Bad Mowing Means Bad Things for your Lawn – Especially After No Mow May

Society has convinced people over the past few decades that their yard should look like the fairway of a golf course – very green and very short. But this is very harmful for your lawn. Like most things, being too worried about appearances can cause problems later.

Cut It Down Gradually after No Mow May
Our friends at the U of M Extension service warn us about cutting down our lawns too fast. They recommend removing no more than 1/3 of the leaf tissue when you mow. To maintain a 3-inch lawn, mow before the grass reaches 4.5 inches tall.

We recommend the following:

  • Mow higher in the heat of the summer.
    This improves the lawn’s ability to tolerate stress caused by heat and drying winds.
  • Sharpen your mower blades.
    Dull blades leave jagged edges and plants are more susceptible to diseases. Cleanly-cut grass blades are able to conserve water, reducing the need for irrigation.

Don’t Cut It Short!
The best and easiest thing you can do for your grass is to mow it at 3” or higher and leave the clippings. This supplies about 25% of the nitrogen your grass needs, and it also creates a mulch-like layer that cools roots and holds in moisture.

Poor mowing practices can cause many lawn problems. Especially weeds! If grass is mowed below 3” in height, a series of bad things happen:

  • Short cuts cause the grass to shed roots because there is no leaf to sustain them.
  • A weak root system makes the grass less capable of gathering water.
  • Shorter grass can’t shade the soil and it becomes scalded by the sun.
  • Soil dries out and weed seeds get the sunlight they need to germinate.
  • When the soil is scalded, it hardens the soil and makes it more prone to compaction during significant rain events.
  • Grass begins to thin because it has a weak root system and can’t gather water, which causes even more weeds.

How you mow in the fall is just as important. Mulch as many leaves in place as you can without smothering grass. This provides a nice mulching layer for winter and supplies excellent food for the microbes in the soil. Your lawn will be thick, healthy, and beautiful in the spring.