For many, getting off the couch to mow the lawn requires an extraordinary amount of self-motivation. After all, mowing the lawn is just as exhilarating as watching paint dry on a wall. However, simply speeding up and moving the mower across the lawn does not make you a lawn care expert. You should also adopt a cutting technique that preserves the health of the grass you are cutting.
If you walk past a professional greenkeeper, you will see two clocks on the wall. One clock tells the time and the other tells the greenkeeper landscape crew which direction to mow the golf course.
a change of address
By alternating the direction you mow each time you mow, you are implementing a simple yet highly effective way to support healthy lawn growth. Mowing the lawn is one of the many routines we go through every day, like walking the dog and commuting to work. Unlike walking the dog and getting to work, mowing the lawn requires a change of direction. By changing the direction of movement of your mower, you avoid the lawn care nightmare of “washboards”, which is the term lawn care professionals use for grass that is not not cut properly, because the same directed mowing produced grass that grows horizontally. . A few hours after mowing in the same direction, the grass in the horizontal position will return to the vertical position, with greater length.
Are you mowing downwind?
Understand the benefits of mowing your lawn in different directions. Then the question arises how to change the cutting direction. The answer is to cut against the grain the first time you change direction and back to the original pattern the next time you cut. For example, if you normally mow east to west, change direction the next time you mow west to east. Owners who mow up-and-down slopes should consider changing the mowing routine from low-up, unless the slopes are too steep to push a mower safely and accurately.
After setting directed mowing
After establishing a specific mowing routine for a few weeks, apply fertilizer and moss control to your lawn. The revived grass produced by directed mowing is healthy enough to resist chemicals. Also keep an eye out for insect larvae, as some species like to eat fresh, well-cut grass that develops delicious new roots.