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For any property to be truly beautiful, the lawn must look stunning. Your lawn makes the first impression when people come calling. If you carelessly leave your lawn unattended, your home will look deserted. A visually appealing grass which looks healthy is always a welcoming sight. Mowing grass is honestly a cumbersome process. How can one save time mowing the lawn?
Below are eye-opening tips on how you can save time mowing the lawn.
Wait until the grass is dry
Mowing in the morning when the air is cool might seem like a good idea. But the problem is, there’s still dew on the ground. Chances are, the wet grass is likely to clump up in the discharge chute. You’ll end up constantly stopping to clear out clogs in your mower. And this is time-consuming. What’s more, when the ground is wet, your lawn mower tires won’t get any traction.
A good idea is to wait until later in the morning when the dew dries up. You can also mow your lawn before the evening dew sets in. Another proven way to help avoid dew is timing the sprinklers to start late in the evening. This ensures there isn’t extra moisture when mowing.
Start with the features
Before starting to mow the main yard, it’s advised to first start with the features. Features include landscaping rocks, flowerbeds, ornamental trees, walkways, etc. Mowing these features usually takes a lot of time as users must adjust and keep turning the mower. A proven way is to first work on areas which may become an obstacle and take up more time. You can also use a weed trimmer to easily access these irregularly shaped areas.
Let your grass get long
It’s better to let your grass grow to ensure a fast mowing experience. A healthy lawn during summer time may be three to four inches high after a nice cut. Some may view this to be a bad idea. But taller grass retains more water and has healthy roots. This is why raising the deck is recommended and let your grass grow longer before you cut it. Longer grass has more leaf surface and deeper roots. By letting it grow a little longer between mowing, your grass will be healthier and you’ll be able to mow it less often. Planting the best grass seed for your region will also help ensure you have healthy grass that might require less mowing and maintaining.
Mow in rows
Mowing in rows is an efficient and quick way to maintaining your lawn. Make sure to take extra care in the direction you choose to mow. Direction, in this case, refers to length and width. In case you have a lawn which is wider than it is long, mow horizontally. What is important is to mow in the direction in which you will go for a long distance. Make sure you don’t have to make the same turns in the direction you take.
This helps to drastically reduce the total turns one has to make when mowing. By doing this, you will complete your lawn mowing process faster. In case you have a square yard, any direction you take will do. Just ensure you try and overlap the rows to avoid leaving any untrimmed patches of grass.
Randomly mowing areas can cost you unnecessary work and time. Make sure to follow a pattern such as:
- Starting on the edge of your lawn and discharging chute towards your lawn.
- Mowing around the perimeter of your lawn.
- When you reach your starting point, make a U-turn so the discharge chute faces the strip you just cut
Go slower
It’s tempting to move as quickly as your mower will go to get the job done faster, but going fast doesn’t save much time. In case you speed through the chore, you are bound to leave some areas uncut. Your lawn will have a sloppy and uneven look. And then, you will be forced to re-mow your lawn thanks to unnecessary speed.
To save ample lawn mowing time, do it once and do it right. Make sure your speed is between the first four-speed levels. These four speed levels will bring out the desired results. Ensure the choke is lowered properly for slower speeds to run efficiently.
Try using circular patterns
Continuously turning the lawnmower takes up more time than necessary. A good way to get around this nag is mowing the lawn in circles. When mowing the lawn in circles, it becomes more efficient as one is making turns in one direction. With circular patterns, you don’t have to stop mowing the lawn. What this does is effectively maneuver the mower without taking unnecessary turns.
Use the right mower for your needs
The type of lawn mower you are using will greatly affect the time used to mow the lawn. The type of mower also dictates the quality of your endeavor. Depending on the budget, one can have a mower which needs pushing or one with an electric or gas-powered engine. If your yard is long enough to warrant it, investing in a riding mower is a good way to save time.
Lawnmower maintenance
Proper maintenance of your lawn mower will also help reduce mowing time. Just as with any engine, make sure to use the right engines at all times. Make sure to sharpen your blades regularly to ensure a clean and nice cut. Ensure you clean and maintain the air filter once per year.
Clear the debris
Before you start on the mowing process, take time to check for any debris on your lawn. Debris can be small twigs, rocks, or branches. Clearing debris will protect your mower from damages and the expenses which come with making repairs. Rocks and twigs are known to damage the mower blades. Replacing of blades will happen sooner than the recommended time if debris is not cleared.
Preparing your mower for the next time
After you have successfully mowed your lawn, getting the mower ready for next time saves time. Start by turning the mower over and rinsing the blades. Make sure to clean out the discharge chute with a garden hose before putting the mower away. This prevents crusty grass build-up which is hard to remove.
One of the well-known time savers is keeping the blades sharp at all times. A dull blade requires that you go over the same patch more than once. A sharp mower blade will enable you to zip around once and produce great results.
Taking proper care of your mower and at the same time using these techniques will save you valuable time. Adopt good habits such as sharpening blades and clearing debris. Once this is done, mowing the lawn becomes easy and fast.
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