Winter mowing
 

I never got around to doing a final mow in the fall, and I'm wondering if
there would be any benefit or if it would hurt my lawn if I did it now.

It is currently a couple degrees below freezing although last night it went
to 10 below (Celsius).

Winter mowing
 

"Chuck" wrote:
I never got around to doing a final mow in the fall, and I'm wondering if
there would be any benefit or if it would hurt my lawn if I did it now.

It is currently a couple degrees below freezing although last night it went
to 10 below (Celsius).

Unlikely to hurt anything, although not all mowers do well in the cold (most are
optimized for warm-weather operation, which makes sense).

I just did my final mow / leaf mulch last weekend (I don't like to rake leaves,
so I run the mulching mower over them a couple of passes). We were having a
warm spell, 'tho -- temps around 5 Celcius.

Winter mowing
 

Unless your grass is taller than 6 inches, I wouldn't worry too much about it.
Scalping is no longer a feasible recommendation, anyway.

On Wed, 03 Dec 2003 16:06:17 GMT, "Chuck" opined:

I never got around to doing a final mow in the fall, and I'm wondering if
there would be any benefit or if it would hurt my lawn if I did it now.

It is currently a couple degrees below freezing although last night it went
to 10 below (Celsius).

Winter mowing
 

"Chuck" wrote in message
...
I never got around to doing a final mow in the fall, and I'm wondering if
there would be any benefit or if it would hurt my lawn if I did it now.

It is currently a couple degrees below freezing although last night it
went
to 10 below (Celsius).

OK as long as grass is no longer frosted/frozen. Even walking on frozen
grass can damage it.

pam - gardengal

Winter mowing
 

On Wed, 03 Dec 2003 18:54:49 GMT, "Pam - gardengal" wrote:


"Chuck" wrote in message
...
I never got around to doing a final mow in the fall, and I'm wondering if
there would be any benefit or if it would hurt my lawn if I did it now.

It is currently a couple degrees below freezing although last night it
went
to 10 below (Celsius).

OK as long as grass is no longer frosted/frozen. Even walking on frozen
grass can damage it.

pam - gardengal


I don't know about the first sentence but I've walked on many a frozen
lawns (without scuffing my feet) and never saw damage to them over the
years. I believe the reason is that as long as the root system is
well nourished and undamaged, what happens above ground is not that
important. Our frost depth was well below the roots and our lawn
never seemed to suffer from being frozen.

Winter mowing
 

"frankg" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 03 Dec 2003 18:54:49 GMT, "Pam - gardengal"
wrote:


"Chuck" wrote in message
...
I never got around to doing a final mow in the fall, and I'm wondering
if
there would be any benefit or if it would hurt my lawn if I did it now.

It is currently a couple degrees below freezing although last night it
went
to 10 below (Celsius).

OK as long as grass is no longer frosted/frozen. Even walking on frozen
grass can damage it.

pam - gardengal


I don't know about the first sentence but I've walked on many a frozen
lawns (without scuffing my feet) and never saw damage to them over the
years. I believe the reason is that as long as the root system is
well nourished and undamaged, what happens above ground is not that
important. Our frost depth was well below the roots and our lawn
never seemed to suffer from being frozen.

Walking on frozen grass will not harm the HEALTH of the grass, but it can
(temporarily) damage the APPEARANCE of the grass. When stepped on, the ice
crystals in the leaves puncture the epidermal cells, potentially leaving
brown spots.

Winter mowing
 

On Thu, 4 Dec 2003 08:35:40 -0500, "Shindi'al Rhama" wrote:


"frankg" wrote in message
.. .
On Wed, 03 Dec 2003 18:54:49 GMT, "Pam - gardengal"
wrote:


"Chuck" wrote in message
...
I never got around to doing a final mow in the fall, and I'm wondering
if
there would be any benefit or if it would hurt my lawn if I did it now.

It is currently a couple degrees below freezing although last night it
went
to 10 below (Celsius).

OK as long as grass is no longer frosted/frozen. Even walking on frozen
grass can damage it.

pam - gardengal


I don't know about the first sentence but I've walked on many a frozen
lawns (without scuffing my feet) and never saw damage to them over the
years. I believe the reason is that as long as the root system is
well nourished and undamaged, what happens above ground is not that
important. Our frost depth was well below the roots and our lawn
never seemed to suffer from being frozen.

Walking on frozen grass will not harm the HEALTH of the grass, but it can
(temporarily) damage the APPEARANCE of the grass. When stepped on, the ice
crystals in the leaves puncture the epidermal cells, potentially leaving
brown spots.


I'm no authority but that seems to sound possible but in my case,
never noticed this to happen. Ofcourse this was just in the case of
my lawn so I won't say it can't happen to others. My guess is the
general health of the lawn, type of grass, soil type, etc.. probably
have a lot to do with what a frozen lawn can withstand. I never had a
need nor wanted to cut my frozen lawn. I bet if I did, my neighbors
would have thought I was crazy. I don't know if it would hurt to cut
the frozen lawn but I don't think I'd do it since not doing it seems
to do no harm to the lawn from my experience.

Winter mowing
 

Shindi'al Rhama wrote:

Walking on frozen grass will not harm the HEALTH of the grass, but it can
(temporarily) damage the APPEARANCE of the grass. When stepped on, the ice
crystals in the leaves puncture the epidermal cells, potentially leaving
brown spots.

The grass turns brown here in Winter no matter what.

Winter mowing
 

"Bill Seurer" wrote in message
...
Shindi'al Rhama wrote:

Walking on frozen grass will not harm the HEALTH of the grass, but it
can
(temporarily) damage the APPEARANCE of the grass. When stepped on, the
ice
crystals in the leaves puncture the epidermal cells, potentially leaving
brown spots.

The grass turns brown here in Winter no matter what.

I think the discussion was referring to cool season grass (fescue,
bluegrass, ryegrass, etc.) which normally stays green during the winter.

Winter mowing
 

"Shindi'al Rhama" wrote in message
...

"Bill Seurer" wrote in message
...
Shindi'al Rhama wrote:

Walking on frozen grass will not harm the HEALTH of the grass, but it
can
(temporarily) damage the APPEARANCE of the grass. When stepped on,
the
ice
crystals in the leaves puncture the epidermal cells, potentially
leaving
brown spots.

The grass turns brown here in Winter no matter what.

I think the discussion was referring to cool season grass (fescue,
bluegrass, ryegrass, etc.) which normally stays green during the winter.

I believe ryegrass too will turn brown in the winter unless it is the annul
winter rye some use to have a green lawn in cold weather.

Winter mowing
 

On Fri, 5 Dec 2003 08:19:50 -0500, "Shindi'al Rhama" wrote:


"Bill Seurer" wrote in message
...
Shindi'al Rhama wrote:

Walking on frozen grass will not harm the HEALTH of the grass, but it
can
(temporarily) damage the APPEARANCE of the grass. When stepped on, the
ice
crystals in the leaves puncture the epidermal cells, potentially leaving
brown spots.

The grass turns brown here in Winter no matter what.

I think the discussion was referring to cool season grass (fescue,
bluegrass, ryegrass, etc.) which normally stays green during the winter.


Boy, you read better than me. I reread his post and I can't conclude
what grass he has.

Winter mowing
 

"frankg" wrote in message
...
The grass turns brown here in Winter no matter what.

I think the discussion was referring to cool season grass (fescue,
bluegrass, ryegrass, etc.) which normally stays green during the winter.


Boy, you read better than me. I reread his post and I can't conclude
what grass he has.

You have to read between the lines.

Winter mowing
 

Pam - gardengal wrote:
"Chuck" wrote in message
...
I never got around to doing a final mow in the fall, and I'm
wondering if there would be any benefit or if it would hurt
my lawn if I did it now.

It is currently a couple degrees below freezing although last
night it went to 10 below (Celsius).

OK as long as grass is no longer frosted/frozen. Even walking
on frozen grass can damage it.

pam - gardengal

If the ground is wet walking on it will tend to compact the soil.

--
Travis in Shoreline (just North of Seattle) Washington
USDA Zone 8b
Sunset Zone 5

Winter mowing
 

OK as long as grass is no longer frosted/frozen. Even walking
on frozen grass can damage it. BRBR

If you have a nasty patch of centipede grass you'd much rather used for a bush,
is frozen grass more vulnerable to selected methods of destruction?
zemedelec