Mowing the lawn seems like one of the simplest jobs in the yard. You just fire up the mower and push it over the yard, as simple as vacuuming a rug.
However, grass is a living thing, and mistreating it can lead to huge problems. Whether you cut your grass too short or forget to sharpen your lawn mower blades, these lawn care mistakes can damage or even destroy your grass.
I spoke to a lawn care expert about the common lawn mower mistakes, how to avoid them, and how to improve your lawn health.
1. Sharpening too little - or too much
Poor mower blade maintenance is a common lawn mower mistake. Many people don't bother to sharpen their lawn mower blades. This is a big mistake, because dull, chipped, or burred lawn mower blades won't mow currently. Rather than slice through the grass, they tear at it, making for a ragged cut that can cause disease. It's simple to sharpen lawn mower blades. You just need to flip it over, remove the blades, and sharpen them with a file.
However, you mustn't fall into another common lawn mower mistake - sharpening the blades to much. Over-sharpened lawn mower blades are much more likely to chip or burr when they hit rocks or twigs, which makes for much more frequent sharpening and maintenance. Instead, aim to get the mower blade roughly knife-sharp, not razor-sharp. Blades sharpened this way will give a good cut for a few months rather than an exceptional cut once.
2. Using the wrong mower for the job
Sometimes you can get everything right but you simply have the wrong machine for the job. It might be that you've bought a cheap mower second-hand that isn't quite right for your yard, or you've upsized and your old electric mower can't handle a larger lawn. Either way, the wrong mower can undo even the best lawn care regime.
If, like most people, you have a lot of around half an acre or less, all you need is a push mower. Many people are tricked by clever marketing into buying a huge tractor mower that's too big for their yard and hard to maneuver in the space. A push mower takes a little longer, but the small size makes it much nimbler in smaller yards and helps to give a more precise cut.
Above half an acre, especially when you have a couple of acres or more, you need a ride-on mower. A tractor mower is usually the best option unless you have a lot of trees and other obstacles out in your yard; in which case a zero-turn mower is needed, but it's more expensive.
3. Mowing from the middle
Another common mistake is to start the mower in the middle of the lawn and mow outwards, or to mow into the middle of the lawn from wherever you started your mower.
This is a mistake because it makes it harder to see where you've mown and where you haven't. Mowing in from the edges makes it much easier to see where you've cut, so you aren't rolling the mower over the same places over and over and crushing the grass plants under your mower wheels.
If you have a side-discharging mulching plug, it also makes it easier to direct the mulch onto the lawn and not into flowerbeds and onto paths.
4. Mowing in the same direction
But while you should mow from the edges into the center of the lawn, mowing in the same direction every time is a mistake that can harm your grass plants.
Lawn expert Ryan Farley explains 'Mowing in the same direction every time is another pretty common mistake. Most people just don’t think about changing it up, but mowing in the same direction can result in grass that leans over, since it’s accustomed to being pushed over the same way each time you mow.
'You can also end up damaging your soil this way since repeatedly mowing the same areas in the same direction will compact your soil and create ruts from your mower tires.'
This has been my go-to recommendation for most small homes for years. It's lightweight, easy to use, gives a great cut, and best of all, inexpensive. However, it won't work for large lots.
This is the best the best cordless I've ever used. It gives an incredibly precise, level cut, and it's self-propelled, so even mowing on slopes is easy. However, this is expensive for a push mower.
This American-made classic John Deere tractor mower can tackle two acres and has a handy bumper bar for protecting trees and fence posts as you mow. However, like all ride-on mowers, it's much more expensive than a push mower, and overkill for smaller homes.
5. Mowing slopes vertically
Never mow a slope vertically, or up and down. If you have slopes in your yard, one of the worst lawn mower mistakes is to mow uphill and downhill. It's hard to control a mower when pushing it up or down a slope, and this makes it much more likely that the mower will tip over, or run away from you and crash into a flowerbed or other garden feature.
Instead, mow horizontally across any slopes in your yard. This is much safer. It makes for a steadier, easier mow, and that also means a much more level and even cut. If you try to mow along the slope and it still feels unsteady, you need to use a grass trimmer instead - it's much safer.
Mowing is only the start of proper lawn care. It's also crucial to aerate your lawn so that your grass plants can access air and water, as well as scarify your lawn to remove dead thatch and give new grass room to grow. On top of that, fertilizing your lawn ensures healthy, thick grass.
