The Proper Technique For Mowing Your Lawn

For many, mowing the lawn isn’t the most enjoyable activity. It can be a downright chore, especially when you have to do it on hot days! And yet, as homeowners, we want our lawn to look beautiful all year round. For those who want to DIY their lawn, it’s important to use proper technique when mowing your lawn. Failing to do so can create ruts and patches in your lawn. Fortunately, we know all about proper lawn care & maintenance, we can help you learn how to cut your grass right. Here are our tips for proper lawn mowing technique.

Guidelines to Follow When Mowing Your Lawn

Mow high and often

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: you do NOT want to cut your grass too low! We call this “scalping” your lawn and it can be dangerous for your grass. Scalped grass is not as healthy as longer, yet well-maintained grass. This is because short grass is not as protected from the sun’s harmful rays as longer grass.

Mow at a slow speed

The reason for this is that if you mow too fast, you risk having an uneven lawn. Mowing too fast prevents your lawnmower blades from being able to cut each grass blade, leaving some grass blades more intact than others. What’s worse is that mowing fast could cause some of the grass blades to tear.

Sharpen your blades

Just like mowing your lawn too fast, mowing with dull blades can cause your grass to look uneven and cause grass blades to tear. As a result, you will have to mow over the same spots multiple times. You don’t want to do this, as mowing over the same spots too many times can cause ruts to appear. It’s okay to give your lawn a once over to make sure it’s even, but if you find yourself mowing the same spots over and over you risk ruts and patches.

Recommended Lawn Mowing Techniques

Mowing In Rows

This is the most commonly used lawn mowing technique, and for good reason. It’s the most efficient way to mow your lawn. The way we recommend that you do it is to mow the perimeter first to make sure the grass blades don’t spray all over the street or into your garden. Then, mow your lawn back and forth, making one line after another and slowly making progress toward the other edge of the perimeter. Keeping straight lines is important for maintaining efficiency and making your grass look as even as possible. Make sure you align your wheels along the previously mowed line.

Cutting the Perimeters & Edges

When cutting the perimeter of your lawn, make sure that you are mowing in a direction so that the grass is blowing toward the inside of your lawn. It’s also important to make sure that your wheels are aligned to the perimeter even if your perimeter isn’t straight. If your perimeter makes straight lines impossible, you may want to use a spiral cut as described below.

Spiral Pattern

Spiral patterns are often used for larger, irregularly shaped plots and for lawns that have more curves than straight edges. This is because it’s harder to mow straight lines when the plot is not rectangular. To start a spiral pattern, start at a point on the perimeter and mow alongside the perimeter. Then, mow on the inside of your previously mowed line around where you mowed the perimeter. You’ll be going around the lawn in a spiral, ultimately getting to the center.