Mowing the lawn in hot and dry conditions: how do you do it right?

Not only humans and animals suffer from heat and drought, but also for them race they can become a real challenge. The high temperatures above 30 ° C quickly create bare and brown spots on the green area. For many hobby gardeners, the question then arises whether and how one should mow under these conditions. The right approach can help keep the grass healthy and look good.

Mowing in hot and dry conditions

A lush green lawn is the pride of many amateur gardeners and requires a lot of work and effort. In order for it to remain so beautiful in the long term, it is not just a question of high-quality seeds, but above all of the right care. It begins with the first growth spurt in spring. It usually only becomes problematic in summer, especially when the temperature is continuously high, in dry periods and perhaps when it is used intensively. All of this can be very damaging to a lawn and make it look barren and parched. Bald and brown spots indicate that grasses have already been burned or dried up. So that the lawn is not damaged even more, you should now pay attention to a few things, especially when cutting.

How often do you mow the lawn?

Dry periods are usually not a problem for a healthy lawn, in contrast to weakened grasses, which are much more susceptible. The right care is all the more important. In addition to fertilizing and watering regularly, cutting the lawn should not be neglected. This is the only way for the plants to survive longer, hot and dry periods better. Even in summer one cares regular cut for an optimal growth of the grass and thus promotes the density of the grass. Lawns from low-quality seeds generally grow a little faster than those from high-quality seeds.

At the beginning of summer, mowing the lawn can do anything four to seven days take place. If it is warm and humid in summer, the grass grows relatively quickly and you have to mow more frequently. If it is very warm and dry, it will grow much more slowly. You should therefore increase the intervals between the individual mowing processes. If it is very hot, it is advisable not to cut lawns at all. However, even under these conditions, one does not have to do without cutting, provided that one the work is postponed to certain times of the day and the cutting height is adjusted accordingly to the temperatures.

The right time

You can generally mow the lawn at any time of the day if the temperature is normal and the sunlight is not too intense. The right time plays an important role, especially under extreme conditions such as B. with continuously hot temperatures and lack of precipitation. The sun's rays are particularly intense around noon, which is already stressful for the grasses. If you reach for the lawn mower at this time, it increases the stress factor again.

• Soil dries out faster at temperatures above 30 ° C
• Freshly cut grass can burn on the surface and interfaces
• To keep the load as low as possible, mow at the right time
• Ideally in the cooler evening hours
• If necessary, late afternoon lessons are also possible
• Grasses can recover well overnight
• In normal weather, mowing in the morning is no problem
• Not recommended in hot and dry conditions
• The sun would burn the freshly cut surfaces of the stalks all day
• Morning dew could exacerbate the damaging effect

When asked about the best time of day to cut lawns, you should also check the rules and regulations of each City administration or municipality in relation to quiet times in residential areas, as well as on working days and Sundays and public holidays consider. Otherwise there is a risk of severe fines.

tip: Incidentally, you should also avoid cutting the lawn when it is wet, after a thunderstorm or a rain shower. The wet stalks would only cut very unevenly and could also clog the lawnmower.

Don't cut too short

In addition to the time of day, the correct cutting height of the grass is important in hot and dry weather. They should be adapted to the temperatures, i.e. they should not be cut too short under any circumstances.

• Temperatures of up to 26 ° C promote the growth of the grass
• If they continue to rise, growth slows down more and more
• At temperatures above 30 ° C, grasses reduce their growth to a minimum
• If you stay a little longer now, you can better shade the ground
• It doesn't dry out that quickly
• The roots of the stalks are not damaged as quickly
• More leaf mass is needed to compensate for the slowed metabolism
• The deeper the stalks are cut, the better the soil should be
• This affects the supply of nutrients and the life of the soil
• When cutting, always use the so-called 'one-third rule' as a starting point
• After that, never cut the grass by more than a third of its current growth height
• The optimal cutting height under normal conditions is four centimeters
• Under extreme conditions in midsummer do not rely exclusively on this scheme
• It is better to leave grasses half a centimeter to a centimeter longer

If you cut the grass down radically to four centimeters despite the hot spell, in the worst case scenario the grass will be irreparably burned. Even intensive irrigation can then not repair the damage, or at most alleviate it a little. Recommended is a Cut with a cutting height of five centimeters in conjunction with adequate watering. In the case of shady lawns, it is advisable to generally cut it no shorter than six to eight centimeters, even in summer.

Summer is vacation time. This means that the lawn may not be mowed for a longer period of time. In order to then bring the grass back to its original height, it makes sense not to radically cut them all at once. It is better to do it step by step or in accordance with the 'one-thirds rule'. to bring it back to the normal cutting height in several stages.

Leave clippings or not?

Grass clippings contain many nutrients and trace elements. With classic lawn mowing, it usually disappears in the mower's grass catcher and is then disposed of. This means that important nutrients are lost. Meanwhile, the mulching of the lawn is done with special Mulching More and more popular. The lawn clippings are chopped up in the mower and then spread directly onto the lawn again.
This supplies the grass with all the important nutrients, which may make additional fertilization superfluous. In addition to an optimal supply of nutrients, the soil life is vitalized, ventilation, Structure and even the humus balance of the soil improves and the soil dries out too quickly prevented. In addition, the clippings serve as a natural weed inhibitor.

tip: The clippings from conventional mowers are usually too long and too coarse and should not remain on the lawn if possible. If you leave it lying around, an impenetrable thatch will form over time, which in turn is an ideal breeding ground for numerous pathogens.

Sharp knives protect the grass

Sharp knives are a prerequisite for a clean cut, an even cut and healthy blades of grass. Blunt or semi-blunt knives can often only grasp part of the grass or they simply tear them off instead of cutting them. As a result, the tips of the grasses are frayed, stubbly and unhealthy looking. In most cases, you will then have to mow several times to achieve the desired length of the stalk.
To protect the knives, you should remove small twigs, stones and leaves before mowing and not mow when it is wet. It is also advisable to always use the mower's entire cutting width. During the mowing process, the mower should always protrude one wheel width into the area that has already been mown. In this way you can achieve a streak-free lawn without visible transitions.