Mowing is very important to enjoy a beautiful lawn whatever the season. Ideally, a mower suitable for the surface area of the grassed area is used. However, having the right equipment is not enough. It is also necessary to avoid making the mistakes of beginners, capable of jeopardizing this beautiful green space which, if properly maintained, enhances the whole garden, that is to say the pretty well weeded paths, the green terrace, the swimming pool and of course the house. here are the 9 mistakes to absolutely avoid to mow your lawn properly.
1 – Mow your lawn when it’s cold
If you want to slaughter your lawn, there is no better. Indeed, the lawn is more sensitive to cold and frost when cut short. It is therefore essential to leave the mower idle in winter in the majority of our regions. However, in a particularly mild climate where temperatures remain very mild in winter, it is possible to mow your lawn once or twice during the season provided you mow high, only if it is over 10°C and the night temperatures are positive. Anyway, grass grows much slower at this time of year, so mowing is rarely necessary.
Note that the mower can be switched on in winter after having set it to the highest position, not to mow the lawn but to shred dead leaves which cover it.
2 – Forgetting to mow the lawn in the spring
If there is a mowing that should not be skipped, that’s good the first of the year. It must take place in the spring, on sunny days. In other words, it is essential to mow the lawn as soon as the temperatures soften during the day as long as it does not freeze at night. In most of our regions, the best time to do this first mowing is the month of mars. In case of persistent cold, we can wait until April. However, the grass should not be too high.
3 – Leave grass clippings on site
To smother your lawn, there is nothing better! As soon as mowing is finished, it is absolutely necessary to rake with a lawn rake. If you want to save time and effort, invest in a mower equipped with collection bag also called collection bag. This accessory is attached to the mower and the blades of grass pile up as they go. All you have to do is empty the bag onto the compost as soon as it is full.
There is another increasingly popular solution: using a mulching mower or mulching mower. The cut strands are finely ground before being blown onto the lawn. They are so thin that they won’t cause the lawn to turn yellow. They break down quickly and are therefore a natural fertilizer.
4 – Cut your grass too short in summer
Mowed too short, the grass is directly impacted by high heat. It literally grills and the lawn looks like a doormat. In order for the lawn to retain sufficient sturdiness, it must on the contrary be limited to a mowing height from 5 to 7 cm. In this way, it will retain the freshness a little better and will pass the summer without suffering too much damage. You should also know that the roots of a lawn that is always shaved are very short, which makes it necessary to water more frequently to allow the lawn to resist the heat.
Finally, it should be noted that the last mowing of the year, which generally takes place in October, must on the other hand be fairly short to limit the risk of diseases favored by excess humidity.
5 – Mow a wet lawn
This is strongly discouraged as it results in uneven mowing and jams. Rain, watering and dew therefore condition mowing. As far as possible, we wait until the sun has allowed the grass to dry well. But during a rainy episode which never ends, if you can no longer delay the maintenance of your lawn which threatens to become too high, you must take a few precautions to be able to mow it while it is wet. We pass the blades in vegetable oil to avoid jams, the oil preventing the grass from sticking, and we make the comings and goings more slowly than usual.
6 – Space mowing sessions too far apart
If you don’t mow often enough, the lawn may look like nothing as the unwanted weeds will take over and eventually choke it out. Between March and October, the lawn should be mowed as regularly as possiblenamely every 7 days in spring, every 15 days in summer and until October.
7 – Use a mower with blunt blades
This is how you tear up the lawn and get an uneven end result that is really unattractive. Not to mention that the grass is likely to yellow in places. Before mowing, do not hesitate to sharpen the blades to perform a clean, burr-free cut. To avoid damaging the blades, before mowing, the gardener has every interest in removing stones, small branches, small forgotten toys and anything that has no place on the lawn. A little extra advice: at the end of the season, it is recommended to have your mower serviced by a pro.
8 – Neglect the edges of the lawn
A mowed lawn with poor edges is not nearly as beautiful as it deserves. It is therefore essential to use after mowing once every 4 or 5 weeks a trimmer in order to obtain an impeccable result in any season. This tool sometimes called half Moon can also be used to ensure that the edges of beds and flowerbeds that brighten up the lawn are also irreproachable.
9 – Mow the brand new lawn
If you go about it this way, there is a great risk that the new lawn will not look as good as expected. A lawn that has just been sown should not be mowed until the height of the blades has reached about ten centimeters, i.e. 4 weeks minimum after emergence. The mower is set to a cutting height of 6 cm but above all not lower.