How to mow the lawn correctly for the first time?

Seedlings of lawn grasses appear in the period from the end of the 1st to the beginning of the 4th week after sowing. At the same time, in dry weather, the seeds require careful watering. When is the first time to mow the lawn and what precedes this procedure? As soon as the height of the plants reaches 5–8 cm, they must be swept by removing debris and fallen leaves of trees from the surface of the lawn. After that, the lawn should be rolled with a lightweight roller or the rear roller of a reel lawn mower. This is done to compact the raised soil and form new shoots. Mowing is done when the shoots rise again, and no more than 1–2 cm is removed. For your first lawn mow to succeed, the mower’s blades must be sharp. The front roller of the device must be removed for operation.

Problems when mowing the lawn

Uneven surface

An uneven soil surface with bumps can do a bad job when mowing a lawn since bald spots form on the surface of the hills, which are later washed out and turned into pits. The area can be levelled by mulching low places and generally increasing the length of the grass stand. But it is advisable to take care of the levelling of the site in advance before sowing the lawn. When working with the mower, you do not need to exert great effort, press on it or turn the handle sharply. Grass bumps are clearly visible. There were also hills on the bald spots, which were mowed “to zero”. As a result, the soil was washed out and “holes” were formed.

The grass is torn, not cut

A frequent occurrence in large gardens and parks where less-skilled workers and gardeners are engaged in shearing. As a rule, they do not pay attention to whether the mower blades are dull or not, namely the dull mower/trimmer blade causes the grass to tear rather than cut. You will clearly see that the ends of the grass are torn, not cut off. Whitish ragged lawn rags over time and form large spots that will stand out on the lawn. In the heat, this will happen rather quickly. To get rid of areas with torn grass, you need to wait for it to spread by 5-7 cm, and then walk again with a high-quality lawn mower with sharpened knives.

Brown grass tips

Browning of the tips of the lawn grass can be the result of cutting in wet weather, over wet greenery. There is also the possibility that the mower blades are dull or that the barrel of the mower is damaged.

Uneven haircut

Narrow strips of long and short grass perpendicular to the movement of the mower remain due to the slow speed of rotation of its blades. Cause: either wet grass or incorrect cutting height. Most of the time, narrow strips of unmown grass are left next to the mower wheels. It is also important not to confuse problems after improper mowing of lawns with their diseases and pests. In some cases, the signs may overlap. Read about this in our separate article on lawn problems and pests.