How Often Should You Mow Your Lawn – A Step by Step Guide

Keeping your lawn good-looking and safe is mandatory for several reasons. That’s why you should mow the grass regularly. If you don’t do so, the grass grows long and affects the look of your garden. Long grass is also home to several dangerous and damaging insects. 

When you know mowing the lawn regularly is a must, you should be confused about another thing- how often the lawn should be mowed. Being confused is common because you won’t find many rules that talk about the exact distance between two mowing operations. 

Right now, I’m trying to talk about a few things related to this matter. Through this article, I’ll talk to clarify the basics of it so that you get the answer to the question- how often should you mow your lawn?

I know you’re interested to know this. So, stay with me. I’ll be guiding you to the answer.

Frequency of Mowing

Factors Affecting the Frequency of Mowing

The frequency of mowing your lawn varies depending on some factors. Let’s talk a bit about those to make a proper assumption.

The Growth of Grass

Depending on the grass type, growth varies. So, you should know the type of grass you have in your garden. If it is a fast-growing one, you need to mow it frequently. On the other hand, slow-growing grasses require less frequent mowing. 

For each type of grass, you’ll find a recommended height that should not exceed. If the grass exceeds that height, you should cut those. For that, you have to keep your eyes open. After a few times, you’ll understand when you have to mow the lawn. 

Season

The ongoing season also has a huge impact on the frequency of cutting grass. Depending on the season, the growth of grass varies. As a result, the frequency of mowing the lawn varies too. 

For example- during mid-spring, late spring, and early fall, warm-season grass grows very fast. So, at that time of the year, you have to mow the lawn very often if your lawn has that type of grass. On the other hand, it grows slowly during winter. So, you won’t have to cut the grass that often when it is winter. 

Mow Your Lawn

How often should You Mow Your Lawn?

The factors that affect the mowing frequency vary in different cases. So, we can’t tell exactly when you have to cut the grass down. However, a common rule says that mowing is mandatory once every two weeks if the growth of grass is slow. In the case of grass that is growing fast, the typical mowing frequency is once a week. 

If you think that the grass is growing too fast, you can go for more frequent mowing, maybe thrice every two weeks. 

If you’re new to this, you might need some time to get it. But with time, you can easily understand when you have to run the mower through your lawn. 

Mowing Lawn in Spring

If your lawn is full of cool-season grasses, you should mow it at least once a week during the early spring, maybe in April. In the next two months, when it is May and June, you must mow the lawn twice a week as the grass grows faster at this time of the year. 

On the other hand, for warm-season grass, you won’t have to mow this frequently. Once every two weeks is enough. 

Mowing Lawn in Fall

During fall, you have to mow the lawn frequently as both types of grass grow at a good pace at this time of the year. If maintained properly, the growth of grass is almost double compared to other seasons. So, keep your eyes open and monitor the growth of the grass. 

Typically, during fall, you may have to mow the lawn twice per week. No matter what type of grass is there on your lawn, you have to maintain this schedule. 

Mowing Lawn in Summer

Depending on the type of grass, the mowing frequency in summer varies. Cool-season grass doesn’t grow much in summer. The color of the grass turns straw-brown most of the time. So, you might not have to mow that frequently. 

On the contrary, warm-season grass grows good in summer in many cases. If you have any of those on your lawn, you might have to mow it at least once a week. In some cases, mowing twice a week might be needed. Keeping eyes on the lawn is the best practice to know when to mow. 

Some Tips for Mowing the Lawn

Some Tips for Mowing the Lawn

Now you know how often you should mow the lawn. Let’s talk a bit about some tips about mowing that can make the task easier. You might already know a few. Let’s see. 

  • Mow your lawn frequently. Experts ask you to do this because frequent mowing helps the grass to grow thicker. Besides, it helps the roots to go deeper and collect more nutrients. 
  • Keep the blade sharp. Sharp blades can easily cut the grass. As a result, your lawn doesn’t turn into a mess. Using a blade that is not properly sharpened won’t allow you to cut the grass properly. 
  • Don’t go for mowing when you see that the grass is wet. Wet grass slips easily because of which the blades can’t perform perfectly. Cleaning is way tougher when the grass is wet. Also, wet grass can create damage to the mower. So, wait until the grass dries. 
  • Schedule mowing depending on the length of the grass. All those frequencies talked about above are just estimations and might not be the most suitable option for all. Keep track of the length of the grass and mow when it needs mowing.
  • When you’re mowing the lawn frequently, you can leave the grass clippings on the lawn. You don’t have to get rid of those. The clippings are really small if you mow the lawn frequently. Those break down quickly and make the lawn fertile by leaving nutrients in the soil. As a result, your lawn offers healthier grass. 
  • While mowing, avoid the area where you’ve recently sown grass. Grass shouldn’t be cut before reaching a specific length. We suggest starting mowing after the grass reaches the height of 3-3.5 inches. Within this time, the grass becomes strong.
  • Make sure that the mower is comfortable for you. Otherwise, you can’t use it perfectly. With an uncomfortable mower, you’ll lose patience quickly. Because of this, you can’t finish the task properly. Choosing a comfortable mower allows you to do the job according to your comfort. That’s why we suggest a sitting mower. 
  • To make lawn mowing interesting, you can be a bit creative. You can follow different patterns while cutting grass. Also, there is scope for creating interesting designs by cutting grass in different sizes. We suggest trying those. Do anything to keep the task interesting. 

We guess the tips would help you to mow your lawn properly. Also, we’ve talked a lot about how often you should go for it. Now the decision is up to you. 

You can use your instinct to understand when you have to go for mowing or follow a common mowing schedule. Also, you can call a lawn mowing service to do this for you. They can create a schedule depending on the type of grass and the time of the year. 

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