MOWING HEIGHT
While a close-cropped golf course fairway might seem to be an elegant ideal for a home lawn, it really does not work out very well. Golf courses are populated by grass species that are naturally suited to shorter mowing heights. In addition, these courses have huge maintenance budgets that allow professional superintendents to unnaturally control the resulting natural stresses that will occur.
For a home lawn in the northeast, 3 inches is an ideal mowing height year round. Studies have shown that these lawns are exponentially better equipped for survival than lawns mowed at 2 inches or less.
THE ONE-THIRD RULE
When grass is regularly cut down, the plant itself adapts to the mowing. The crown (the source of new growth) stays very close to the surface of the ground. Only new leaf tissue is then cut off, and stress to the plant is minimal.
If the lawn is allowed to grow longer, the plant will be confused into thinking it is in a more natural meadow setting. This then allows the vital crown to move higher, away from the ground. When you then cut the grass short, the crown is at risk of being cut off, thereby killing that grass plant. To avoid this, never cut more than 1/3 of the length of the grass at any time. The crown will always be below the cut, and you will avoid unnecessary stress.
CLIPPINGS
There is a very simple rule to lawn clippings, but there is also one very big, important exception.
Rule: Leave the clippings on the lawn. Grass blades are primarily water, but also contain vital nutrients that can be returned to the soil by leaving the clippings. They break down and decompose very quickly and contrary to popular belief, they will not add to thatch.
Exception: See the picture below? If the clippings are excessive enough to pile up into clumps, they need to be removed. Otherwise they will smother and kill the lawn in patches before they break down.
BLADE SHARPNESS
Think about it this way. If you needed surgery, would you prefer the surgeon use a properly sharpened scalpel or a butter knife?
Mowing your lawn with unsharpened blades is much the same as performing surgery with a butter knife. Instead of cleanly slicing the grass, the mower pulls, rips, and tears at it. The result is significant injury and jagged, torn tips. The grass becomes far weaker and more prone to other pest problems.
Sharp mower blades will cleanly slice the grass. This results in less injury, and healthier, stronger plants.
