Many people agree that one can mow lawns anytime they want to, but do you know what the best time is to use a lawn mower to achieve the best results?  One should understand the right timing and a basic understanding of how grasses grow and react to seasons, climates or even the peculiarities of each grass variety.

Despite the fact that grass varieties have their own unique qualities, there are also a lot of similar ways to provide them with the best care possible, regardless of their varieties.  Many gardening experts agree that warm season grasses begin to grow rapidly in June and it is advisable that mowing grass the right way would help get good results.

Mowing grass at just the right height enhances high quality grass growth that will not only look good, but will also have its edge in competing over weeds.  On average, the desired height for grasses during these times would be around 1.5 to 2.5 inches tall.

Lawn Mower Tips:

• When mowing with the manual push mowers, it is best to have all wheels set at the same notch to ensure even cutting.
• When using ride-on mowers, it is best to make sure all the wheels are equally inflated to ensure a fairly balanced and even mowing level.
• Always keep mower blades sharp to ensure a clean cut of the blades of grass.
• Clean cuts on grass promotes faster healing and less discoloration of the grass blades, creating a barrier from invading fungi that causes uneven discoloration and uniform growth.
• Mower blades must be removed from the lawn mower when sharpening and after the blade is sharpened, make sure it is installed back correctly.

Do not try to attempt mowing lawns in the rain as it  is damaging to the cut grass since tearing grass blades makes it susceptible to water borne diseases and fungi that could result in withering and unsightly bald patches on the ground.  As rain water comes in contact with the grass blade’s surface, it adds weight causing it to hunch over and when it is being mowed in that position, the grass blades tend to get pushed over by the mower blades or slide off, instead of it getting cut.

Wet grass also has the tendency to stick to the blades, oftentimes obstructing the mower blades from cutting grass less efficiently. Wet grass also sticks to the mower’s undercarriage, and as the mowing continues on it eventually gets too thick and impedes the mower blades thereby slowing down its rotation and diminishing the mower’s cutting ability.

Many, if not most, mowers have mulching blades that create suction, which allows cut grass to get sucked up and cut into tiny pieces when it’s dry. However, wet grass clumps up and doesn’t get mulched. Clumped cut grass that are as large as a diameter of a tennis ball can weigh down and kill the grass underneath it in a matter of days and can result to ugly patches of dead grass.

But if it is necessary to mow in the rain due to unavoidable circumstances, the best thing, is to mow the lawn in passes with the blades turning fast at less than half of the width of the mower to minimize clumping.  As soon as the lawn dries out after the rain, be sure to follow it through by using a blower to speed up drying and dislodge clumps of cut grass.

Knowing the best times to work with lawn mowers will help to ensure good results.