Lawn mowing
The purpose of lawn mowing is not merely to
keep down unsightly growth. When correctly carried out, lawn
mowing builds up a vigorous, fine quality grass sward. The
secret of lawn mowing is to keep the grass long enough to
prevent the roots from being starved but short enough to be
attractive to the observer. This height must not vary a great
deal during the growing season.
Lawn mowing is most time consuming
Lawn mowing takes more time than other lawn
operation, and trials have shown that lawn mowing has
a controlling influence on the make up of the turf. The
varieties of grass in a first rate lawn will dramatically
change if the height of lawn mowinb cut is either raised or
lowered for a long period.
Rule of lawn mowing
The rule of lawn mowing is to mow often, but
not too closely. In this way excess leaf-growth is prevented,
fertilizer loss curtailed, and the menace of weeds, worms and
coarse grasses reduced. The grass itself assumes a dwarf habit
and the production of tillers is stimulated. It is the
development of these side-shoots which thickens the lawn in
summer.
Close shaving at irregular intervals is
unfortunately an all-too-common practice. It means certain
destruction of the good quality lawn because the desirable
grasses are rapidly weakened. The thin open turf which results
is soon invaded by moss, pearlwart, annual meadow grass,
daisies and yarrow.
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