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.

That title is a little strange but it conveys an important message here guys and that is “mowing your grass tall is very important!” Now I have been in the lawn business since I was a teenager and I can tell you that the single biggest reason lawns look like crap is because they are not mowed and cut properly! If you don’t cut right, you may as well just pave it all over with concrete and throw away your lawn mower!

Why Cut The Lawn Tall?

I want you to think about your lawn in this way: if you trim your fingernails, you are doing something that doesn’t hurt you physically, but does make you look cleaner and neater. But if you cut off your entire hand, you are gonna be in a world of hurt! That is the same with the grass guys!

Plants make sugars through the process of photosynthesis and for your lawn, this is done through the grass blades! If you cut too much of that leaf surface off, you are stopping the food production and thus weakening the plant. Weak grass blades cannot support the root structure beneath causing the lawn to thin out over time. A thin lawn can’t fight weeds and crabgrass.. UGH!!

Look at the picture here… does that scalped area look healthy to you? Many of you will say “well, the lower I cut it, the less often I have to cut it” and I will say to you “go ahead and keep cutting it too low and there ain’t gonna be nothin’ left to cut pretty soon!”

Look ya’ll, if you don’t like cutting the lawn, then hire someone to do it, or move the heck out of the house and get an apartment! I mean that! Don’t be “that guy” in the neighborhood with the crappy lawn. You are dragging the rest of us down!

How Tall Should I Cut My Lawn

As a rule, most turf grasses should be cut around 2.75 to 3″ tall. If you don’t have the time to get out and use a tape measure to check this, then a good rule of thumb is to set your mower on the second-to-highest setting during the spring and fall, and on the very highest setting during the hot summer. Here is a super long and boring (but important) vid I did that tells you about mowing height in the summer.



Final Considerations

I also need you to cut your lawn consistently every week at a minimum during the growing season! It’s right to mow tall, but if you allow the grass to grow taller over two weeks, for example, then you are still gonna be whacking too much off! You HAVE to keep up with your regular mowing or you will damage the grass. The best consideration is to never remove more than 1/3 of the grass blade in any single cutting!

If you need a good mower, then check out my best mulching mower review.

Why A Sharp Mower Blade Is Important

When you mow the lawn with a dull blade, you end up ripping the grass blades instead of cutting them cleanly. Think of getting your hair cut with dull clippers… it ain’t a happy situation! Ripping the grass blades shreds them and rips them (see the picture here), causing all kinds of issues. Ripped and shredded grass blades turn brown and millions of brown tips viewed from far away make the lawn look brown and not green and that just ain’t cool. You can fertilize the heck out of it, and it will still look brown from the rips on the tips.

In addition, ripped turf blades allow the grass leaf to dry out faster in the sun, and even worse, those injured areas allow an entry for disease pathogens! If you keep your blade sharp, you will get clean cuts, flat and straight and those heal over very quickly and don’t turn the lawn brown.

How Often Should I Sharpen My Mower Blade?

It depends on how big your lawn is and how often you mow, but as a rule, I recommend a good sharpening here in the spring before the first cut, and again in July to help you finish out the season. Of course, you should always keep an eye on things and if you notice the grass blades ripping, go ahead and sharpen up the blade.

I actually keep two lawn mower blades on hand (I use a Lawn Boy mulching mower) so that I can make quick changes when I notice the grass ripping. I also tend to sharpen the lawn mower blades myself to save money and time. There are a couple options you have all the way from a full bench mounted grinder, to Dremel tool attachments, drill attachments, to some cheap but effective sharpening tools that work well on the fly. Check out the boxes I have included here and see which works best for you. Remember, guys, a sharp mower blade is one of the most important mowing tips of the season!

Enter, the Lawn Boy Insight Series. Now I have been mowing lawns and working in the lawn industry since I was 16-years-old (I am 36 now) and this is the very best homeowner style mower I have every used. Lots of power, quality construction, starts on first pull everytime…
It mulches, catches and side discharges, but we are mostly concerned about the mulching part.

You see, when you buy a mulching lawn mower you want one that is powerful enough to grind up the clippings into small bits, and not leave clumps. If you have a mulching mower that leaves clumps, it is either underpowered or it’s not really a mulching lawn mower… trust me, I have seen both. It also may not have a deep enough deck, allowing the clippings to fall out too soon before they get chopped up. The Lawn Boy Insight Series mowers, however, don’t have any of these problems. They are truly smart mowers.

Anyway, the Lawn Boy Insight Series packs plenty of power, has a great self-propelled rear wheel drive system operated by “sense-a-speed” instead of levers and handles, and it also has really fat tires, making better lawn stripes. And we all know how cool it is to have nice lawn stripes!

I promise you this is the very best self propelled mulching lawn mower you’ll ever own. The cheapest price is below too… cheaper than any store I have seen, even with the shipping. Check it out you lawn care nuts!

If you want a nice, natural green lawn, then you need the basic tools to get you there, and here is the most important one I recommend for homeowners like you and me:

Lawn Boy Insight Series Lawn Mower Review

Well, duh! Of course you need a lawn mower, but what is the best type, kind, horsepower, size, mulch, catch, side discharge, etc etc etc.!!! eeek! 

Let’s assume you will buy a traditional gas powered walk behind lawn mower. After all, we can’t be 100% green and natural with everything right? So what is the best lawn mower for the money? I recommend the Lawn Boy Insight Series mowers for performance, price, power, reliability and features. Seriously guys, I have owned a lot of “homeowner” style lawn mowers in my day, and the Lawn Boy Insight series are second to none. (see the pic here of my with my Lawn Boy mower! see the love! )

These mowers are cool because they are powered properly for mowing in thick grass. No clumps!  The power plant is tough enough to spin the mulching blade through the grass, grind up the grass, and drop tiny its back into the lawn with no isues. If you’ve every owned a lawn mower that was underpowered, you’d know the frustration of clumping clippings!

They also have a nice design that is comfortable for short guys like me, or tall people like my sons. More than that, however, is that they are rear-wheel drive self propelled (called “sense-a-speed”) and the tires are FAT, making better lawn stripes.

The bagging feature, which I do use on occasion, is also nice because you can actually fill up the bag. So many mowers just won’t shoot the clippings up into the bag with any type of force, but with the Lawn Boy mowers, it works well. Taking the bag off, and re-attaching it is super easy too.

Really though, the best part of it is the reliability factor. I’ve had my Lawn Boy Insight mower for 4 years now and it still starts on the very first pull every time! Sweet action! I highly highly highly recommend this mower. Below is the best place to get the Lawn Boy Insight Series Mowers for cheap!