Do You Edge Every Time You Mow
Now that weve looked at how to decide what to do first, lets look at how frequently you should be edging the lawn.
It is not necessary to edge every time you mowunless you are the ultimate perfectionist or you have some particularly fast growing groundcover on the edge of your lawn. This can even be extended for edges of beds, walks, and driveways by using a shovel to create small edge trenches.
Though, if you are in the running for Lawn of the Year, or in competition with your neighbors on an unofficial basis, you may opt to do it every time you mow.
For this section, well assume mowing happens weekly to every other week and you are not in search of a trophy for your mantel.
As a general rule, you always need to inspect your lawns edge lines every time you wish to mow. If the grass on the edge lines begins encroaching on the surrounding areas, you will have to bring the edger out and trim.
Edge line grass will do this frequently during peak growth periods or shortly after fertilizer application. During these periods, you may find yourself edging your lawn every second mow.
During other periods, you can get away with edging once every three or four mows. This is especially true if you tend to do edging to the dirt. There are areas away from main walkways and doors that many wont see up close. A professional trick is to trim these lines closely with a weed trimmer to reduce the need to do it for weeks to come.
Dont Mow The Same Way Every Time Alternate The Pattern
Varying the pattern in which you mow will help to allow the blades to grow straighter and healthier. Grass blades tend to grow in the direction in which they are mowed. Alternating the pattern allows the blades to return to a more upright position. This will also ensure that you dont develop ruts in your lawn from the mower wheels.
Treating Broadleaf Weeds When It’s Dry
Dandelions, clover, and creeping Charlie are some of the most common broadleaf weeds you’ll encounter, but plenty of other plants can invade quickly and spread relentlessly. To keep them in check, you may decide to use a granular weed-and-feed product or spray an organic liquid broadleaf weed killer.
The right time: Treat actively growing weeds apply granular products on a dewy morning or spot treat with an organic herbicide on a warm, sunny day.
Why timing matters: Used properly, broadleaf weed killers are highly effective when conditions are optimal. For example, the granules of weed-and-feed products, which are applied with a spreader, must stick to the leaves of the weeds to be effective. That requires moisture, so the perfect time to apply is in early morning when there’s a heavy dew on the lawn. If the grass isn’t wet, you’ll be wasting your time and money. Warm temperatures often help liquid treatments work faster, too. However, if you’ve been having a hot but dry summer, you’ll want to water your lawn first.
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Should I Mow The Lawn Before Or After The Rain
It does not matter when you mow the lawn, as long as the grass is dry when you do it. If you are expecting rain and want to race the weather, you can mow your lawn before the rain. If you are not in such a rush, you can wait until after the rain has passed and mow the lawn once the grass has dried.
One good thing to remember, however, is that the grass is more likely to grow faster if it gets rain soon after it has been cut. It will not grow as quickly if it experiences a day or two of sun after it has been cut.
Additionally, you should take into consideration the length of your grass at the time of your decision-making. If the grass is very long and you do not think you can manage it for another day or two, it is better to mow it before the rain comes.
If you do not have a tight schedule and will have time in the next few hours or a couple of days, depending on how long it takes your grass to dry, then you can sit back and enjoy the rain while it waters your plants for you.
If you are looking for more information about how long your grass should be, or how short you should cut your grass, look no further. Check out our article about what length to cut your grass here!
Mow Like A Pro: How To Avoid These Top 10 Lawn Mowing Mistakes
Most homeowners may not know it, but improper mowing is one of the most common causes of lawn problems. Luckily, its an easy problem to fix. Its much easier than trying to diagnose a disease or pest problem or remedy mold or weed issues. Custom Lawn and Landscape has put together some basic lawn mowing tips to keep your lawn healthy and looking its best.
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Remember The Mowing Basics
Whether youre mowing your lawn before or after a lawn treatment, remembering the basics is essential to ensure your lawn thrives and you dont waste your time.First, make sure your mower is properly prepped. This means sharpening your mower blades, filling the tires with air, changing the oil, and ensuring its working correctly before the growing season is in full swing. Then, when you mow, remember that your grass blades should be 3 to 4 inches tall after you mow. You never want to remove more than one-third of the lawn at any one time so as not to stress it out.
Don’t Mow Yet How Long Should You Wait To Mow After Fertilization Treatments
Enrolling in a fertilization program is one of the best things you can do for your lawn. Most programs offer year-round protection so that you never have to worry if your lawn is getting the correct amount of nutrients during every changing season. We often get questions from clients about how long they have to wait until they can resume normal activity such as cutting the grass on a recently fertilized lawn. We get it! You want to check off your lawn to-do list but it can be hard to know how long you should wait to ensure that you don’t disrupt the fertilization process.
Below, we have outlined the best times to cut your grass and mowing tips to follow every time your lawn receives a fertilization treatment.
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What Grass Height Should You Mow Your Lawn Before Winter
Regularly mowing your lawn is one of the most essential aspects to keeping your grass healthy. The recommended mowing lengths vary based on the grass species that you have in your lawn. However, on average, your grass height for winter should be around 2 inches depending on grass type. Due to the cold winter temperatures, grass that is too short might go into shock and grass that is kept too long can be at greater risk of developing snow mold.
Should I Cut My Grass Before Trugreen Comes
You should wait to mow for 24 to 48 hours post treatment. This is because it takes at least 24 hours for broadleaf weed control to translocate throughout the vascular system of the plant. If you cut the grass too soon, youre not letting the herbicide get into the plant.
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How Do I Prepare My Lawn For Scarifying
To prepare your lawn for scarifying, follow this process:
Liquid And Granular Fertilizers
If you have applied the fertilizer to your lawn and start mowing right after that, this could be risky. Mowing time also depends on the type of fertilizer that you have applied. There are two basic types of fertilizers, liquid fertilizers, and granular fertilizers.
Liquid fertilizers are best used in large areas like golf courses. Once these fertilizers are applied, the lawn must be watered to prevent the Nitrogen from damaging the grass. Liquid fertilizers should never be applied to the grass during its growing season. The advantage of liquid fertilizers is that they are easy to apply across the lawn.
There is also an ease of blending these fertilizers with other herbicides. Moreover, they can be applied uniformly and consistently as compared to granular fertilizers. Other crop protection products can be easily blended with liquid fertilizers. The grass has faster access to nutrients as liquid penetrates the soil immediately. Liquid fertilizers are also better at balancing the pH of the soil based on chemicals in the fertilizer.
For example, Nitrogen is very helpful for the soil, but it may kill plants if it is over-applied. Similarly, potassium-based fertilizers can be helpful too but to the right amount. So, liquid fertilizers are a better option that maintains a uniform quantity of the chemicals applied across the lawn.
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Weed Killer Before Or After Mowing
When using a weed killer for lawns you have two options. Pre-emergent or post-emergent. Depending on which product your users will determine when to mow your lawn.
Pre-emergent is applied during late fall or winter, so be sure to do your last mow of the season two days prior to broadcasting your pre-emergent granules over your lawn. You should not need to mow after the application as the grass may be dormant.
If you do need to mow again, make sure to leave at least two days after the pre-emergent has taken on water and soaked into the soil. If you have no rainfall then water the lawn and wait for two days, then mow your lawn.
Post-emergent weed killer is applied through the season on actively growing weeds. So, we follow the same two day routine of mowing at least two days before or two days after the application of your post-emergent treatment has been activated by rainfall or by watering your lawn,
Cutting Grass Before A Freeze: Can You Mow After Frost
Have you heard that its best to avoid walking on frozen grass? The same rule applies for mowing after a frost. A frost causes the moisture inside the grass blades to freeze, so any activity on the lawn after a frost can break the grass blade and damage the lawn.
If you must mow your lawn after a frost, the best practices are to ensure that your lawn does not have a lot of moisture from snow or ice and make sure to not mow the lawn when the temperatures are below 40 degrees Fahrenheit.
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Can I Apply Weed Killer Right After I Mow
Weed killers, or post-emergent herbicides, need to be applied to the leaves of the weed in order to be effective. If the weeds are freshly mowed, there is less broadleaf weed surface area for the herbicide to stick to, and your lawn treatment will be less effective.
Its best to wait at least two days after mowing before applying any weed killer. This will give the weeds time to grow and provide your herbicide more surface area to penetrate.
How Long Should I Wait To Mow The Grass After It Rains
Ideally, you should wait until your grass has dried out completely after it has rained. Even if the grass is still slightly wet in places, it can make your job more difficult to do.
Depending on how much rain you had followed by how much sun or heat you had, it can take anywhere from just a few hours to a couple of days before your grass will be dry enough to cut.
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Bagging The Clippings Before Treatment
If your lawn suffers from a lot of weed, I recommend bagging the clippings before you apply the weed & feed. This will reduce the seeds spread around other parts of the grass.
After you have used the weed & treat, this is not needed. I even recommend not removing them after the first mow after applying the weed & feed. In that case, the clippings will contain some weed & feed this will break down and reach the roots of the grass.
Should You Mow Before Applying Pre
Unlike post-emergent herbicide sprays that kill existing weeds, pre-emergent herbicide can be spread right after you mow. The reason for this difference is that pre-emergent herbicide does not need leaf contact. It enters the soil and kills weed seeds at the time of seed germination.
- You can mow right before spreading pre-emergent weed killers.
- Water your pre-emergent into the soil before mowing.
- Mowing if your pre-emergent hasnt been watered in can throw granular weed killers out of your yard, rendering them useless.
However, if youve spread a pre-emergent herbicide, wait 37 days before you mow. During this time, make sure to water pre-emergent into the soil. Otherwise, mowing could throw the pre-emergent off your yard, ruining the application and forcing you to redo the job.
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Should You Mow Before Aerating
Its no secret that lawn aeration is key to maintaining healthy grass. But getting confused is easy if youre new to the process. This brings us to the following question: should you mow before aerating?
You should mow roughly 1.5-2 inches above the ground before aerating. Using an aerator in tall grass can damage the machine and it wont be as effective during the plug removal process.
Types Of Lawn Fertilizer & Weed Killer Products
There are two main types of weed and feed. One contains post-emergent herbicides used on existing weeds while the other type contains pre-emergent herbicides. One will typically find them under the name turf builder with weed control. The different forms are granular and liquid weed and feed.
Use a post-emergent weed and feed on already established weeds and a pre-emergent weed killer to prevent a weed problem, stopping it before seeds germinate.
You can use drop spreaders or broadcast spreaders depending on your lawn and where you want the product to distribute weed and feed across your turf.
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When To Mow The Lawn Too Long Didnt Read
Time is money, and it seems were always so short on both.
While I cant shake the magic money tree for you, I can save you a few moments if youre in a rush and dont want to read the whole article.
The truth is theres no easy answer.
It depends on the season, the conditions, the type of grass you have, and if youre using fertilizer or not.
But if you dont really care about the lawn art form, and you simply want to know when to give it a trim, then I would recommend at least once per week during the growing season for your grass type.
Do You Have To Cut The Grass When Spraying The Weeds
You dont have to cut the grass when spraying the weeds, but maintaining a 2.5-inch height will prevent weeds, fungus, and pests from showing up. Mowing the lawn too soon before or after spraying the weeds makes the herbicide significantly less effective.
Dealing with bugs is quite the opposite of cutting the lawn with weeds. The order is flipped You should mow the grass before spraying for bugs if you want it to be as effective as possible. If you have weeds and bugs, handle the weeds and deal with the bugs after the plants are gone.
Theres no point in cutting the weeds right after you spray them. Doing this will remove the spray, which means the only thing you did was mow the lawn. The weeds will come back, so the aforementioned 48-hour block of time is essential. Some herbicides state you can mow the grass about 24 hours later, but make sure you read the label.
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