Lawn Mower, Lawn Mower, Lawn Mower




“Lawn Mower, Lawn Mower, Lawn Mowers…Can The Right Lawn Mower Keep You Out Of Jail?”

I am sure most everyone has heard about the 70 year old lady that was beaten and thrown into jail for having a brown lawn. In most states in the U.S it is against the law not to maintain your lawn and it can cause you some unwanted fines and in this case even some time spent in jail. I wanted to take a moment and explain how to maintain your lawn mower and stay out of jail.

1. Make sure your lawn mower has good sharp blades. It is a very important part of getting a good cut out of your mower. If the blades are not sharp, it will tear the lawn instead of cutting it. The lawn mower blades tearing the lawn instead of cutting the lawn can cause the lawn to turn brown. As we can tell from above, it could land you in jail. Try to sharpen your lawn mower blades every 8 hours of use and your chances of landing in jail will decrease.

2. Make sure your lawn mower is cutting your grass at the correct height. If you cut your lawn too short it can cause disease and insects that can cause the grass too turn brown. Your lawn mower should have a height adjustment lever on the deck. Keep in mind that the type of grass you have will determine the height it needs to be cut at. In the hotter days if summer you may want to add another inch to the recommend cutting height.

3. Lawn mower tire pressure can cause an uneven cut that can damage the grass. If the tire pressure on your lawn mower is not equal on all sides of your lawn mower, it will cause an uneven cut. If it is bad enough it can cause the mower deck to drop and dig into the lawn on one side, killing the grass.

4. Cutting the grass in different directions. If you run the mower in the same direction every time you mow, it can cause tire tracks throughout your lawn. It is best to mow in different patterns.

5. Mowing at the right time. You want to keep an eye on the grass and when it appears that you will be cutting 1/3 of the top of the grass blade you know it is time to cut the grass. This may cause you to cut the grass more often in some months and less often in others.

6. Do not mow when the yard is wet. If you run the lawn mower across a wet lawn it can cause the dirt to compact, which can affect the finish look of the lawn. The lawn mower tires can also slip and slid in the wet lawn causing an undesirable look.

7. When to water your lawn. Make sure you water the lawn at the correct time. If you water the lawn late in the afternoon it can cause fungus to grow. Watering the lawn in the middle of the day can cause the sun to burn the grass. The correct time to water the lawn is early to mid morning.

8. Double cutting. To get a good nice finish run the mower over the lawn a second time in a different direction than the first time.

9. Aerate and Seed in the fall. Aerate and seed the yard in the fall to give the new grass time to take root before summer. Grass planted in the spring will burn off before the end of summer.

10. Feeding the lawn. When your lawn mower runs over the lawn, cutting the grass, it is best to put the grass clippings back into the lawn. It acts as food for the lawn.

• January: This is the best time to apply lime. Lime will bring your soil to a pH level that is good for grass and bad for weeds. Lime is also a soil softener so it will help prevent soil compaction.

• February: Depending on when your season starts, you will want to put out a pre-emergent fertilizer BEFORE the grass begins to grow. Pre emergent fertilizer will prevent a lot of weeds from germinating, but be careful because it will also prevent grass seed from germinating (so you will want to seed in the Fall).

• March: This is the time for the second fertilizer application. You will want to wait about 6 weeks between applications (if you have not had much rain you may want to wait a couple extra weeks). This application should be a high nitrogen (the first number in the formula) fertilizer. Use a fertilizer with nitrogen content between 20 and 32. An ideal fertilizer for this application would be 28-10-20.

• April: As the grass begins its explosive growth, you will need to mow frequently. Remember you only want to cut the top 1/3 of the grass so you may need to mow every 4 or 5 days. If you start to see brown patches you may have developed a fungus. Put a fungicide down as soon as you notice the fungus. You may need to apply a fungicide two times about 20 days apart.

• May: It’s time to start thinking about Summer. Put out a fertilizer with low Nitrogen and high Phosphorus and Potassium. This will give the root system a boost before the dry season comes on. Remember to use a very low nitrogen on this application, a good fertilizer would be 5-20-20.

• June: If your area is getting dry and hot remember to only mow when needed.

• July: If you want to boost the green on your lawn at this time of year use pelletized iron (available at your local home store). This will give you the green without burning the lawn like nitrogen will.

• August: This is generally the hottest month of the year. Remember if you are watering to only do it early in the morning. Late in the month put a light application of a fertilizer with a 0
nitrogen content. A rating of 0-15-15 will be good to prepare the soil for Aeration and seeding. If you have broadleaf weeds apply a spray weed killer. Be sure that the spray is a broadleaf weed killer only (this will be listed on the bottle). If you have crabgrass, spot spray a herbicide on the center of clumps (keep the spray low to the ground so you only kill the crabgrass). All of this will prepare you for fall seeding and aerating.

• September: Continue to mow as needed. If you are in an area where Fall has begun you may want to go ahead and aerate and overseed.

• October: Aerate and over seed. Aerating controls soil compaction and helps the root system of your lawn. After you aerate, over seed your lawn and fertilize with a medium fertilizer (12-10-10).

• November: About the middle of the month put out a high nitrogen fertilizer to keep your lawn green through winter.

• December: Rest. Next season will be here soon.