Mowing too soon, before the turf grass has begun to grow and thicken up, exposes the soil and over-wintering weed seeds to sunlight. Warmed by the sun, weeds germinate and grow rapidly, invading otherwise weed-free turf and resulting in a what can be a weed control problem for months.
When to start cutting grass? As a general rule your first grass cut of the year should be in early Spring. Depending on weather and temperatures at the particular time, the last week in February or the first week in March is a great time to start.
Temperatures should be consistently above 40 degrees F before you attempt your first mow of the spring. However, do not mow again if temperatures drop and there is frost. Mowing frosted or frozen grass can damage your lawn, possibly killing it.
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.
Along with monitoring when to start mowing your lawn, you'll want to be careful of how short that first cut is. 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.
Areas where grass blades were cut too short will usually recover slowly, but the brown patches may be evidence that you cut into the crown (growing point) of some grass plants and killed them. If the dead patches are no more than a few inches in diameter, grass regrowth may fill in the bare spots.
When you're ready to give that first mowing in the spring, lower your mower height 1 or 2 notches so you're mowing your grass about 3 inches tall. Be careful not to scalp your lawn. This low mow will cut off the brown winter grass blades and open up the soil to the warm spring sunlight.
Short Answer: No Mow May meant to help pollinators
Like it sounds, No Mow May means taking a break from mowing your lawn for the month of May. Coupled with that also is the idea of not using fertilizers, herbicides or pesticides throughout the month. The motivation behind the campaign is to help pollinators.
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 was first popularized by Plantlife, an organization based in the United Kingdom, but is now gaining traction across North America. 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.
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.
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.
Most – though not all – experts agree that March, possibly late February, is the best time to start cutting a lawn again.
The months of spring, that is March to May, are the best suited for the growth of grass, as in this time there are pleasant temperatures along with sunshine, which facilitates the process of photosynthesis and also ensures adequate water supply from the ground.
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.
However, most professional gardeners would agree that between 8 AM and 10 AM is the best time of day to cut your grass. The reason for that is that lawns need time to heal before evening. Grass needs the benefit of the day to dry and heal before dusk settles.
It's best to wait for wet grass to dry before mowing. Wet grass clippings can clog your mower, causing it to choke and spit out clumps of wet grass that could smother and kill your lawn if left unraked. It's best to wait for wet grass to dry before mowing.
There may be times when cutting every week is necessary and other times when a two week interval will yield a nicer lawn. Advantages of Longer Grass — Grass cut too short can start to become pale or brown and may take a long time to bring back to a healthy green color.
It's a question we all face when mowing the grass: Should I bag my clippings or leave them on the lawn? In most cases, the answer is easy. Recycle the grass clippings by leaving them on the lawn. Doing so will not only save you time and energy, but will also return valuable nutrients to the lawn.
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.
How short to cut grass in spring. A shorter spring cut rids your lawn of any winter-burned strands and preps it for a fresh growing season. Mow cool season grasses to a height of 3+ inches, and cut warm season grasses as low as half an inch and up to 1.5 inches.
Cool-season grasses may turn brown and look dead in summer if they're forced into dormancy due to heat and drought. When they're brown in spring, that can signal a tough winter just passed, especially if low snowfall left grass without much insulation.
Raise the mower height! Early Spring – We recommend the first cut to be at 1.5” to 2” then raise the blade to the regular setting. 2.5” to 3” is the ideal mowing height for most grass types.
Most grass seed will start growing in about 10-14 days, but sometimes it can take up to 30 days. When you're planting new grass seed in your yard, it can seem like it's taking forever to start sprouting.
Although the difference in climate can vary depending on where you are in the country, 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.