to promote flowers for early season pollinators was first promoted by a research paper that has since been retracted. But there is still quite a bit of public interest in the initiative.
If you let the grass grow taller, there is no need for the grass to tiller and your lawn thins out. Fungal diseases. In our wet climate, we get a lot of fungal diseases in late fall through spring. Tall grass makes matters much worse because there is no airflow, creating a perfect microclimate for fungal diseases.
Mowing every two weeks — instead of weekly — and not dousing grass with chemical herbicides and fertilizers, helps the environment and supports the health of bees, which are among the world's most important pollinators.
To minimize disturbance and maximize efficiency, the best time to mow your lawn is in the morning, around 8am to 10am. This way, it's not too hot for physical exertion, and it's late enough that the morning dew has dried.
While it might be tempting to mow your lawn as soon as the rain clears, you're better off waiting until the grass is dry. Cutting wet grass can lead to plant fungal diseases, soil damage, and even mower operator injury—all of which are preventable with a little patience.
We recommend performing bi-weekly lawn maintenance in March. We have found that this schedule encourages growth in most yards. Furthermore, we recommend that your first mow be a “mow low and bag.” You can mulch your grass at almost every mowing service for the season, but the first one really should be bagged.
Once your grass has come out of its dormant state, you may be wondering when you should start cutting it again. Generally speaking, if it is below 50 degrees Fahrenheit, it is still considered to be too cold to mow your lawn. The ideal temperatures to mow are between 50 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit.
January/ February
Start your lawn off right by giving a light dose of fertilizer including nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. In addition, early spring is the time to do your first application of pre-emergent herbicide.
Cut your lawn to possibly the shortest height you have all season. The ideal height is around 2 1/2 inches. Cut it too low and the grass might not be long enough to photosynthesize and provide nutrients to the roots. Too high and the frost might become matted after a snowfall.
For this reason, some people prefer to mow at 3 or 3.5 inches. For the healthiest and most sustainable approach, Michigan State University Extension says 3.5 to 4 inches is most desirable. Lawns mowed at 3.5 or 4 inches out-compete weeds, tolerate grubs and look just as good as lawns mowed at 2.5 inches.
Keeping your grass short makes its life more difficult. A smaller surface area permits less exposure to air and sunlight, which means less photosynthesis and less energy. A weakened blade leads to weakened roots, which are more vulnerable to insects and diseases.
However, be mindful that mowing too close to nightfall (between 6 and 8 p.m.) will not give your grass enough time to recover, making your lawn more susceptible to fungus and turf disease. It's recommended to avoid cutting your grass in the early morning and midday.
We often get the call from some of our customers wondering why we are mowing grass in the rain. The answer is pretty simple: “BECAUSE WE HAVE TO”, not necessarily because we want to. Mowing grass in the rain takes substantially more time and creates a dangerous environment for our staff to work.
But If you were to just stop mowing altogether, your lawn would look unkept and grasses and wildflowers will begin to colonize the space, Quindoy says. Wildflowers sound dreamy, but the bad news here: You won't have any control over which species take up residence.