The most fearful task for almost all the people who are new to maintaining a lawn is mowing. But mowing is the most important part of taking care of your lawn, and you cannot skip this part anyway. Mowing is actually an easy and funny task only if you know how to mow the lawn properly.
If you don’t mow the lawn regularly, it won’t have healthy grasses and will soon turn into a wild and abandoned place full of long grasses. So, you must mow the lawn every time the grass is over five inches. Choosing the right mower is also essential in this case.
However, we can discuss how to choose the right mower another day. But today, let’s learn about how to mow the lawn properly. Initially, we suggest checking your mower’s instruction manual to learn to start it, and we will tell you how you should use it on the lawn. So, let’s not skip any part if you want to learn something important for your lawn.
Things to Do Before You Start Mowing
Before you start mowing the lawn, you have some precautions and preparations to ensure. So, before you learn about how to mow the lawn, you better learn about how you should be repaired to start mowing the lawn.
1. Gather and Wear Essential Wearables for Mowing
Whatever you have done, if there is a safety issue, you should always ensure safety wear. Besides, some mowers cause a very loud sound. And that is definitely dangerous for your ear. So, you have to use ear protection while using the mower. Also, you should arrange a pair of gloves, a google, and an apron that will protect you from the flying grass clippings. That’s why your first task should ensure all safety wear.
2. Clean and Sharpen the Blade
Next, you have to ensure that the mower’s blade is sharp enough to cut the grass efficiently. If you have a new mower, you must have a sharp blade and then don’t have to check it. But if you have an old mower, you have to check its sharpness.
If the mower is dull, you must take it to the shop where people sharpen the mower blades. Also, you should check if the mower is working properly. If there is any multifunctional issue, you should fix it before mowing the lawn.
3. Check the Fuel
Your next task is the check the fuel. This task is essential if you are using a petrol-operated mower. You will have a stick that will let you know how much fuel it has inside the task. If you don’t have enough fuel, you have to buy enough to cut the entire lawn. However, we suggest keeping an extra bottle of fuel in any case you are short of it while mowing.
4. Adjust the Mowing Height
At this point, you have to adjust the height of the mower blade. It must depend on how long you want to keep the grass. But there are specific heights for different types of grasses, and these heights are considered the most appropriate for those types. Here, we are sharing the list of the most common grass types and their appropriate heights.
| Types of Grasses | Appropriate Height to Mow |
| St. Augustine | 1 to 3 inches |
| Tall fescue | 1.5 to 3 inches |
| Rye Grass | 1.5 to 2.5 inches |
| Kentucky bluegrass | 1.5 to 2.5 inches |
| Fescue | 1.5 to 2.5 inches |
| Bermuda | 0.5 to 1 inches |
| Bentgrass | 0.25 to 0.75 inches |
| Buffalo | 2 to 3 inches |
| Zoysia | 0.5 to 1 inches |
| Centipede | 1 to 2 inches |
5. Clean Your Mower Before and After Mowing
The final step is to clean the entire mower properly before you start. You should never use a mower that has junk and rust in it. Especially if you didn’t clean it after mowing last time, it would be problematic.
Not just before mowing, you have to clean it after using it as well. You can use a hose to wash up the mower. But if you have an electric power mower, turn off the power and remove the power cord from the source before you wash it. Also, you should avoid washing the place where the engine is located.
So, these are the prerequisites you must ensure before you start mowing your lawn. Basically, these factors are more important than the process about how to mow the lawn. So, you shouldn’t skip any part here at any cost.
How To Mow the Lawn?
As you have known exactly what you have to do before mowing the lawn, it is time you should learn exactly how to mow the lawn. Basically, there is no specific direction you can mow the lawn. It’s because you can have lawns of different shapes and sizes while mowers of different types.
You have to learn how to start and use the mower from the instruction manual. As you can have different types of mowers, we cannot specify the using instruction perfectly. We are sharing some ways to help you mow the lawn perfectly.
1. Start Mowing around the Perimeters
Those who have square or rectangular lawns have to fix a point where to start. You have to make a squared-off point for the round-shaped or curved lawn. Next, you have to go around the areas where trees or planting beds are curved. Here, you have to formulate straight lines and tilts in these areas.
If you choose to mow around the perimeter, it will be easier. You can also twirl the yard into one or numerous rectangles. In this case, you can be able to square off the lawn. Eventually, it will give you enough space to turn in rows. To create an even broader turning area, you have to get on the perimeter twice.
2. Go in A Straight Line with Slight Overlapping
Now is the time to clean the rectangular areas that you can create by moving all around. For this area, you have to mow from one side to another. Then go in a consecutive line from end to end. Make sure to maintain a lining, and you are not moving there and there.
However, once you mow aside, you have to fling your mower in the contrary direction to mow a contiguous row. You will need to prevail with this process until you trim the whole expanse. And here, you can overlap slightly but not deeply.
You can set your mow and adjust the overlapping width. If you don’t like to do that, you can center the real wheel nearest to the next row and readjust it as you want. It will be easier mowing with a zero-turn-radius mower for turning to go back and forth.
3. Throw the Clippings Frequently
Finely-cut grass heads ensure nourishment to the lawn grass. So, you can simply leave the clippings dispersed all over the lawn if possible. A side-throwing mower can help you throw the clippings onto the line you cut earlier. On another side, a mulching mower can help you to cut up the grass blades and disperse them onto the lawn.
Here, it would be best if you remembered to take off the bushes of the chopped grass on your lawn. It usually happens if the blade of the mower is not sharp or the grass is damp. You can use bags for clippings or can use a rake to circulate the clusters out.
Besides, you can put the clippings on your compost file and use them as mulch. You can indeed get rid of these clippings with the garbage or composting system. However, make sure to mow with a sharp blade and when the grass isn’t wet.
4. Go Side to Side If It Is a Sloppy Lawn
Now the question is, what happens when you have a sloppy lawn. Here, you can follow some tricks. Instead of mowing up and down, you can simply go in and erect vertical lines to the slant.
Manual push-reel mowers are less hazardous than other heavier power models in the sloppy area. Still, you have to be concerned about it because you can be injured if you slip or drop. So, make sure to be careful while using the mower in the sloppy area.
If it’s hard for you to climb up and down the slope, just skip it. But never ever take a risk in this case. You can also use a string trimmer instead of mowing the slop. But if you find things are too much difficult for the sloppy area, you better not make a lawn there. You can make a garden in the place.
5. Change Mowing Direction
It’s not good to mow in one direction every time. For example, if you generally choose to mow from south to north, you can change the direction and start from east to west. Otherwise, the grass will lean over perpetually in the direction of its row.
Changing the direction will also help the grasses grow healthy. So, you can change the direction after one session of mowing from east to west if you choose north to south before.
6. Use Trimmer After You End
You must know that mower is good for the health of the grass as it doesn’t cause excessive pressure on the root. Basically, using a trimmer will be harsher for the grasses. That’s why you should mow as much area as you can. However, after mowing completely, you can use a trimmer to give a shape to the edge of the lawn.
But we prefer not to use a trimmer to cut more grass, especially when that is possible to handle by the mower. Remember that the trimmer simply cuts up the abandoned tips of the grasses, and that’s not good for the health of the grass. That’s why we suggest using a trimmer only after you finish mowing.
If you follow the mentioned tricks properly, I am sure you will be able to mow your lawn properly. But once again, I would like to remind of about the safety issue. Some of the mowers make a very loud sound, so it is necessary. Don’t forget to wear google and ear protection. Also, hydrate your body before you start mowing. Because it needs lots of effort and under the sun you can be sick as well.
FAQ
Q: Should I mow the lawn or cut the grass?
A: You should definitely mow the lawn instead of cutting the grass. By cutting the grass, you cannot possibly make an even surface. Also, it takes an entire day to cut the grass by hand, even on a small lawn. But a mower can be your time and effort saver as well. It makes beautiful cuts very quickly. Also, it is good for the health of the grass too.
Q: How often should a lawn be mowed?
A: If it is the growing season, you may have to mow the lawn once a week. Otherwise, you can mow it once in two or three weeks. However, you have to look for the length of the grass; if it is longer than 4 to 5 inches, you should mow it.
Q: How high should you mow your lawn grass?
A: You should keep the height of the grass between 2.5 to 3.5 inches. It depends on the type of lawn grass.
Q: Does frequent mowing help thicken grass?
A: Initially, mowing properly and regularly help the grass to thicken. Generally, you should mow when the grass is longer than 4 to 5 inches. But frequent mowing may not be a good decision in this case. You should not mow too much but do it regularly after a particular time.
Q: Should I leave grass clippings on the lawn?
A: Yes, you can leave the grass clippings if it is not too long. Initially, the grass clipping can mix with the soil and make a great source of nutrients for the lawn grass. But too long clippings can make excessive thatch and then cause rotten roots.
Bottom Line
Hopefully, mowing won’t seem to be a difficult task for you from now on. You have learned how to mow a lawn with some of the tricks. But remember to choose the mower properly, considering your lawn size and other essential facts. You can check out our brief guide to the types of the mower as well.
However, You should always choose a sunny day with a clear sky. Also, ensure not to water the lawn for two days before mowing. It’s because it is difficult to mow the wet grass. Also, try to minimize the use of trimmers as it is not good for the health of the grass. You can check 7 essential lawn mowing tips on our site for being a pro in mowing.
So, here we are leaving for today, and we promise we will come back again with something informative about your lawn. Please stay safe and support us with your feedback. Thank you.