Mowing Tips

At Better, we understand the only reason you buy a mower in the first place is to create a beautiful lawn. The Quick  series mowers are a good first step in that direction. If you're a landscaper, great grass equals happier customers. For a homeowner, great grass equals a more enjoyable lawn. Following some of these tips will help you develop lush, healthy turf that sets the standard for the neighborhood.

• Keep Your Blades Sharp
  
  
  • One of the most important things to ensure a quality cut iskeeping your blades sharp. A good rule of thumb is to sharpen blades after 10 hours of use. Cutting with dull blades actually tears the grass instead of cutting it, causing the top part of the grass blade to turn brown. That will result in a dull and patchy look throughout your lawn.
    
    
• Alternate Your Mowing Patterns
  
  
  • As you can imagine, mowing the same direction week after week will leave tire marks and compact the soil and turf. Use two or three mowing patterns and alternate between them weekly. This will prevent soil compaction and give you interesting patterns on your lawn.
    
    
• Cut at the Right Time
  
  
  • You will need to adjust the frequency of your mowing throughout the year. During Spring and Fall, you will need to cut more often whereas during Summer you will cut less. You will want to mow when you are going to cut the top 1/3 of the grass blades. During Spring you may cut every 4-5 days and only every 10 days in Summer. Just keep your eye on the grass and cut when it needs it.
    
    
• Make Sure You'r Cutting at the Right Height
  
  
  • Cutting your lawn too short makes it vulnerable to disease and insects. Depending on your grass type, adjust your cutting height accordingly. You can find information about your specific area through your local Cooperative Extension Service (http://www.csrees.usda.gov). During the drier, hotter months you may want to raise your cut height by as much as an inch.
    
    
• Mowing Conditions
  
  
  • Try not mow to mow when it is wet. In Spring that may be hard to do but mowing when wet will cause soil compaction and give you a less desirable finish cut.
    
    
• Double Cutting
  
  
  • To get an even better finish cut, do what the Pro’s do, double cut. After you mow the first time go back over the lawn in a cross cut pattern. It takes a little longer but the results will be worth the effort.
    
    
• Don't Over Water
  
  
  • Most grasses only need one inch of water per week. Over watering opens the lawn to disease and fungus which will make the lawn look water starved. If you see brown patches and you have been watering, you may need to apply a fungicide at the curative rate and reduce the amount of watering time.
    
    
• Aerate and Over Seed in the Fall
  
  
  • Seeding in Fall gives the new grass time to establish a good root system before Summer. Grass planted in the Spring will generally burn out before Summer ends.
    
    
• Grass Clippings are Fertilizer
  
  
  • Discharging or mulching puts the clippings right back to the soil where they will break down and feed the lawn.
    
    
• Water at the Right Time
  
  
  • Only water your lawn in the early to mid morning. Watering in the evening creates a good environment for fungus.

Feed and Weed - Choosing the Right Fertilizer

The USDA mandates that products sold as soil nutrients must have their essential nutrients displayed on the container. These numbers represent percentage by weight. The order of the numbers is- Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium. If there is a fourth number it represents Sulfur and would not be good on turf (Sulfur is an acid-loving plant food good for Azaleas and other acidic-soil plants). Choosing the right fertilizer at the right time of year is important to your lawn’s health. Using the wrong fertilizer can burn your grass or promote poor root growth. The biggest thing to watch is your Nitrogen content. If you use a fertilizer with High Nitrogen content during the middle of Summer you will burn the grass. Always check the bag for application rates. Nitrogen promotes overall growth and makes grass that green color that everyone wants. Phosphorus and Potassium promote root growth. The following schedule gives a pretty good idea of when certain things need to be done. Your area may vary depending on when your seasons start and end.

January	This is the best time to apply lime. Lime will bring your soil to a pH level that is good for grass and bad for weeds. Lime is also a soil softener so it will help prevent soil compaction.
February	Depending on when your season starts, you will want to put out a pre-emergent fertilizer BEFORE the grass begins to grow. Pre emergent fertilizer will prevent a lot of weeds from germinating, but be careful because it will also prevent grass seed from germinating (so you will want to seed in the Fall).
March	This is the time for the second fertilizer application. You will want to wait about 6 weeks between applications (if you have not had much rain you may want to wait a couple extra weeks). This application should be a high nitrogen (the first number in the formula) fertilizer. Use a fertilizer with nitrogen content between 20 and 32. An ideal fertilizer for this application would be 28-10-20.
April	As the grass begins its explosive growth, you will need to mow frequently. Remember you only want to cut the top 1/3 of the grass so you may need to mow every 4 or 5 days. If you start to see brown patches you may have developed a fungus. Put a fungicide down as soon as you notice the fungus. You may need to apply a fungicide two times about 20 days apart.
May	It’s time to start thinking about Summer. Put out a fertilizer with low Nitrogen and high Phosphorus and Potassium. This will give the root system a boost before the dry season comes on. Remember to use a very low nitrogen on this application, a good fertilizer would be 5-20-20.
June	If your area is getting dry and hot remember to only mow when needed.
July	If you want to boost the green on your lawn at this time of year use pelletized iron (available at your local home store). This will give you the green without burning the lawn like nitrogen will.
August	This is generally the hottest month of the year. Remember if you are watering to only do it early in the morning. Late in the month put a light application of a fertilizer with a 0 nitrogen content. A rating of 0-15-15 will be good to prepare the soil for Aeration and seeding. If you have broadleaf weeds apply a spray weed killer. Be sure that the spray is a broadleaf weed killer only (this will be listed on the bottle). If you have crabgrass, spot spray a herbicide on the center of clumps (keep the spray low to the ground so you only kill the crabgrass). All of this will prepare you for fall seeding and aerating.
September	Continue to mow as needed. If you are in an area where Fall has begun you may want to go ahead and aerate and overseed.
October	Aerate and over seed. Aerating controls soil compaction and helps the root system of your lawn. After you aerate, over seed your lawn and fertilize with a medium fertilizer (12-10-10).
November	About the middle of the month put out a high nitrogen fertilizer to keep your lawn green through winter.
December	Rest. Next season will be here soon.