How to Properly Mow Your Lawn

One of the most vital parts of your lawn's overall health is a routine mowing schedule. It's essential to make sure your lawn is being mowed not only often, but correctly, as improper mowing can do more harm than good. We've put together a mowing guide for property owners in Sioux Falls, SD and Sioux City, IA. With this guide, you can make sure you or your hired company are following all the best practices, from the mow itself to edging, trimming, blowing debris, and performing a final quality control check!

When mowing, move obstacles out of the way and make at least two passes on the lawn for full coverage.

While mowing may seem simple enough, there are some tips and tricks to follow to ensure you're not stressing your lawn or missing any spots. You'll want to start with moving any obstacles out of the way that could block access to parts of the lawn so that you can achieve a full-coverage mow. As you mow, make sure your mower is aligned so that the clippings being shot out of the mower are not being shot towards any obstacles or structures. If need be, place a bagger on your mower in areas with obstacles within 15 feet of each other to keep the clippings in line.

You'll want to make at least two passes, and to create striping, make these passes align at a 90-degree angle to create that beautiful checkerboard look. If you need to make a three-point turn, turn right first and then go long in the direction that you're mowing, either right or left. If you're passing back through an already mowed area, be sure that you are driving in the same direction as the original mow to not mess up your striping!

Edging and trimming will clean up areas of your lawn that your mower couldn't reach.

Edging and trimming are the tasks that will take your lawn from looking good to looking great. Edging is a vertical cut to the lawn that creates a clear border between the lawn and other areas, like landscape beds, driveways, sidewalks, and patios. You'll need to be sure to edge anywhere that grass meets a hard surface like concrete or asphalt. This will help define the space and create clean, sharp lines throughout your landscape!

Trimming will be where you go in and clean up any areas the mower couldn't go over, whether it's an area that is too steep or narrow for the mower or a vertical obstacle like the interior corner of a fence, the side of a house, the trunk of a tree, and so on. You'll cut horizontally to make the grass right up against the obstacle the same height as the grass on the rest of the lawn so that not one blade is out of place!

Blow debris off any hard surfaces and perform a final check to ensure everything is done!

Once you're done mowing, edging, and trimming, it's time for cleanup! You'll want to blow off all the hard surfaces, even if it doesn't look like any clippings or debris got on them, including:

• Driveways
• Sidewalks
• Porches
• Patios
• Streets
• Landscape Beds
• Houses
• A/C Units
• Cars

Additionally, if you got any clippings on your neighbor's property, it's good form to blow that as well!

For your final check, ensure that you've completed every procedure on your list. Return any lawn furniture to its original location, and replace any downspouts that were removed. Finally, sit back and enjoy your hard work!

Ensure that your lawn is being mowed correctly by you or a hired company!

Mowing is an integral part of any lawn care regimen in and around Sioux Falls and Tea in South Dakota as well as the Sioux City, IA area. While our team at Sharp Lawn Care doesn't provide a lawn mowing service, it's vital for the health of your grass that either you or another hired company do it correctly. By following this guide, you'll ensure that your lawn is in the best position to thrive throughout the year!