How to mow grass and maintain the perfect lawn

Introduction

My dad used to give me $10 each time I cut the grass – it took me about 30 minutes to cut both the front and back yards, in the Texas heat no less.  Needless to say, I HATED it, but I got paid, so I did it.  I mean, how else was I going to buy my comic books?  Anyway, now that I have my own lawn, I actually enjoy cutting and maintaining it.  I have a housekeeper, and a FB friend once asked why I didn’t just hire someone to mow my lawn, and I told him that I actually enjoyed it (plus, I had a better lawn than my neighbors who use the landscaping service.)  In today’s post, I’ll show you how I maintain my lawn.  Disclaimer #1 – my front lawn is tiny (takes less than 5 min to cut) and #2 – I have no professional experience.  I learned all this by Googling and asking coworkers, so I figured I’d share what I had learned.

 

Tip #1 – Mow your lawn on the highest setting

The first step is to figure out which setting you should put the lawnmower on.  When I was young, I chose the lowest setting so that the grass wouldn’t grow back.  However, I’ve learned that you should only cut 1/3 of the grass blade for each mowing.  Cutting too much of the grass leaves it weak and lets weeds grow.  When spring starts (when there is lots of rain and grass is growing like crazy,) I usually choose the middle setting.  Now that the rain has stopped, I choose the highest setting.

 

Tip #2 – Mow in different directions each time

Don’t just mow horizontally each time.  Mow vertically the next time.  Diagonally the next.  Also, if you want that baseball field diamond look, you’ll have to use a roller.  I thought about doing it, but my lawn is already so small, it wouldn’t be worth the effort.

 

Tip #3 – Mulch or not to mulch

I have a self mulching mower and so the grass clippings go back into the grass.  This serves as fertilizer for the lawn.

 

Tip #4 – Seed and Fertilize during the spring and fall

There are 2 times of the year when you need to fertilize – in early spring and fall to give grass the nutrients it needs to grow.  Any grass fertilizer will do.  I usually use Scott’s and wait for the Home Depot spring sale.  As for what type of seed – well that’ll depend on where you live.  Each region has a different type of preferred grass seed.  Also, try to avoid the ‘EZ Seed’ stuff and buy real grass seed; real grass seed is much better than EZ Seed.

 

Tip #5 – Aerate the lawn

I didn’t realize the importance of aerating the lawn until recently.  When my house was built, the builders put down sod, which looked great for a year.  Since I live in Seattle and I have rocks beneath the ground, the roots were never able to grow deep into the soil.  Aerating the lawn helps put oxygen down into the roots of the grass.  Since my lawn is small, I just use a handheld aerator.  If you have a medium sized lawn, try the shoe one even though I haven’t tried it.  If you have a Texas sized lawn, maybe go rent a machine from Home Depot.  I aerate twice a year, a week before I seed and fertilize.

 

Tip #6 – Proper watering

After lots of searching, I’ve learned that it’s better to do a deep watering once a week versus daily short watering.  This way, all that water penetrates deep within the roots whereas short waterings may not go deep enough.

 

Tip #7 – Trim your lawn

I use a weed whacker to trim the lawn.  It’s not necessary, but it makes your lawn look tidier.  Kinda like when you have hair growing over your ears; just looks neater if you trim it off.

 

Tip #8 – Try to stop dogs from peeing on your lawn

For the first year, I couldn’t figure out what was causing the yellow spots on my lawn.  Eventually I figured out it was because my dog was peeing on the lawn.  I eventually trained him not to pee on the lawn, which in turn stopped other dogs from peeing on the lawn.

 

Conclusion

I’m sure there are other tips, so if you know of any, let me know.