News / Life / Clark County Life

Gardening with Allen Wilson: Raise mower blades for thicker lawn

By Allen Wilson

Published: May 21, 2019, 6:00am

The darker green lawn on the left is mowed at a 1 inch height, while the lawn on right, mowed at a 2 inch height, is thicker. Contributed by Allen Wilson

Many of my neighbors have lawn mowing service. Their lawns are nicely edged, but the best looking lawn in the neighborhood is taken care of by the owner. It has fewer weeds and always has a nice dark green color. I know he mows his lawn taller. What else do you suggest to have a top quality lawn?

Raising the height of your lawn mower will definitely improve your lawn. The leaf blades manufacture the food for the grass plant. Going from a 1 inch mowing height to 1 1/2 inches will make your lawn thicker and darker green. Raising up to 2 inches will improve appearance even more. You will also remove a smaller percentage of the leaf blades when you mow, which is helpful for lawn growth.

Root mass and depth is in direct proportion to the grass leaf surface. Shorter mowing means shorter roots which need more frequent irrigation. You begin to see the real difference in lawn quality when hot weather comes.

When lawns are mowed at less than 1 1/2 inches, they are working harder to replace those leaves by growing faster. They use up the food reserves in the plant crowns.

No more than 30 to 40 percent of grass leaves should be removed at each mowing. That means a lawn which is mowed at 2 inches should be mowed by the time it reaches 3 to 3 1/2 inches. A lawn which is mowed at an inch height should be mowed by the time it reaches 1 3/4 inches. Because of the greater amount which can be removed, taller grass actually requires less frequent mowing.

There are two fertilizer nutrients which cause grass to grow dark green. Nitrogen is the main ingredient in lawn fertilizers. It will cause green growth when it is available to grass roots. Nitrogen is quickly leached below the root zone. Lawn fertilizers which have part of the nitrogen in a poly coated slow release form will last longer in the soil after application.

Iron also causes dark green color in lawns. Check to make sure there is also some iron in your lawn fertilizer when you buy it. I sometimes use a soluble form of iron to get quick green-up. I dissolve ferrous (iron) sulfate in water and spray it on the lawn with a hose attachment sprayer. The lawn greens up overnight. And it does not stimulate growth like nitrogen does.

The typical home lawn is mowed once a week. If mowed too short, weekly mowing removes too high a percentage of leaf blades, thus weakening the grass.

But what about those beautiful golf courses and professional athletic fields which are mowed shorter? Have you checked on their mowing frequency? Fairways and playing fields are usually mowed at 2 to 3 day intervals. Putting greens are mowed daily. How about fertilizer and pesticides? You guessed it; they apply a lot more of both to compensate for the shorter mowing.

So the bottom line is: if you want a shorter lawn, plan to spend more time and money keeping it looking nice.

Mowing in straight lines gives a more attractive look than mowing in a circle. After mowing a couple of strips around the outside, pick a focal point such as the entry or a specimen plant and mow in parallel lines. Change the direction of mowing weekly or monthly.

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