Last Updated on August 27, 2024 by Brian Beck
Mowing once per week is not the best for your lawn…
OK, that to some people is a crazy statement. Do you mean like I need to mow my lawn twice per week??? Most people can hardly get it done once per week but there is a reason for this blog. Where and why did we get the once per week mow schedule? I mean it seems logical but why not every ten days or every eight days? Once a week seems so neat but it is not the best and it is a horticultural and economic compromise that I believe started way back right after World War II. Let me explain…
After World War II there were millions of GIs that came home and needed a place to live. This need gave birth to suburbia, or the suburbs as we know it today. With new homes came new lawns and with new lawns came the need for lawn mowers. After the war the factories that were building tanks, planes and jeeps turned their focus to needed things such as cars, refrigerators and you guessed it, lawn mowers! The gas powered mower was not new but the mass production of them fueled by demand made them widely available. The lawn largely being a man’s realm, guess who was the only person that was allowed to touch the new lawn mower? That’s right, Dad. When was the only time that he was able to cut the lawn? You guessed it again, Saturday. This most likely went on for a decade or so until dad was tired of the new toy and the children, typically boys were old enough to cut the lawn and the rest is history. After this the mowing schedule was set in stone so to speak but is this the best for a lawn?
Here is a rule of thumb, for every day that you do not mow it takes that long for the lawn to recover from the stress of mowing. Anytime you cut a lawn, you put some degree of stress into it. The longer it is and the hotter it is the more stress is realized. A good way to destroy a lawn by damaging the roots structure is to mow every other two weeks. Whether you realize it or not you are praying for death. With a weakened roost structure cause from the stress you are just one dry winter away from a massive repair job or a long period of catch up that might very well last all summer long. Grass mows at different rates during the year and to match this growth cycle with mowing is more healthy for it. As a general rule of thumb if you cut your lawn twice per week it will perform much better and look better longer in between mows. But who has time to do this? There are a few retired people that are in your zip code that practice this but they are few and far between and no one has the resources to pay some one to mow it twice per week, so what is a guy to do huh?
Well, I’m glad you asked. There is this little known secret that has been around since the mid 90’s called robotic mowing. Whether you have heard about it or not is irrelevant as it is over a billion dollar industry, that never took off in North America, that is until recently. With new advanced in battery technology, firmware, 4G and navigation capabilities you can now mow your lawn, reliably any day of the week, even at night. Groovy right? You can have it all, a fresh cut Friday lawn every day of the week, even when you are away on vacation. This will soon become the new norm as gas mowers become less common and in some cases illegal to operate. They are quiet, do not pollute and they are very safe. It will never be the same for the lawn.
For more information check out our blog on this:
https://www.springslawns.com/the-case-for-automation-robotic-mowing/
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