Today I took my time mowing to be sure my stripes were straight and uniform. In addition, I double cut to make sure the clippings were well distributed.
Lawn Striping Tips
When striping lawns the light-colored stripes go away from you and the dark-colored stripes come toward you. If you want to go over a stripe a second time match the direction of the stripe and the width of the deck to the existing stripe.
Going over stripes a second time will give you a more uniform height and darker stripes in addition to spreading the clippings more evenly.
When making your first stripe select an object on the other side of the lawn and focus on that as you move forward. I start making my stripes in the middle of the lawn, preferably where the stripes will be the longest.
You will probably have a little bend at the end of the stripe, nobody gets it perfect the first pass, at least not me. When you make the return stripe straighten out the bend and then go over the first stripe parallel to your second stripe.
Another tip for lawn stripes is to match a part of your mower to the edge of your lawn stripes so they are uniform. I use an anti scalp roller on one side of the mower and a front caster on the other. Take your time and enjoy the mow.
At the end of rows to avoid spinning the tires if you have a zero-turn mower. Sharp turns dig up the grass and leave a patch of dirt. Turning on a driveway is preferred for it leaves less wear on the lawn.
When done striping your lawn avoid driving across your stripes or you will leave one random stripe across your masterpiece. Go around the outside of the lawn, preferably where you made your first outside pass.
Lawn Mowing Tips
I sharpen my mower blades three or more times a year. You can never have too sharp a mower blade or sharpen your blades too often. If your mower blade is dull you will see a brown hue to your lawn after a couple of days because the shredded grass tips turn brown.
Cool-season grasses should be mowed as tall as you can tolerate. I use a zero-turn mower and set my blades at 4 to 4.25 inches. The taller the grass is the longer the roots will be. Also, tall grass shades out weeds.
When grass is growing rapidly mow twice a week and preferably at the end of the day. Mowing grass during the heat of the day stresses it out and there’s already enough stress in the world.
Don’t mow wet grass, it makes a huge mess, compacts soil and leaves clumps of grass all over the place. Avoid mowing wet grass at all costs unless an absolute necessity.
If the lawn is wet from rain wait until the next day or raise your mower a notch or two.
I don’t bag my lawn and you shouldn’t either. Grass clippings return vital nitrogen to the soil.
For what it’s worth, I don’t use synthetic fertilizers or insecticides and herbicides. Yes, I have some weeds but I have significantly more earthworms and soil microbes. When a Robin plucks a worm out of the soil I know it is eating a healthy and certified organic (not certified but organic nonetheless) snack!
The secret to having the ‘best lawn’ on the block is to keep your lawn neat. Mow often, especially when the grass is growing quickly and keep the edges trimmed and the drive and sidewalks blown off. A neatly mowed and trimmed lawn beats a deep green hayfield every day of the week.
See this post for more lawn mowing tips.