Table of Contents
Overview
Mowing a lawn is one of the regular routines you do in your yard during the dry season. Cutting the grasses in your lawn encourages more growth, ensures a healthy root system, and creates more tolerance for severe dry season conditions.
We all know that a beautiful, fine lawn doesn’t occur on itself, as a gardener, you need to put the effort in taking care of your lawn by watering regularly, spraying insecticides, fertilizing, and mowing your lawn. Trimming a garden is one of the key things that makes your grasses look healthy and verdant. Mowing a lawn is fun, though it is stressful sometimes, especially if you have a big 7yard, but then you can choose to divide your lawn into two; and mow each side in a day. This will make the trimming more leisurely and less stressful.
However, many find it hard to choose the best time to mow their lawn because of tight work schedules, neighbours, and other things. Below, we shall discuss the best time(s) to mow your lawn; after that, we shall also take a quick look at the times to avoid mowing and how often you should cut your lawn. Let’s get started!
The Two best times to Mow your Lawn
The two best times to mow your lawn are mid-morning around 8:00 am to 10:00 am or in the late afternoon, around 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm. These two times are considered the optimal times for mowing a lawn by many gardeners. Let’s look at why these times are considered the best.
Why you should mow your lawn in the mid-morning
You must have noticed that most gardeners prefer to trim their lawn in the mid-morning around 8 – 10 am; ever wondered why? Here are a couple of reasons;
Before 8 am, grasses are mostly moist from dew, rain or your Irrigation(A good gardener is supposed to waiter his or her plants as early as 5 am), so by 8 am to 10 am, your grasses are almost dried and are ready for trimming.
After 10 am, the sun has come out for its daily routine; thus, the temperatures are high; this will make mowing worse for you, your mowing machine, and the grasses. When you trim at this time, the sun won’t be friendly to you, your mowing machine will heat up, and your grasses will be under increased pressure. However, mid-morning mowing is for those that can drag themselves out of bed in the early hours of the day; if you are not that type, then mowing in the late afternoon is the best option for you.
Why You Should Mow your Lawn at the Late Afternoon
If you are the type that enjoys mid-morning sleeping, then morning mowing isn’t for you. The second best time for you to mow is in the late afternoon when the sun is about to set, that’s around 4 pm – 6 pm.
The temperature is getting lower, and the atmosphere is friendlier and more relaxed. This will be better for you, your mowing machine, and your grasses.
By mowing in the late afternoon, you will give your grass the maximum time to recover before night. This is because grasses are more vulnerable to fungal attacks at night, and if it is cut close to that time, it will be more susceptible to diseases.
However, if you mow in the early afternoon, you’ll give your grasses enough time to recover sufficiently before nightfall, therefore, having enough strength to withstand infections.
Three Worst Times to Mow Your Lawn
We have discussed the two best times to mow your lawn; now, we will discuss the three worst times to mow your lawn. These are times whose weather isn’t favorable to you, your mower, and might expose your grasses to fungal attacks.
Early Morning
Trimming your lawn in the early hours of the morning, around 5 am to 8 am, has many consequences to you, your mower, and your grass. At this time, your grasses are still wet from dew, rain, or irrigation, and if you try to mow damp grass, it will end up clogging up and damaging your mowing machine.
Also, rolling your mower over a wet lawn may damage your grasses and make your soil less fertile. Furthermore, you might end up having a headache throughout the day if you dragged yourself from the bed to trim a lawn.
Midday
Another time to avoid trimming your lawn is during midday. At this time, the sun is at its peak, and the temperature is high.
When you mow your lawn at midday, you’ll expose your grasses and tiny plants to stress and scorching sun; the little creatures won’t appreciate this!
Furthermore, the sun will make you feel uncomfortable, and your mover will heat up. In a nutshell, midday isn’t the best time to mow.
Evening
From our earlier discussion, you must have guess evening isn’t a good mowing time. Despite being cooler, evening won’t give your grass enough time to recover before the night falls. This is when your grasses are more vulnerable to diseases so it won’t be fair to trim them at that time.
How Often Should You Mow Your Lawn
Now that you have known the best times to mow your lawn and the times to avoid mowing, the next thing that will come to your mind is how often you should mow your lawn?
Generally, you’re to mow your lawn weekly or every ten days, though lawns that overgrow might require trimming every five days, while those that grow slowly might need mowing bi-weekly.
Conclusion
The best time to mow your lawn should be a time that will favor you, your mower, and your grasses. Be careful of times that will disrupt your schedule, expose your grasses to disease or damage your mower. Also, be careful not to cut‘ more than one-third of your grass as anything more than that may harm your grasses. The length of your lawn should always be considered, not when the lawn was last trimmed.