How high do you cut your grass?

[Road Runner]

After many years and much manipulation of my lawnmower cutting height, I believe I have found the ideal height for my crappy grass and mowing conditions.  2-1/4 inches.  

My work here on earth is done.   

[late]

I have a John Deere lawn tractor, it's all the way up. But I am thinking about putting larger tires on it, so I can have some variety in what I am mowing.

[2Far]

I have people.

[Road Runner]

2 minutes ago, late said:

I have a John Deere lawn tractor, it's all the way up. But I am thinking about putting larger tires on it, so I can have some variety in what I am mowing.

I used to cut mine pretty high, much higher than my neighbors, but I felt the grass didn't look as nice as when I cut it a bit shorter.  Also, too much height can lead to disease, or so I've heard.  Each type of grass is supposed to have an ideal height range, but my lawn is a mixture of grasses, so my height is based on much trial and error.  Mostly error.     

[jsharr]

It varies.  I need to sharpen my mower blade.  

I tend to start low in the spring and increase the height as it gets hotter.

[late]

1 minute ago, Road Runner said:

I used to cut mine pretty high, much higher than my neighbors, but I felt the grass didn't look as nice as when I cut it a bit shorter.  Also, too much height can lead to disease, or so I've heard.  Each type of grass is supposed to have an ideal height range, but my lawn is a mixture of grasses, so my height is based on much trial and error.  Mostly error.     

I am not terrible at gardening. But I am just the worst at lawn care. Partly it's because the yard is a challenge that way, but mostly it's because I suck at lawns.

[JerrySTL]

I try to stay sober when using machinery.

[Road Runner]

1 minute ago, jsharr said:

It varies.  I need to sharpen my mower blade.  

I tend to start low in the spring and increase the height as it gets hotter.

I am a fanatic about having a sharp blade.  I have been known to fully sharpen or replace the blade 6-8 times each summer and at other times (almost every other cut) do a quick filing by hand to maintain the sharpness.

Some of my idiot neighbors never sharpen their blades.  

[Indy]

3" or taller.

The taller the grass the better.  It helps naturally smoother out weeds and helps prevent soil evaporation in dry spells so your yard actually requires less water. 

Friend was a horticulture major at Purdue, so I role with what he's told me.

[jsharr]

1 minute ago, Indy said:

3" or taller.

The taller the grass the better.  It helps naturally smoother out weeds and helps prevent soil evaporation in dry spells so your yard actually requires less water. 

Friend was a horticulture major at Purdue, so I role with what he's told me.

Depends on the type of grass, the region, the soil, etc. 

Shorter will produce a higher quality turf with St. Augustine but will also increase water usage and mowing frequency.

[Road Runner]

Rule of thumb is to never remove more than about a third of your grass when you do cut.  So I cut mine when it is 3".

[Indy]

1 minute ago, jsharr said:

Depends on the type of grass, the region, the soil, etc. 

Shorter will produce a higher quality turf with St. Augustine but will also increase water usage and mowing frequency.

No one up here is growing St Augustine.  Most of it is Rye, Fescue, Blue grass mix.  You get some Bermuda, but it's a special mix and can be hard to maintain.

[Road Runner]

I stole this from some DIY site:

Warm-Season Grasses

Bahia: 2.5 to 4 inches

Bermuda: 0.5 to 2.5 inches

Buffalo: 1.5 to 4 inches

Centipede: 1 to 2.5 inches

Kikuyu grass: 1 to 1.5 inches

St. Augustine: 1 to 3 inches

Zoysia: 0.5 to 3 inches

Cool-Season Grasses

Fine fescue: 1.5 to 4 inches

Kentucky bluegrass: 0.75 to 3.5 inches

Perennial ryegrass: 0.75 to 2.5 inches

Tall fescue: 1.5 to 4 inches

You'll have to research seasonal exceptions to these guidelines based on your region. To learn about seasonal height shifts, contact your local county extension office, a reputable garden center or local sod or seed suppliers.

Typical Seasonal Height Variations

• Allow all grasses to grow taller in summer and during drought.
• Mow warm-season turf shorter in spring to remove dead grass blades.
• Mow cool-season grasses shorter for the final fall mowing in snow prone regions to help prevent snow mold.
• Allow grasses growing in shade to grow taller.

[jsharr]

Just now, Indy said:

No one up here is growing St Augustine.  Most of it is Rye, Fescue, Blue grass mix.  You get some Bermuda, but it's a special mix and can be hard to maintain.

St. Augustine and bermuda at the 500 lb. gorillas down here in Texas.  Rye and fescue are planted as a spring or winter grass by some.   

Bermuda seed is spendy and St. Augustine is a vegatative grass that produces very little seed, so it is planted as sprigs, plugs or sod.  Sod is the most common.

 

[ChrisL]

I haven’t mowed a lawn since Sept 1984... When I joined the Army & left the house.  I have lived in an apt or townhouse since. 

[Road Runner]

Just now, ChrisL said:

I haven’t mowed a lawn since Sept 1984... When I joined the Army & left the house.  I have lived in an apt or townhouse since. 

You are a pretty smart guy.  

[12string]

dude, I don't know.  If I worry more about how high I am when I cut the grass I don't care how high the grass is.

[BR46]

35 minutes ago, 2Far said:

I have people.

I have a wife 

[Parr8hed]

28 minutes ago, jsharr said:

It varies.  I need to sharpen my mower blade.  

I tend to start low in the spring and increase the height as it gets hotter.

I am exactly opposite. 

[Road Runner]

4 minutes ago, Parr8hed said:

I am exactly opposite. 

You need to dull your blade?   

[2Far]

9 minutes ago, BR46 said:

I have a wife 

I do too, but she quit cutting grass before I met her.

[Indy]

10 minutes ago, Parr8hed said:

I am exactly opposite. 

Yeah, but you are also an IU fan, so we don't expect you to understand horticulture.

 

As it gets hotter and drier, you are supposed to let it go longer to help prevent water from evaporating from the soil.  Also you shouldn't cut a dry yard.  I used to get in arguments with the HOA at my old place because my yard would start to look like crap in the summer because I refused to mow it if it's been dry for awhile.  Would tell them as soon as it rains, I'll mow.  Once it rained, I'd mow and again have one the best looking yards in the neighborhood with often never turning on a sprinkler.  Everyone else would've watered the crap out of their yards, or mowed it and killed it so have no yard.

[maddmaxx]

14 minutes ago, Parr8hed said:

I am exactly opposite. 

I start high to get the lawn looking ok.  Later in the year when I'm tired of mowing it I cut it short and let the drought take over.  

[Kzoo]

At Home - WoKzoo likes to mow our lawn.  She cuts it a low as she can ALWAYS.  If I happen to mow our lawn and she catches me wiht the mower deck a notch too high I get yelled at.  That hurts my feelings and ......

At @Zackny's place I like to keep the grass a bit on the high side.

 

[Indy]

5 minutes ago, maddmaxx said:

I start high to get the lawn looking ok.  Later in the year when I'm tired of mowing it I cut it short and let the drought take over.  

Then in the fall, add grass seed.  Probably a Rye to get it to fill in quick.

[Indy]

1 minute ago, Kzoo said:

At Home - WoKzoo likes to mow our lawn.  She cuts it a low as she can ALWAYS.  If I happen to mow our lawn and she catches me wiht the mower deck a notch too high I get yelled at.  That hurts my feelings and ......

At @Zackny's place I like to keep the grass a bit on the high side.

 

There was a guy a couple houses down at my old place that used to complain about how hard it was to mow his grass.  Even with his new self propelled push mower, it just didn't seem to really help much and he had to work really hard to do it.  I glanced at his mower, his wheels often didn't even touch the ground, he shaved his yard.  At least he used a mulching cover to keep down the dirt it would be kicking out otherwise.  And I told him it looks like the mower was working as it supposed to be, and wasn't anything I could do to help him.

[jsharr]

6 minutes ago, Kzoo said:

At Home - WoKzoo likes to mow our lawn.  She cuts it a low as she can ALWAYS.  If I happen to mow our lawn and she catches me wiht the mower deck a notch too high I get yelled at.  That hurts my feelings and ......

At @Zackny's place I like to keep the grass a bit on the high side.

 

Nominated.  

And tornadoes sometimes hit trailer parks....

[MickinMD]

Mine is 3" high. I just finished mowing it about 15 minutes ago. If I didn't go out and measure it just now, I'd have sworn it was more like 2", though I set my wheel adjustment to the highest point on the mower.

I have neighbors who cut it shorter but their grass turns browner than mine in the summer even though much of mine is browns-sooner Zoysia grass.

[Road Runner]

I'm going out to mow mine now.

Brand new blade.  Should be fun.  

[Page Turner]

3 hours ago, Indy said:

3" or taller.

The taller the grass the better.  It helps naturally smoother out weeds and helps prevent soil evaporation in dry spells so your yard actually requires less water. 

Friend was a horticulture major at Purdue, so I role with what he's told me.

...this. I have also learned this.  Where I learned it, they also mentioned that more height on the leaf blades also contributes to a deeper root system.  Grass wants to be pretty tall, so I have a tendency to let mine get kinda raggedy looking before I mow it.  I'm on the cutting edge of a new lawn aesthetic.  We are the meadow people.

 

[Further]

Usually about 3", last cut will be lower to make leaf removal easier, and sometimes a short cut early in spring as a cleal up.

[Guest]

6 hours ago, Kzoo said:

At Home - WoKzoo likes to mow our lawn.  She cuts it a low as she can ALWAYS.  If I happen to mow our lawn and she catches me wiht the mower deck a notch too high I get yelled at.  That hurts my feelings and ......

At @Zackny's place I like to keep the grass a bit on the high side.

 

3 feet is a bit much.

[team scooter]

[Airehead]

I have mud, you don’t mow that

[Longjohn]

1 hour ago, Airehead said:

I have mud, you don’t mow that

I have the mower that could do it. I put tractor tires on my zero turn this winter, it goes right through mud. I got tired of getting stuck in the wet spots and I don’t have the Element to pull it out anymore.

[sheep_herder]

19 hours ago, 2Far said:

I have people.

I have sheep!

[goldendesign]

St. Augustine yard. 3" in spring until the summer rainy season starts then I creep it down to about 2.25-2.5

I let it quite a bit between cuts during Jan-Mar as it starts to come back from its winter hibernation. It gets long enough to produce seeds then I mow. Helps with infill, I think.

 

[Dottleshead]

I cut it to the height my used mower was set at when I bought it.  Works great.

[Parr8hed]

5 hours ago, sheep_herder said:

I have sheep!

This is nominated for post of the day.

[sheep_herder]

5 hours ago, goldendesign said:

Helps with infill, I think.

 

Probably does not help fill in the bare spots, as it spreads vegetatively and not by seed.  The seed are sterile and there is not a commercial source.  See this presentation.

[Page Turner]

...I wish I could use sheep here. The #!??*+! city has an ordinance that prohibits livestock.  We do have a new exception for backyard chickens, but I can't convince them to eat grass.  

[Longjohn]

I like to let the grass get long enough that I can see where I just mowed. I have some trouble with depth perception and if I try to mow too frequently I get off track. I try to mow it as short as I can, it grows back very quickly. I have some type of wild grass, I didn’t plant it, it just came up. I like it, it’s able to survive driving on it, kids, dogs, chickens, and livestock. The only thing about the livestock is the horses come over when the ground it wet and leave deep hoofprints in the yard.

[Ralphie]

It is dangerous to operate machinery under the influence of substances. 

[Ralphie]

1 hour ago, Longjohn said:

I like to let the grass get long enough that I can see where I just mowed. I have some trouble with depth perception and if I try to mow too frequently I get off track. I try to mow it as short as I can, it grows back very quickly. I have some type of wild grass, I didn’t plant it, it just came up. I like it, it’s able to survive driving on it, kids, dogs, chickens, and livestock. The only thing about the livestock is the horses come over when the ground it wet and leave deep hoofprints in the yard.

I guess you need to get them some horsey snowshoes. Seems like a lot of work, though!

[sheep_herder]

2 minutes ago, RalphWaldoMooseworth said:

I guess you need to get them some horsey snowshoes. Seems like a lot of work, though!

Easier to build a fence. 

[Longjohn]

16 minutes ago, sheep_herder said:

Easier to build a fence. 

I don’t want to have a gate on my driveway so they would just come up the driveway. The neighbor had dairy goats and fenced in his whole property and never had to mow his grass but they had to mess with a gate every time would come and go.

[sheep_herder]

5 minutes ago, Longjohn said:

I don’t want to have a gate on my driveway so they would just come up the driveway. The neighbor had dairy goats and fenced in his whole property and never had to mow his grass but they had to mess with a gate every time would come and go.

We have gates, and it is just a way of life for us.  I like gates better than cattle guards.

[Ralphie]

On 4/25/2019 at 3:44 PM, Road Runner said:

I'm going out to mow mine now.

Brand new blade.  Should be fun.  

Woohoo!

[Ralphie]

2 minutes ago, sheep_herder said:

We have gates, and it is just a way of life for us.  I like gates better than cattle guards.

Probably wouldn’t cost much more to get a remote control one. Maybe with a battery and solar charger if wiring is an issue?

[sheep_herder]

6 minutes ago, RalphWaldoMooseworth said:

Probably wouldn’t cost much more to get a remote control one. Maybe with a battery and solar charger if wiring is an issue?

When everything is working right, I can often use the front gate as a 'bump gate' and open it with the vehicle.  Not so right now, as I mangled one with the tractor a while back and have not hung the replacement.  Why get in a hurry, as long as we can go in and out.?