How often do you mow your lawn?

[gina2019]

Our locality is a vast area that is surrounded by a beautiful garden and lawn. The major problem we face with our lawn is the growth of thin patchy grasses between them. The growth of these unwanted grasses spreads everywhere and gives the lawns an unhealthy look. Plucking out these grasses one by one is a very tedious task and time-consuming process. So we began to do some research to find out solutions to get rid of these problems. While searching for the solutions online we came across a company that does <deleted link>. We took the details and contacted them. They arrived the next morning and started work. After their work was over we were very surprised to see the lawns as they were looking very neat with a more greenish look. They also had the right set of tools and were able to do it at a reasonable cost. Do you know how often we should mow the lawn?

 

[bertsmobile1]

Whenever there is 1" or more to be removed.
It will vary according to the local climate, season & grass type.
The longer you let your grass grow the fewer weeds will grow in it and the less obvious they will be.
Most people mow too low so sunlight gets to the soil & germinates all of the weed seeds.
Oh and just to put this into perspective there can be well over 1000 weed seeds in a square yard of grass.
Some will eventually die off but most will sprout the instant conditions are right for it.
Right now we are battling with sticky niteshade, weed that has not been seen in this area for over 20 years.
However one berry can have up to 2000 seeds and these remain viable in the soil for 40 years.

Mulching increases the bacterial activity at soil level and the bacteria cause the seeds to rot.
The absolute worst thing you can do for any lawn is mow too low & bag.

 

[Rivets]

Do you like the guys who did your service? If you are happy with their service you should be asking them the same questions. They know the conditions in your area and how to proceed to give you the lawn you are looking for. We can only give you tips, because we are not standing next to you with a beer in hand to evaluate your yard. If you didn’t really care for them, shop around.

 

[Hammermechanicman]

Some of the city folk "golf course" their lawns and cut them very short. They have to constantly weed and feed the lawn to keep the weeds down and water if it doesn't rain every few days. We rubes out in the country cut about 3.5 to 4 inches long and do a lot less maintenance to keep the weeds down and noboby waters in the country.

 

[cruzenmike]

Lawn care services will typically mow weekly or bi-weekly. Some will do on call, but that usually costs more due to scheduling and most often these are the people that let the grass get out of control before calling. Typically, your grass will always look best right after it is cut. Maybe not the greenest or most lush looking, but at least the blades are all the same high and the turf is level. Like Bert said, there are some differences between when to mow based on the turf type, climate and cut height. If you are not familiar with the 1/3 rule, basically you never want to cut off more than 1/3 of the blades. So if your climate and grass type allows for and looks good at 3", you will never want to let it get to be more than 4.5" tall before you cut. Following this rule, cutting shorter will require more often mowing as it will take less time for the grass to grow that 1/3 that needs to be cut off. I live in SE Michigan and have Kentucky Bluegrass and Annual Ryegrass. At a 4" height of cut, I am mowing my back yard every 3 days right now. The front yard I cut at 3" but am able to cut at the same time as it does not grow as fast, nor is the turf as lush. When the warmer months come, July or August, I can go 5-7 days inbetween mowing.

Lastly, if you have the time and physical capabilities, mowing your own lawn is not only the most economical but also the most rewarding. You have greater control of when and how it is cut, not to mention the added benefit of exercise. I have never had a professional lawn care service, but I can imagine that for what a years worth of service would cost you could buy a high end residential self-propelled mower that would give you many years of service and pay dividends in year two. If in the end you must rely on a lawn service, just ask them questions like Rivets said. They are performing a service, and thus that service must be to your satisfaction, both in how they treat you, but how they treat your lawn!