Grass Cutting Fundamentals

No bones about it; with April here in Short Pump, we are well into mowing season! And while the air is abuzz with the sounds of engines and your neighbors’ shoes are covered with clippings, the ubiquity of mowing doesn’t always reflect proper knowledge. Grass-cutting is one of those tasks that nearly everyone has done, but only some people know how to do it right.

It’s not that lawn maintenance is difficult. It’s more that it takes expertise, experience, and equipment to mow exceptionally. Anyone can push a mower, but not everyone can make a lawn beautiful.

Today we will share how Mitchell’s falls into the second camp by teaching you the
fundamentals of grass cutting and what makes a pro different.

The Equipment

Let’s start with the obvious—the quality of your equipment matters. There’s a reason that professional landscapers are willing to pay more for professional lawnmowers.
Not only do they last longer. They cut better! But even with good equipment, you must pay attention to the details.

Maintenance

It’s not just your lawn that needs maintenance. Your grass-cutting equipment needs it too. So, naturally, to keep anything in good working order, you need to care for it, including oil changes, check-ups, and repairs.

But did you know that lawn mower blades wear out? So if you want to stay on the cutting edge of a healthy landscape, you need a sharp cutting edge! That means sharpening your lawn mower blades and replacing them when they wear out.

Beyond the Mower

Though mowing is where you start lawn maintenance, it doesn’t end there. To have a genuinely healthy and gorgeous lawn, you must also edge, trim, and blow out the yard when the mowing is done. That means additional equipment.

The average homeowner doesn’t want to spend significant money on multiple professional pieces of lawn maintenance equipment like edgers, trimmers, blowers, and aerators when they only have one lawn to mow, especially when you consider that you must not only know how to use that equipment but also how and when to do maintenance on it.

The Cut

Surprisingly, two other things that only some understand about grass-cutting are how and when to do it. In addition, the catchall term “lawn mowing” masks some of its complexities. In fact, “grass” itself is an overgeneralization!

Species

Here are some big numbers for you. Did you know that grass covers about 2 percent of the surface area of the United States?
Doesn’t it seem significant? Consider this: less than half of 1 percent of the US is roads or streets. So there is over four times as much grass as the road!

But here’s something even more surprising. That grass is not a monolith. There are almost 2,000 species of grass, and about 1,400 of them grow in the US.
Each of those plants has different needs and optimal cuts, yet many homeowners don’t even know what grass grows on their lawns.

When 

In addition to different species’ needs, the seasonal needs of grass also change. For example, in the summer, your grass should be kept longer because it helps to protect it from heat and dehydration. But too long, and you risk it collapsing and suffocating itself.

Meanwhile, in winter, you must leave some grass to protect the roots from the cold.
One last note on the “when” of mowing: When you install new turf, grass cutting should be delayed until it has grown strong enough to take it.

The Execution

Finally, let’s get down to the nuts and bolts of your basic mow. Just as important as mowing is your edging and trimming.

Edging your lawn helps to keep the lawn from infringing upon your gardens or your hardscaping. But, as much as we love our grass, we don’t want it everywhere. After all, a weed is just a plant growing in the wrong place!

Edging also creates a lovely outline for your lawn and reduces the time you need to trim. The trimming process is all our detailed work after a mow. Since no ground is perfectly even, keeping a lawn uniform with only a mower is hard.

Need Help With Your Grass Cutting?

With all the knowledge necessary for good lawn maintenance, it can be hard to keep track of its differences from what you do for a living! So call the pros at Mitchell’s to handle your lawn care, maintenance, and other landscaping needs! We’ll keep a green eye on your landscape!