Height of lawn

[EWC88 24]

Random as hell question, but what height do you guys keep your lawn? I just did first cut last week which was a low cut, but then fertilized to feed and try to kill weeds. Then was going maintain it at 2-3” height to help slow the weed growth. Opinions?

[Zeke 5,504]

I go full tall in summer. Right now medium 

[Handyman 5,682]

Set the mower as high as it will go. Or maybe one click down...

[InFamous 311]

I have no idea, the MexiCANs decide the length, but they cut once a week if that helps. 

[Sniper 6,372]

34 minutes ago, Zeke said:

I go full tall in summer. Right now medium 

 

15 minutes ago, Handyman said:

Set the mower as high as it will go. Or maybe one click down...

I agree with both, Cut as high as possible or maybe one click down. This keeps weed seeds from sprouting, as they end up being shaded.

Plus, when you water, water long and deeply. It's better to only water once or twice a week, but put down at least an inch of water, versus running sprinklers short cycles or watering for a short period of time. By watering deeply, it makes the roots reach further down into the ground, versus staying shallow searching for minimal water, making the grass more drought resistant.

[Krdshrk 3,877]

I think the rule of thumb is to take off the top 1/3 of the grass only.  I generally keep my lawn tractor at 3 1/2 setting... doesn't go too short.

[Scorpio64 5,147]

The general rule of thumb we follow is cut it as short as you can (or like) without making a mess. ie clumps or a lot of clippings left on top. The shorter you cut it, the more you have to water.  In the hot summer months, cut it higher to help prevent the soil from drying out.

Cutting higher does help deny weeds sunlight, but so does weed killer.

Side note, most damage to lawns is because of dull mower blades.

[EWC88 24]

Sweet thanks guy, I’ll make sure I higher it for next cut. No clue if blades need to be sharpened since it’s brand new last year, but going drop the blade off at a shop to get sharpened to be safe. As mention I put a lawn weed killer down so hopefully that will help.

Watering the lawn for a day or two a week is news to me lol. I water every other day, and each zone gets 13 mins of water. Might look into the reducing it to 2 days and longer.

[Sniper 6,372]

On 5/14/2018 at 11:02 PM, EWC88 said:

Watering the lawn for a day or two a week is news to me lol. I water every other day, and each zone gets 13 mins of water. Might look into the reducing it to 2 days and longer.

I water for an hour in each section, but only a few times a week when it's hot. Plus, I never have used weed killer. I do have a vendetta against the occasional dandelion (I hate them), so I go after them with a vengeance, and pull them manually, to make sure I get the roots.

 

 

[Krdshrk 3,877]

17 minutes ago, Sniper22 said:

I water for an hour in each section, but only a few times a week when it's hot. Plus, I never have used weed killer. I do have a vendetta against the occasional dandelion (I hate them), so I go after them with a vengeance, and pull them manually, to make sure I get the roots.

 

That's a purty lawn... but a heckuva lot smaller than mine!

[Displaced Texan 11,731]

“Cut it high, and cut it often” is my dad’s mantra. I heard that my whole life growing up. 

Hes a Master Gardener...(sadly, I did not inherit that gene), and always kept a beautiful yard. I try to follow that advice with my yard. I keep the mower on the highest setting and cut 2x/week during heavy growth. 

[maintenanceguy 510]

I managed athletic fields for several years.  We had lots of fields with varying degrees of turf quality.  Athletic fields are a little different than lawns because of the wear they get and nobody wants to play sports on 4" tall grass.  But my advice is:

Mow at the highest setting you can stand.  Weeds will have to survive without sunlight as they try to grow to the top of the turf and many won't survive the wait.

Water infrequently and deeply. This develops deep roots as the plant roots grow down to reach water.  Deep roots help when you have a drought.  It depends a lot on your soil but 1-1/4" per week is a good target.  When it's 95º switch from 2 nights a week to 3 nights a week. Sandy soil that drains well (often too well) will need more water.  Clay soils that don't drain well will need less.

Water in the early morning.  Having grass sit wet all night invites fungus to start growing.  If your watering ends just as the sun is coming up, the sun will dry the blades.

Don't bag clippings.   Let the natural fertilizer return to the soil.

2,5-D applied once in the spring will keep most weeds away.

 

 

[Handyman 5,682]

7 hours ago, Sniper22 said:

I water for an hour in each section, but only a few times a week when it's hot. Plus, I never have used weed killer. I do have a vendetta against the occasional dandelion (I hate them), so I go after them with a vengeance, and pull them manually, to make sure I get the roots.

The Bayer stuff in the blue bottle is ok. It kills dandelions in a couple days and it doesn't hurt the grass. You just have to pull the flowers off before you spray so they don't turn into seed heads.

I killed all my poison ivy with that stuff, too.

[Sniper 6,372]

3 hours ago, Handyman said:

The Bayer stuff in the blue bottle is ok. It kills dandelions in a couple days and it doesn't hurt the grass. You just have to pull the flowers off before you spray so they don't turn into seed heads.

I killed all my poison ivy with that stuff, too.

I look at weed killer the same way as chemotherapy to kill cancer. When using weed killer, It's a race to see if you can kill what you want to kill (weeds) without hurting the stuff you don't want to kill (grass). Same thing as chemo, trying to kill the cancer without killing the patient.

I'd rather not put that stress on the grass, so I'll spend the time to hand pull where I can. I do use Weed-B-Gone and spot treat clover that pops up. That's a bitch to hand pull.

Regarding the dandelions, it's a race between me and the dog. If he gets there first, he eats the yellow heads..... if I could only train him to pull the complete weed...

[Sniper 6,372]

3 hours ago, maintenanceguy said:

Mow at the highest setting you can stand.  Weeds will have to survive without sunlight as they try to grow to the top of the turf and many won't survive the wait.

Water infrequently and deeply. This develops deep roots as the plant roots grow down to reach water.  Deep roots help when you have a drought.  It depends a lot on your soil but 1-1/4" per week is a good target.  When it's 95º switch from 2 nights a week to 3 nights a week. Sandy soil that drains well (often too well) will need more water.  Clay soils that don't drain well will need less.

Water in the early morning.  Having grass sit wet all night invites fungus to start growing.  If your watering ends just as the sun is coming up, the sun will dry the blades.

This is exactly what I do, seems to work well for me as seen in the picture above.

The bottom line, it takes some work to develop a nice lawn, there aren't any easy shortcuts (besides hiring an experienced crew of Mexicans). Today's "Instant Society" doesn't have the patience to put in the effort and wait for results... They want the green, perfect lawn RIGHT NOW, damn it!!!

 

[Silence Dogood 468]

2 3/4" on the John Deere tractor  , 42" mulching deck.  Jonathan Greene lawn.

[raz-0 1,259]

I believe the setting on my mower is supposedly 3.5". It's not like I take a tape measure to it. Means I have to water it less to keep it alive. 

[fatty 241]

damn I've been cutting our grass WAY too short...  thank God for our gun forum to show me the light on lawn care LOL

I always kept it at 1-notch from the lowest/shortest setting thinking it was better to keep the grass short and not cut as often.  

[Sniper 6,372]

12 hours ago, Krdshrk said:

but a heckuva lot smaller than mine!

That's only one side of the yard...

 

[JackDaWack 2,895]

27 minutes ago, fatty said:

damn I've been cutting our grass WAY too short...  thank God for our gun forum to show me the light on lawn care LOL

I always kept it at 1-notch from the lowest/shortest setting thinking it was better to keep the grass short and not cut as often.  

Nothing wrong with that if you can keep the grass green. I like to run my R/C car in the yard with the dogs and keep the rear yard at about 2- 1/2 in. 

Some people like short grass, but the ground dries out faster and the weeds have more opportunity to grow.

My front yard is cut at 3-1/2, but mainly because of stupid rocks and uneven dips here and there. 

We get high spots of grass, random patches where the grass grows super green and tall, so i end up mowing about every 10 days anyway. 

You can run my deck on the ground at under 1" with the gauge wheels, my lawn isnt that level though. 

 

Wife made me buy the clipping collection system, which for the John Deere is stupid expensive on the x500 series cause you need a blower... IM trying to convince her to let me buy the Auto dump  bin, but she doesnt see the need for that, of course. To mow a little less than an acre takes me about 9 clean outs.

[Zeke 5,504]

38 minutes ago, fatty said:

damn I've been cutting our grass WAY too short...  thank God for our gun forum to show me the light on lawn care LOL

I always kept it at 1-notch from the lowest/shortest setting thinking it was better to keep the grass short and not cut as often.  

Needs mucho water that short.

[fatty 241]

Thanks for the tips.

I did notice the lawn gets a bit discolored at times when it doesn't rain as often.  I'll be raising the blades asap lol.

Great tip on keeping the weeds down too.  Had no idea grass height had any effect on those suckers.  Our front lawn is sprawled with weeds this year...  pain in the ass 

[Scorpio64 5,147]

Unless you are composting your clippings, you are better off leaving them on the lawn.  A lot of people mistakenly believe that clippings cause thatch, and they are wrong.  Dense roots and dead roots cause thatch.

Grass clippings are free lawn food and help keep the soil moist.  If there is a mess of clippings left behind A) cut more often or B) double cut.  When double cutting, cut once at a higher setting, depending on how long the grass is.  Then lower the deck to the height you want the lawn to be.  If it's still leaving a mess, then let the grass dry out a bit then hit it with a leaf blower.

You can also try a serrated mulching blade but they do not give as good a lift and can only get decent results cutting shorter, so if you like your grass short, a mulching blade will probably work for you.

[T Bill 649]

A lush thick green lawn is a sign of a sick twisted mind!  Same as a clean uncluttered desk at work.

[Zeke 5,504]

1 minute ago, Scorpio64 said:

Unless you are composting your clippings, you are better off leaving them on the lawn.  A lot of people mistakenly believe that clippings cause thatch, and they are wrong.  Dense roots and dead roots cause thatch.

Grass clippings are free lawn food and help keep the soil moist.  If there is a mess of clippings left behind A) cut more often or B) double cut.  When double cutting, cut once at a higher setting, depending on how long the grass is.  Then lower the deck to the height you want the lawn to be.  If it's still leaving a mess, then let the grass dry out a bit then hit it with a leaf blower.

You can also try a serrated mulching blade but they do not give as good a lift and can only get decent results cutting shorter, so if you like your grass short, a mulching blade will probably work for you.

I jus take the blower and knock them down. 

[EWC88 24]

Good information guys thank you! I will be changing my water settings to 2 days a week and long times. I will also be highering my lawn mower settings.

Is there any good way to get rid of moss? I know sun will help with that, but till I get permission from my neighbor on cutting his tree down to get more sun in that one spot, what else could I do?

[Sniper 6,372]

39 minutes ago, Scorpio64 said:

Unless you are composting your clippings, you are better off leaving them on the lawn. 

The clippings should be left and not composted. They contain all the nitrogen/fertilizer that was put down previously. So they are actually re-feeding the grass when they decompose.

37 minutes ago, T Bill said:

A lush thick green lawn is a sign of a sick twisted mind!

I represent that remark.... but I still like my lush, thick, green lawn... It certainly beats looking at a dry, moonscape for a lawn.

4 minutes ago, EWC88 said:

Is there any good way to get rid of moss? I

You need to add lime and sweeten the ground. Moss grows because the soil is too acidic. That's a popular problem in the South.

 

[Displaced Texan 11,731]

I tested my soil PH with a home kit, and found it’s about 6.5. I have a good bit of clover and wild strawberry in my yard. It’s a fight to get that out of my yard. Ugh. 

[Sniper 6,372]

The affect of long, deep watering versus short, frequent cycles on root growth.

 

Below, it shows that cutting grass lower makes actual more work to keep it growing, as the roots don't penetrate deep enough, you'll have to put in more effort to keep in green and growing:

 

 

[Sniper 6,372]

55 minutes ago, fatty said:

Great tip on keeping the weeds down too.  Had no idea grass height had any effect on those suckers.  Our front lawn is sprawled with weeds this year...  pain in the ass 

Here's a great picture to illustrate how the weeds like it, and how cutting the grass high stops a lot of them.