Mowing Consistently In Spring
One of the most important things you can do for your lawn in Spring and early summer is keep it cut consistently. Yeah, you know that don’t you? But are you doing it? Let me emphasize why you CANNOT afford to skip even one cutting during these crucial months.
Lawn Stress will soon be at a maximum. Summer is just around the corner, and with it comes heat, drought and insect pressure. The spring time, however, is when your lawn really improves in overall health.
Remember, in the fall, the root system is expanded (very important) but it is the spring time when the top growth of the lawn is apparent. This top growth creates more leaf surface area which in turn allows the lawn to grab more sunlight and produce more energy through the process of photosynthesis. That’s a lot of info to swallow, but trust me, you gotta let the lawn catch that spring sunlight so it can save up energy for the summer to come! If you cut consistently you won’t stress it out or stunt the growth patterns.
If you don’t cut and mow consistently (at least once per week) then you will add stress to the lawn at a time when it is still recovering from winter. Basically what happens when you miss a mowing is you have to chop more than 1/3 of the blades off of the grass plants. This leads to a literal shock to the lawn, stopping it from growing properly. Even if you were to raise your mower blade all the way to the top setting, you will still be taking too much leaf surface in a single mowing.
The other problem with stressing the lawn from inconsistent mowing is it allows disease to infiltrate the grass plant. Even the best mowers with the sharpest blades will knick and split grass blades that are longer and tougher from prolonged growth. These open areas on the plant allow disease pathogens easy access.
The last piece of the puzzle here is to make sure you vary your mowing pattern. We don’t want to “train” the grass to lay over in any one single direction. We want it to stand up tall to absorb maximum sunlight all season long.