GardenBanter.co.uk - when to cut the grass

YLitw21146 wrote:
I put down turff builder last weekend and it has been rainy in the
milwaukee
area for a week-so when can I cut the grass?
"There's always a better tomorrow"

You want to avoid cutting the grass when it's wet, but you also don't
want it to get so high that if you take off 1/3 it's length the mowed
lawn would still be too high. How high is too high? It depends on the
type of grass. Most people tend to cut too short. When I lived in
Milwaukee there was a lot of Kentucky Bluegrass mixed with other cool
weather grasses, and the healthiest height is to not let it get under 2"
by very much. Shorter than 1/2" and you'll increase the amount of work
and expense needed to maintain it that short. Use a mulching mower, and
leave the clippings, and you'll need to use less fertilizer. You may be
able to eliminate the use of spring fertilizer all together, and just go
with a fall "winterizer" application to stimulate root growth over
winter.

As far as mowing after applying fertilizer, well, let's assume that
before applying the fertilizer you properly mowed you lawn. In that
case, the next mowing is due when the height is correct. (Well,
actually, the next mowing is due based on height even if you applied the
fertilizer at the wrong time.)

Remember that when the heat of summer comes, put down an inch to an inch
and a half of water in one application, unless drainage is so poor that
you get run-off before completing that much at once. (In that case, plan
on aerating in fall.) Resist the temptation to water a little bit each
day. Shallow watering means shallow roots, which means unhealthy turf
that can't tolerate even a mild drought. And if there is a drought
starting, don't mow unless you have to. Leave the lawn a little longer
going into a drought. The extra length will help keep the soil in the
shade, and retain that deep watering you did. (Also, if you snip off too
much of the blade just before it stops growing because of the drought,
you could let an opening for infections.)

Remember, the important parts of lawn care are the mowing and the
watering, and neither can be summed up as more being better. Despite
what Scotts wants you to believe, the secret is not fertilizing every
season. That's the secret to keeping them in the black.

--
Warren H.

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employer, my friends, nor (as she often tells me) my wife.
Any resemblance to the views of anybody living or dead is
coincidental. No animals were hurt in the writing of this
response -- unless you count my dog who desperately wants
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