Help mowing a new lawn when its raining all the time.
 

Hi this is my first post here and I am a total novice. I planted a lawn from seed at the end of August and now the grass is about 2-3inches high. The problem is its been raining in buckets where I live and I want to mow it sometime as I believe it will grow better if I cut it when it reaches about 3-4 inches high.

My questions are,
1. If it carries on raining will it be ok just to leave it til next Spring?
2. Should the grass be cut only if its dry?
3. To prepare a new lawn for the Winter what is the best height to leave the grass, my father in law suggested 3 inches?
4.Should I fertilise it before the Winter, ie after the last cut?

Sorry in advance if these questions seem a bit novice like. I am a bit frustrated as I spent a lot of time preparing the ground over the Summer as the previous owner preferred the distressed look!!! Plus buying a new lawnmower recently means I am good to go...

Help mowing a new lawn when its raining all the time.
 

On Sep 24, 12:01*pm, robind wrote:
Hi this is my first post here and I am a total novice. I planted a lawn
from seed at the end of August and now the grass is about 2-3inches
high. The problem is its been raining in buckets where I live and I want
to mow it sometime as I believe it will grow better if I cut it when it
reaches about 3-4 inches high.

My questions are,
1. If it carries on raining will it be ok just to leave it til next
Spring?
2. Should the grass be cut only if its dry?
3. To prepare a new lawn for the Winter what is the best height to leave
the grass, my father in law suggested 3 inches?
4.Should I fertilise it before the Winter, ie after the last cut?

Sorry in advance if these questions seem a bit novice like. I am a bit
frustrated as I spent a lot of time preparing the ground over the Summer
as the previous owner preferred the distressed look!!! Plus buying a new
lawnmower recently means I am good to go...

--
robind

I have always heard that you shouldn't cut the grass while it is wet
because it could kill it; but you see lawn companies do it all the
time. I don't think fertilizing it at this time is necessary because
you just planted the grass but in the spring if you pull the yard then
put the fertilizer down it will help for next year. I don't know how
high you should leave it but the next time you see a contracted lawn
person cutting a lawn of a business ask him/her, since they are more
than likely to have beautiful lawns themselves.

Help mowing a new lawn when its raining all the time.
 

"robind" wrote in message
...

Hi this is my first post here and I am a total novice. I planted a lawn
from seed at the end of August and now the grass is about 2-3inches
high. The problem is its been raining in buckets where I live and I want
to mow it sometime as I believe it will grow better if I cut it when it
reaches about 3-4 inches high.

My questions are,
1. If it carries on raining will it be ok just to leave it til next
Spring?
2. Should the grass be cut only if its dry?
3. To prepare a new lawn for the Winter what is the best height to leave
the grass, my father in law suggested 3 inches?
4.Should I fertilise it before the Winter, ie after the last cut?

Sorry in advance if these questions seem a bit novice like. I am a bit
frustrated as I spent a lot of time preparing the ground over the Summer
as the previous owner preferred the distressed look!!! Plus buying a new
lawnmower recently means I am good to go...




--
robind

It'll be easier to answer if you tell us where you are and what type of
grass you planted --

Help mowing a new lawn when its raining all the time.
 

On Sep 24, 12:01*pm, robind wrote:
Hi this is my first post here and I am a total novice. I planted a lawn
from seed at the end of August and now the grass is about 2-3inches
high. The problem is its been raining in buckets where I live and I want
to mow it sometime as I believe it will grow better if I cut it when it
reaches about 3-4 inches high.

My questions are,
1. If it carries on raining will it be ok just to leave it til next
Spring?
2. Should the grass be cut only if its dry?
3. To prepare a new lawn for the Winter what is the best height to leave
the grass, my father in law suggested 3 inches?
4.Should I fertilise it before the Winter, ie after the last cut?

Sorry in advance if these questions seem a bit novice like. I am a bit
frustrated as I spent a lot of time preparing the ground over the Summer
as the previous owner preferred the distressed look!!! Plus buying a new
lawnmower recently means I am good to go...

--
robind

Yes. Preferably the grass should be dry when mowed.

Help mowing a new lawn when its raining all the time.
 

On Sep 24, 12:01 pm, robind wrote:
Hi this is my first post here and I am a total novice. I planted a lawn
from seed at the end of August and now the grass is about 2-3inches high.
The problem is its been raining in buckets where I live and I want
to mow it sometime as I believe it will grow better if I cut it when it
reaches about 3-4 inches high.

This is normal for an established lawn -- not for a new one.
Newly seeded lawns are first mowed when the grass reaches
at least 3 inches.

My questions are,
1. If it carries on raining will it be ok just to leave it til next
Spring?
2. Should the grass be cut only if its dry?

wrote in message
...

Yes. Preferably the grass should be dry when mowed.

While this is generally true, Robind's grass is wet.

Compaction of the soil must be avoided, and this is the
main reason (in England) to defer cutting newly-seeded grass:
the seedbed needs months to pack down so as to resist
ruts and similar damage. A light hand mower will probably
do no damage, even cutting wet grass: you will just need to
clear the mower more often, and perhaps resharpen too.

In most parts of the UK it seems easy to get expert advice
about lawns in local conditions, e.g. when first to roll and
level a new lawn.

--
Don Phillipson
Carlsbad Springs
(Ottawa, Canada)

Help mowing a new lawn when its raining all the time.
 

On Sep 25, 5:47*pm, "Don Phillipson" wrote:
On Sep 24, 12:01 pm, robind wrote:

Hi this is my first post here and I am a total novice. I planted a lawn
from seed at the end of August and now the grass is about 2-3inches high.
The problem is its been raining in buckets where I live and I want
to mow it sometime as I believe it will grow better if I cut it when it
reaches about 3-4 inches high.

This is normal for an established lawn -- not for a new one.
Newly seeded lawns are first mowed when the grass reaches
at least 3 inches.

My questions are,
1. If it carries on raining will it be ok just to leave it til next
Spring?
2. Should the grass be cut only if its dry?
wrote in message

...

Yes. Preferably the grass should be dry when mowed.

While this is generally true, Robind's grass is wet.

Compaction of the soil must be avoided, and this is the
main reason (in England) to defer cutting newly-seeded grass:
the seedbed needs months to pack down so as to resist
ruts and similar damage. *A light hand mower will probably
do no damage, even cutting wet grass: *you will just need to
clear the mower more often, and perhaps resharpen too.

In most parts of the UK it seems easy to get expert advice
about lawns in local conditions, e.g. when first to roll and
level a new lawn.

--
Don Phillipson
Carlsbad Springs
(Ottawa, Canada)

The grass should be dry before you cut it. Also the grass should be 3
or 4 inches before cutting it.

Help mowing a new lawn when its raining all the time.
 

On Sep 24, 12:01*pm, robind wrote:
Hi this is my first post here and I am a total novice. I planted a lawn
from seed at the end of August and now the grass is about 2-3inches
high. The problem is its been raining in buckets where I live and I want
to mow it sometime as I believe it will grow better if I cut it when it
reaches about 3-4 inches high.

My questions are,
1. If it carries on raining will it be ok just to leave it til next
Spring?
2. Should the grass be cut only if its dry?
3. To prepare a new lawn for the Winter what is the best height to leave
the grass, my father in law suggested 3 inches?
4.Should I fertilise it before the Winter, ie after the last cut?

Sorry in advance if these questions seem a bit novice like. I am a bit
frustrated as I spent a lot of time preparing the ground over the Summer
as the previous owner preferred the distressed look!!! Plus buying a new
lawnmower recently means I am good to go...

--
robind

My friend and I planted some grass seeds over the summer as well, it
was alot of work, but we were amazed at how quickly the grass grew.

Help mowing a new lawn when its raining all the time.
 

On Sep 24, 9:01*pm, robind wrote:
Hi this is my first post here and I am a total novice. I planted a lawn
from seed at the end of August and now the grass is about 2-3inches
high. The problem is its been raining in buckets where I live and I want
to mow it sometime as I believe it will grow better if I cut it when it
reaches about 3-4 inches high.

My questions are,
1. If it carries on raining will it be ok just to leave it til next
Spring?
2. Should the grass be cut only if its dry?
3. To prepare a new lawn for the Winter what is the best height to leave
the grass, my father in law suggested 3 inches?
4.Should I fertilise it before the Winter, ie after the last cut?

Sorry in advance if these questions seem a bit novice like. I am a bit
frustrated as I spent a lot of time preparing the ground over the Summer
as the previous owner preferred the distressed look!!! Plus buying a new
lawnmower recently means I am good to go...

--
robind

http://www.grassstitcher.com/affilia...d/thulamswathi

You can get easy method to maintain your Garden

Thanks I am in Germany near Frankfurt. I am not joking when I say it has rained every day since the beginning of September. Any how the grass I planted is an Autumn lawn seed
-50% Lolium perenne
15%-Festuca rubra rubra
5%-Festuca rubra trichophylla
25%-Festuca rubra commutata
5% Proa pratensis

I hope this info helps
Thanks for your help everyone.

Help mowing a new lawn when its raining all the time.
 

On Fri, 24 Sep 2010 16:01:13 +0000, robind
wrote:

Hi this is my first post here and I am a total novice. I planted a lawn
from seed at the end of August and now the grass is about 2-3inches
high. The problem is its been raining in buckets where I live and I want
to mow it sometime as I believe it will grow better if I cut it when it
reaches about 3-4 inches high.

That's for new grass, once it's been around for a while you can cut it
when it's shorter.

Don't remove more than one third of the grass height.


My questions are,
1. If it carries on raining will it be ok just to leave it til next
Spring?

They'll be some dry days before then, don't worry.

2. Should the grass be cut only if its dry?

Ideally, yes.

Wet grass clogs the mower, tends to tear more, and you shouldn't be
walking on wet lawns anyway.

I have a besom broom in my van that I use to remove surface dew when I
can, but my customers are paying me to keep their grass short so I have
been known to mow wet grass, though I prefer to just strim it.

3. To prepare a new lawn for the Winter what is the best height to leave
the grass, my father in law suggested 3 inches?

That depends on the grass type. I take it we're not talking about an
ornamental lawn?

Around now (late Sept/early Oct) I raise the height to 1 or 1.5 inches
depending on the grass and the ground conditions.

Then depending on the weather during the winter I tend to leave the height
at 1.5 inches. Two cuts in October, then one each in November and December
if the weather has been mild.

January and February are "play it by ear" but if it's snowing then I tend
to not cut anything.

4.Should I fertilise it before the Winter, ie after the last cut?

Did you fertilise the new lawn?

An *established* lawn should have an autumn/winter feed, take a look in
your local garden centre or online (I can recommend garden-goodies.co.uk).

Sorry in advance if these questions seem a bit novice like. I am a bit
frustrated as I spent a lot of time preparing the ground over the Summer
as the previous owner preferred the distressed look!!! Plus buying a new
lawnmower recently means I am good to go...

No problem, we all started somewhere, and it's wet out so I'm not mowing
anything today (^_^)

Steven
--
You're a great friend, but if the zombies chase us I'm tripping you.

www.baldman.org.uk

Help mowing a new lawn when its raining all the time.
 

On Sep 28, 2:42*am, sampvasant wrote:
On Sep 24, 9:01*pm, robind wrote:





Hi this is my first post here and I am a total novice. I planted a lawn
from seed at the end of August and now the grass is about 2-3inches
high. The problem is its been raining in buckets where I live and I want
to mow it sometime as I believe it will grow better if I cut it when it
reaches about 3-4 inches high.

My questions are,
1. If it carries on raining will it be ok just to leave it til next
Spring?
2. Should the grass be cut only if its dry?
3. To prepare a new lawn for the Winter what is the best height to leave
the grass, my father in law suggested 3 inches?
4.Should I fertilise it before the Winter, ie after the last cut?

Sorry in advance if these questions seem a bit novice like. I am a bit
frustrated as I spent a lot of time preparing the ground over the Summer
as the previous owner preferred the distressed look!!! Plus buying a new
lawnmower recently means I am good to go...

--
robind

http://www.grassstitcher.com/affilia...d/thulamswathi

You can get easy method to maintain your Garden- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

As someone already pointed out, to get the right answer you need to
tell us where you are and what kind of grass. If it's cool season
grasss, at 3" you should mow it, but I would wait until it stops
raining and it's reasonably dry. Mowing it actually helps it develop
as taking off part of the blade causes it to grow faster and spread
out more. Hopefully you put down starter fertilizer when you seeded
last month. I'd put down a fall fertilizer after you mow it. As
for winter height, I'd just continue to mow it normally. After the
last cut, whatever height it winds up being when growth finally stops,
will be OK.

If you read post no9 above I have already said where I am etc