Gardeners know that whatever the weather, lawns need regular maintenance to keep them in good condition and looking their best. But with the summer fading, you might be wondering whether you can forgo mowing your lawn in September and use the time saved for other gardening jobs, such as sowing seeds for a late fall harvest.
However, one lawn care expert warns, don’t put away your lawnmower just yet, because when to stop mowing your lawn isn’t about a specific timeframe or temperature.
“When the temperature starts to drop, homeowners often head inside. Many believe that once the cooler weather hits, you don’t need to mow your lawn anymore. This is simply not true, you grass doesn’t stop growing during this time, it just slows down,” according to Weed Man.
The last mow rule
Knowing when to give your lawn its last cut is all to do with how it’s growing, with Weed Man advising to follow the golden rule, “keep mowing if it’s still growing”.
If you have cool-season grasses, Weed Man states that they often continue to grow into late October and November, so you could still have a fair few weeks of lawn mowing to keep you occupied in your yard. If you own a robot lawn mower, such as the Segway Navimow, you’ll have spare time to focus on other tasks and prepare your yard for fall.
It’s unlikely that you’ll need to mow your lawn as frequently as during the summer months, but it’s worth keeping an eye on its growth to ensure it’s kept in good shape before winter. And rather than setting a specific date for your last lawn cut, Weed Man states, “It should fall about a week before the first frost.”
If you don’t know when your first frost is likely to be, you can find out by using the Old Farmer’s Almanac’s Frost Date Calculator. All you need to do is insert your zip codes to get the result, and aside from helping you plan when to give your lawn its last cut, it will also help you schedule other yard jobs.
What to do when you give your lawn its last cut
Giving your lawn a last cut will also help it resist disease, giving it the strength to come back healthy in the spring. However, where you might tend to raise the blades on your lawn mower when you give your lawn its first cut of the year, for its final cut, Weed Man recommends lowering the blades.
For Kentucky bluegrass and ryegrass you should be cutting at 1.5 inches, while tall Fescue grass should be cut at 2 inches.
Rather than lowering the blades for the final cut only, it’s best to do this gradually. Cutting your grass shorter helps to protect it from potential diseases such as winter fungal disease and snow mold. It is also more resistant to ice and snow damage, as short grass won’t become matted with snow, unlike long blades.
While you’re thinking about fall lawn care jobs, there’s another task you shouldn’t forget. Aerating your lawn will create a thick and greener lawn — and September is the time to do it. This process helps break down layers of thatch, which, if left, can suffocate your grass.
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