DIY Network

Lawnmower Tips and Watering Grass From "Grow It & Mow It" episode DMOW-102

Cutting your grass and keeping it watered is vital to a great looking lawn. Here are tips for taking care of your mower, how to use it and for hydrating your lawn.

advertisement

Figure A

Turf pros across the country agree, one of the biggest mistakes homeowners make is not keeping their mower blades sharp. A dull mower blade will have notches on it. A sharp one will be smooth. A dull mower blade will leave your grass blades jagged and open to diseases. A sharp one will give you an even cut. Use a file to sharpen the blade (figure A). Or, you could use a special sharpening stone on the end of a regular drill.

	Figure B
	Figure C

5 Mowing Tips:

1. Cut your grass more frequently and never cut off more than 1/3 of the leaf blade (figure B).

2. Mow at a higher cut.

3. Be consistent when you mow so you don’t scalp your lawn.

4. Alternate mowing directions.

5. Mow across hills (figure C), not up and down them.

Grass can tolerate a little stress, but long dry spells will really hurt it.

• Give the lawn an inch of water a week.

• Water in the mornings if you can so grass can dry during the day.
  

• Oscillating sprinklers – shoot thin streams of water into the air while moving back and forth

• Spinning sprinklers – can be adjusted to give one part of the lawn more water than another part

• Attach either to a heavy garden hose.
  

  ALSO IN THIS EPISODE:
  	Lawn Maintenance (Web Exclusive)
  	Fertilizer
  	Thatch and Aerating
  	Lawnmower Tips and Watering Grass