Mowing the lawn: Our tips for cutting lawns

Lawn needs to be cut regularly. But even when mowing, there are a few things to consider that can influence optimal lawn growth.

The most important, most common and, for many lawn owners, also the most annoying maintenance measure for the lawn is mowing. But you just can't get around it if you want to use your lawn. Before buying a lawnmower, one important question arises: Do I want to mow my lawn and while doing so, collect or mulch the clippings in a grass catcher? If you have decided to mow with a grass catcher, you can find out here when, at what length and how deep you can cut your lawn.

Mowing the lawn: choosing the right time

The lawn mowing season begins in spring when the forsythias bloom. Depending on the region and year, this is usually in March or April. At the latest before Scarifying the lawn is mowed for the first time. Depending on the weather, the lawn is cut for the last time in October or November.

Mow the lawn when it is frosty?

Generally poor growing conditions prevail in winter. The lawn lacks light, warmth and sometimes moisture. The physiological processes in the grass are shut down and the lawn prefers to rest rather than grow. For this reason, the lawn does not have to be mowed from October or November to March.

Mow the lawn when it rains?

Wet clippings can clog the lawnmower and cause the discharge opening to the grass catcher to clog. If the soil is very moist, the wheels can also smear the soil and then crusts form as the soil dries up. The heavier the mower, the greater the risk. The lawn should therefore preferably be mowed when it is dry. Incidentally, when it is wet, the lawnmower's wheels do not adhere to the ground and the lawnmower can easily slip on slopes.

Mow the lawn in the sun and heat?

Sun and heat put stress on the lawn. In order not to increase the stress on the lawn and to avoid burns, it is not mowed during lunchtime. The best time to cut is in the morning, when the dew has already dried, or in the early evening, when the lawn has recovered from the midday heat.

Mow the lawn: how often and how deeply mow?

A number of factors determine the frequency of lawn cutting. During warm, humid "growth weather", as it often happens with us in May, the lawn grows quickly and the frequency of the need for mowing increases. Dry periods of heat in midsummer allow the lawn to relax a little. Even with artificial irrigation, it then grows less rapidly and is accordingly mowed less often. Furthermore, it depends on the composition of the grasses in your lawn, how often they have to be cut.

Most ornamental lawns, for example, require a cut more often than lawns for use. If the lawn is well fertilized, it grows faster and accordingly has to be mowed more often. In addition, the frequency of the cut depends on which device is being used for mowing. Inferior lawnmowers, such as some electric mowers, can only cut deeper grass cleanly. Accordingly, they have to be used more often than powerful motor mowers, which can also cut longer grasses well. If you use a mulching mower, you generally have to mow more often.

How long does the lawn need to be mowed?

The length of the lawn from which to mow depends on how deep you want to mow the lawn. At the latest when the lawn has reached twice its ideal height, it should be shortened. In other words, this means that a lawn that you want to shorten to five cm in length must be mowed no later than ten cm. This principle is essential because the lawn is severely weakened if it loses more than half of its mass in one cut. This reduces the competitive power of the lawn and weeds and moss can be happy. It is even better to cut the lawn in such a way that it only loses a third of its mass with each cut. With a desired length of five cm, mowing at a height of seven and a half cm.

How deep can the lawn be mowed?

How deep the lawn is mowed depends largely on the grasses that were sown at the lawn. Most types of grass that are used for lawns for play and use can tolerate a cutting depth of four and a half to six cm well. Ornamental lawn is usually mowed to three to four cm and therefore more often. Shadow lawn has poorer growing conditions and therefore does not tolerate deep cuts as well. For this reason, shadow lawns are usually shortened to seven or ten cm with a length of 12 to 15 cm.

Type of use	Desired cutting height	Lawn length at which it is mowed
Utility lawn	4.5 - 6 cm	7-12 cm
Ornamental lawn	3 - 4 cm	4.5 - 8 cm
Shadow lawn	7-10 cm	12-15 cm

In summer, useful and decorative lawns can cope with drought and heat better if they are mowed to a depth of no more than six cm. If the frequent mowing of the lawn is too annoying for you, you can inquire about a flower or herb meadow as an alternative.

Tip: Check regularly whether the blades on your lawnmower are sharp enough, because the lawn doesn't like a cut with blunt blades. If the blades of grass are frayed after mowing, this is a sign that the knife is too blunt. For example, you can have the knives sharpened in an agricultural machinery workshop.

Mowing the lawn: Dispose of clippings or use them as fertilizer

There are many nutrients in the lawn that were previously extracted from the soil. The principle of the Mulching lawns brings the nutrients contained in the grass clippings back into the soil. If, on the other hand, the clippings are disposed of in the public composting area, for example Soil increasingly poor in nutrients, and over the years there is even a risk of nutrient deficiency threatens. If you nonetheless like a clean lawn, you have no choice but to completely lose the nutrients in the lawn clippings Lawn fertilizer balance.

But even those who decide to remove the grass clippings could still do the clippings themselves compost and use the valuable nutrients later, for example as fertilizer for flowers or in the vegetable patch use. Because grass clippings are very moist, they are dried for a few hours on a small lawn or on a jute or plastic tarpaulin before composting. If the lawn is mowed in the morning, the clippings dry wonderfully in the course of a sunny day and also reduce its mass considerably. In that case, too much grass clippings must not be placed in or on the compost. The lawn clippings are mixed with textured material such as branches so that the compost does not get too wet.

Mowing the lawn: observe the time and keep quiet times

When the lawn is mowed depends not only on the best conditions for the lawn and on your own leisure time, but also on the so-called lawnmower noise regulation. The good news first: At the optimal lawn mowing times, namely mornings and early evenings, the legislature also allows mowing. Basically, lawns can be mowed in normal residential areas on weekdays from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Louder devices such as the brush cutter may also not be used between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. But the warm lunchtime is not recommended for cutting the lawn anyway. So treat your neighbors to a quiet lunch break.

The question of whether one is Mow or mulch the lawn should is a hot topic among amateur gardeners. In our article we explain the advantages and disadvantages of both methods.