More Mow, More Show! - The Importance of Mowing

What a lovely week we have had weather-wise! As we hurtle forward into the summer months, chances are that you are going to want to be spending as much time as possible in your garden, enjoying the sunshine and probably more than a few barbecues. This means that you are going to want to keep your lawn in tip top, healthy condition so that you can enjoy the brilliant sunshine, and there are several things that you can do in order to achieve this. Our latest newsletter touches upon the importance of lawn mower maintenance so that you are not wasting your time and damaging your grass when mowing with blunt blades, and this is a really key part of ensuring that your lawn is both healthy and aesthetically pleasing. We thought it would be a good time to have a look over some of the basics and key facts that you should be armed with when it comes to mowing and maintaining your perfect lawn.

LAWN MOWERS AND MAINTENANCE

Here at GDT, we believe that good mowing is the secret to a perfect lawn. As mentioned above, it is vital that the tools you are using for the job are well maintained, and the blades of your lawn mower are a fundamental part of this. If your lawn mower blades are blunt, mowing it will cause severe damage to the grass. The simple act of mowing grass alone will put pressure on it and cause some stress to the plant, so doing this with a wrecked piece of equipment will only worsen this and damage your lawn. Not only will it look scruffy and untidy, but this will also wreak havoc with the health of the grass itself and have an adverse effect on its growth and well being. This is why it’s really important to ensure that your lawnmower undergoes regular maintenance. Truthfully, it’s a good idea to service and fix any issues with your lawn mower in January/ February time so that when we start moving into Spring and your mowing becomes more frequent, you’re ready to go straight away.

HOW HIGH?

The optimum cut height that you are looking for does change throughout the months, and you can find our latest advice on this in our monthly newsletter. We do advise never to remove more than 25% of the grass height at all times. There is a common misconception that newly laid turf needs to be left for a significant period of time before the first mow – this is absolutely not the case! Whether you have had your turf for 2 days or 2 weeks, we advise you to start mowing when the grass grows to approximately 25mm high. Dramatic cutting can cause shock and stress to your lawn, which will have a negative effect on its ability to grow. Obviously, the height of your grass is entirely down to personal preference, but in order to keep your lawn as healthy as possible, we recommend keeping the cut height between 15mm and 25mm.

WHAT TO DO WITH THE LEFTOVERS

Finally, it’s also a good idea to leave the grass clippings on your turf after mowing as they are rich in nutrients and this is really good for your lawn. Whilst removing them won’t remove any significant nutrients, every little helps! However, we would recommend that you remove them if they are actually covering the grass and therefore blocking sunlight from reaching your lawn; leaving them like this will have an adverse effect on your turf as it needs sunlight in order to grow and thrive. You should find that the more frequently you are mowing your lawn, the less grass clippings you are leaving behind.

Whilst it may not be everyone’s favourite Sunday afternoon chore, mowing your lawn is such an important part of garden maintenance and will have a significant effect on both the look and health of your grass. It’s a ‘little and often’ task that your garden will really thank you for, and you will reap the rewards in the form of a fantastic looking, healthy lawn. Of course, there are other tasks that need to be undertaken as part of general lawn maintenance, and we will explore these in the coming weeks, but mowing will still remain to be one of the fundamental parts of reaching the ‘field of dreams’ in the shape of your thriving, luscious lawn. When buying turf from GDT, our team are always on hand to answer any queries you may have when it comes to mowing and any other aspects of lawncare, so please do not hesitate to contact us with any queries you may have.