If you are like most people, you want to keep your lawn in pristine, well-manicured condition and to have the best looking yard in the neighborhood. However, that’s sometimes easier said than done because knowing exactly how often should you mow and water your lawn is critical, if you want to keep it healthy and in good condition. There are several different factors that will determine how often you should mow and water your lawn and knowing these factors will help you maintain a yard you are proud to call your own.
How Often Should You Mow Your Lawn?
The short answer is: that depends. And while that’s an accurate answer, it’s not really very helpful. So let’s take a few minutes to talk about some concepts that will give you a better understanding about how landscaping works. How often you should mow your lawn depends on several different variables, such as: the look you want to achieve, how often you water, the season, if you use fertilizer, etc. The combination of these variables will all determine how often you need to mow.
Most landscapers recommend you use the “one-third rule,” which means you never cut more than one-third of the grass height at one time. Cutting your lawn too short can damage your lawn, but so can letting it grow too tall. That means, in most cases, you will need to mow your lawn about once a week. However, with that being said, if you want an even healthier lawn, it’s best to mow your lawn twice a week cutting just a little off each time. These are just general rules and will widely depend on the variables we mentioned above.
For example, if you want a short, green, golf course look, you will need to water and fertilize your grass more often and the frequency will depend on the type of grass you choose. Additionally, the golf course look will also require you to mow just about every day while only cutting off a very small amount at a time. Therefore, deciding on how you would like your lawn to look will largely depend on the amount of time you have to spend caring for it. Alternatively, many people choose to hire a landscaper to care for their lawn, which ultimately saves loads of time and money in the long-run.
How Often Should You Water Your Lawn?
There is a science to watering your lawn and if done wrong could easily ruin the look of your entire yard. The best times to water your yard are between the hours of 6:00 AM and 10:00 AM. Additionally, you should not water during the heat of the day, if you want to avoid evaporation. You should also avoid watering at night, if you don’t want to create an environment that’s ripe for developing mildew and fungus issues. However, there is one caveat to that rule, which is if you live in a southwest arid climate, it’s recommended that you water in the early evening or at night to avoid evaporation.
You will want to water deeply and infrequently, which means adding about 1/2 inch of water to your yard twice a week. You can achieve the timing of this by putting a small empty glass in your yard, then turn on your sprinkler system and time how long it takes for the water in the glass to reach 1/2 inch. That will tell you exactly how long you will need to water on each of your watering days.
>> Learn How to Have a Well Groomed Lawn
The Bottom Line
Maintaining a lush, green, well-manicured lawn, doesn’t have to be hard; however, you should take some time to learn all you can about the landscaping process to help you avoid making any major blunders. However, if you don’t have the time or the inclination to do so, hiring a landscaper would be your best bet.
