People in temperate climates everywhere are pulling their lawn mowers out of the storage shed or garage and preparing for that first trim of the season. After getting the dust off of the mower, it’s also important to dust off the mind before firing up the engine. Remember, the whole reason for lawn mowing is to promote a healthy, flourishing yard that adds to the attractiveness and value of your property. Let’s go over a few pointers to refresh things you’ll want to know for maintaining an attractive lawn:

Lawn mowing may not always be the most enjoyable activity. It is understandable that many people would prefer to do it as infrequently as possible. To accommodate this, it might seem intuitive to cut the grass extremely short, so as to elongate the duration between mows. This is a bad idea. Grass that is clipped too short will die. A dead lawn will be evident by an unsightly brown colored grass.

So what is the proper length one should reduce their grass to? It depends on the seed used for your lawn. Bermuda grass has an optimal length of about 1”, perhaps a little more. Most other common grasses, like Ryegrass and Kentucky Bluegrass, should be kept around 3” tall.

While most people would just assume not have to mow their lawn terribly often, there are those among you who enjoy the activity so much they might not mind doing it almost daily. While this exuberance for lawn care is admirable to yours truly, it is important not to mow your lawn too often. The mowing process is stressful, but necessary for grass. Realize that mowing too often can kill your grass. While spring is still waking up, you probably only need to mow about once every 10-14 days. During the height of the lawn’s growth speed, it will probably be necessary to mow it once per week.

One of the laborious facets of mowing is bagging the clippings. You can avoid doing this and simply mulch the grass, provided you’re not cutting off too much. In general, up to three-quarters of an inch is acceptably small enough to mulch. Your lawn will love the nutrients it receives from it’s decomposing ends. Be careful though, mulch clippings that are too long can suffocate your grass from the sunlight it needs.

It is important to rid the clippings that have stuck to your lawn mower blade after the task is complete. This keeps the blades at their peak and ensures that they will do the job correctly the next time. It is inadvisable to leave clippings on your blade or to mow while the lawn is wet. This promotes rust buildup on the blades, which will eventually be scattered on your lawn.

Best of luck to you in the new season. Seeing that you care enough to research lawn care tips, I’m sure your yard will be the pride of the neighborhood.