How long is your grass?

[beatle]

So I'm cutting my own grass for the first time. (Bought a new mower last week 🙂). It does a damn nice job of mulching, even with the lever set low. I remember my dad telling me something about leaving the grass a bit longer in the summer, but shorter in the winter... or maybe it was the other way around. 😕 Any input?

 

[CPA]

Your first cut of the spring should basically be a scalping. Put the mower on one of the lower settings and cut. Rake up any of the past winter's thatch if you have a lot of it. After that, you should mow at the highest settings. It allows for better water retention.

Oh and if you have a sprinkler system or water yourself, make sure you water for extended periods of time, preferably in the morning. A 5-10 minute watering will hurt your grass in the summer. You need to water for 30-45 minutes in each area at least a couple of times a week. Of course, this will vary somewhat depending on where you live.

 

[Fausto]

Originally posted by: CPA
Your first cut of the spring should basically be a scalping. Put the mower on one of the lower settings and cut. Rake up any of the past winter's thatch if you have a lot of it. After that, you should mow at the highest settings. It allows for better water retention.

Taller grass also tends to choke out the weeds a bit better.

 

[Anubis]

in the middle setting in the summer, too high and i have to cut it every other day, too low and it dies

in the winter its under a few feet of snow

 

[RaynorWolfcastle]

My grass is cut longer during the summer and dead during the winter 😛

 

[rgwalt]

We don't cut our grass around here in the winter. In the spring and fall, I tend to cut the grass shorter. As long as the weather is cool and there is some rain, moisture retention doesn't tend to be a problem. In the heat of the summer when there is little to no rain, leave your grass as long as possible to retain moisture.

R

 

[beatle]

Thanks, I'll raise the mower next week. No sprinkler system where I live.

 

[boomdart]

It's easily 2 foot long and longer in most places. No one has felt like mowing in the past 8 months. Debbie's lawn care stopped mowing our yard for us, no clue why. We paid them $30 every week to do it too.

 

[Dee67]

I keep mine short all the time, I don't like having it look like it needs to be cut.

Nice mower! I like your dubs.. these are mine.

🙂

 

[beatle]

Haha, nice ride! I wanted a Honda mower just to put a Type R bade on, but they were just a little out of my price range. 🙂

 

[gistech1978]

how tall are the weeds you mean?

we hadnt gotten any measureable rainfall in a month & half before this weekend.
now i have to mow the weeds tonight. crap.

 

[DrPizza]

I tore out all the grass, put down mulch and perennials. The perennials have pretty much taken over everything except the ponds (that I also put in to eliminate grass) and the stone path through the middle. Thus, no weeds, no mowing, and garden types of peoples look and saw "aww wow."

 

[Turkish]

*waiting for the obligatory "OMGWTFBBQGRASS" post by a dumbass*

 

[silverpig]

Go low and power rake (or just use a very stiff metal fan rake) and rip up the thatchy layer as best you can. Overseed and fertilize, give it a lot of water, then go at a medium height from then on. Once it's established quite nicely, give it some high-nitrogen fertilizer to green and thicken it up.

If you've got some people coming over and you want to show off some, go get some iron (usually iron sulphate i think) and put some of that down about 2-3 days before. It doesn't really do much for the health of your lawn but it makes it go oh so dark green 🙂

 

[lobadobadingdong]

I just cut my grass whenever I get the chance (it rains too much here, and I work too much too), I just use a little 30-2-18 fertalizer (good for my type of soil and grass) to keep the weeds killed off.

 

[jagec]

Originally posted by: beatle
Haha, nice ride! I wanted a Honda mower just to put a Type R bade on, but they were just a little out of my price range. 🙂

just use a sticker, just as good.

 

[z0mb13]

Am I the only one that thought this thread was about.. mmm... ya know...

 

[Ornery]

It seems to me that too many people are idiots when it comes to their lawns. The freak across the street cuts his twice per week. Once with a rider, and next with a push mower. Then, out comes the GD weed wacker and noisy fvcking electric blower! :|

Friend just visited from Utah, where there is a big water problem. She said it doesn't stop people from watering at all. Bound and determined to make shlt grow there, that wasn't meant to. The ass clowns watering the desert are probably the same ones bitching about SUVs. :roll:

Mine is cut down to 3" for good reasons! It's better for the grass since there's less stress and mower traffic, cut much less frequently, fewer clippings, no thatch, deeper roots & no watering... As usual, it seems people prefer to cause problems and work for themselves.

 

[silverpig]

Originally posted by: Ornery
It seems to me that too many people are idiots when it comes to their lawns. The freak across the street cuts his twice per week. Once with a rider, and next with a push mower. Then, out comes the GD weed wacker and noisy fvcking electric blower! :|

Friend just visited from Utah, where there is a big water problem. She said it doesn't stop people from watering at all. Bound and determined to make shlt grow there, that wasn't meant to. The ass clowns watering the desert are probably the same ones bitching about SUVs. :roll:

Mine is cut down to 3" for good reasons! It's better for the grass since there's less stress and mower traffic, cut much less frequently, fewer clippings, no thatch, deeper roots & no watering... As usual, it seems people prefer to cause problems and work for themselves.

But longer grass = thinner lawns. When I had a lawn I was at 2" and used a reel mower. It was practically carpet 🙂

 

[beatle]

Alright, so now there's dissenting opinions on the length of grass. 🙂 I'm just renting the house, and this is about the most research/effort I'm willing to put into making the grass look its best.

 

[silverpig]

If you're just renting and don't really care all that much, then it doesn't really matter... You could get it looking hella sweet though with a little work. I just wish I had a lawn to keep up... stupid apartments 🙂

 

[AcidicFury]

short all year long

 

[melly]

Long in winter, short in summer. :evil:

 

[Squisher]

As high as the mower will go. Keeps it healthy, chokes out weeds and needs less watering.

 

[Trygve]

Depends on what part of the yard, but it tends to be shorter near the front. A few hundred feet back it's three to five feet tall.