Mowing An Overgrown Lawn

Overgrown Lawns

Often we can come across an overgrown lawn which we are tasked to bring under control. There can be many reasons for this, perhaps we've started looking after the alwn for a neighbor or friend, or we've moved into a new house, or perhaps we've just been so busy lately that the lawn has paid the price for our hectic lifestyle and been neglected for some time.

Whatever the reason, we now have an overgrown lawn to deal with, for the novice it may just seem like a case of getting the lawn mower out of the garden shed, lowering the cutting height to the ideal we would like it at, and begin cutting. Unfortunately this can often be the worst thing of all to do as it can severely injure or even kill the lawn in a single mowing.

Avoiding Lawn Damage

The reason for the damage occurring is that an overgrown lawn has not only raised it's overall height, it has also raised the brown thatch layer and the crowns of the lawn as well. If the lawn is now cut too short, the lawn mowing process may remove all the green leaf, which will then stop the photosynthesis process which supplies the lawn with it's only method of converting it's food source, which means the lawn may then die or severely struggle for a long time to recover. If the crowns of the lawn were removed during the mowing, then the entire lawn in the affected area will die off completely, this is because all the runners, thatch and green leaf all emerge from the crowns, with the crown gone - there is no possible way for the lawn to survivi in the affected area.

Correct Mowing Technique

In knowing these important factors in mowing long grass, the solution and process is now more easily seen.

The answer and the only correct method to cut long grass and to keep it maintained at a lower and more desirable height over the long term is to reduce the height of the lawn in stages. Beginning with the first lawn mowing, we only want to remove about a third of the green leaf. Sure, I can here people saying that the lawn will not look that crash hot once it's first cut, and that is TRUE. However, the more important factor is that the lawn will remain ALIVE. At the second lawn mowing, we can reduce the height a little bit more, and so the process continues until we eventually reach the desired height we want to achieve.

The gradual lowering process of the mowing height guarantees the lawn stays alive, stays healthy, and at each mowing will gradually begin looking better and better at every lawn service until we have achieved the ultimate result. As the process of lowering the height of the lawn continues, the crowns and thatch layer of the lawn will also adjust themselves and lower themselves down to their optimum height.

The best time to use this process to lower heights of lawns is during the active growing seasons for our lawns which is during the Spring, Summer and early Fall months of the year. This is important because if the lawn is not actively growing, it cannot actively be repairing itself as the lawn repair is being undertaken. So the process will not work.

If you need to tackle a lawn which is overgrown and the weather is cooler, then the best option may be to keep the lawn mowed at a higher height until the next growing season arrives in the Spring.