Many garden owners enjoy their well-deserved summer vacation away from home. While plant care is taken care of during this time either by neighbors or an irrigation computer, the lawn usually remains unmowed for a longer period of time. After returning home, the question then arises as to how best to shorten the tall grass. Our tips for mowing after the vacations will help you.
Shorten slowly to the optimal lawn length
Just two to three weeks without mowing is enough in the summer for the grass to reach a height of 20 to 30 centimeters – depending on the type of lawn and the weather. Even if it seems tempting: do not shorten your lawn to the usual length in one go!
The so-called vegetation point of the blade of grass is located about halfway along the blade. After a long period of growth, this point is often above the cutting length usually set on the lawn mower. If the grass is cut below this point, the regeneration can be disturbed, which quickly leads to burns in the summer.
After your vacation, it is therefore recommended that you slowly shorten the lawn to the optimal grass length in several mowing operations. For utility and play lawns, the recommended height is between 3 to 5 centimeters. Ornamental lawns can be kept slightly shorter, while shade lawns should be kept rather 2 centimeters longer.
Observe the “one-third rule” when mowing the lawn
The so-called “one-third rule” is a good guide for post-holiday lawn care. Mow the lawn so that you never cut off more than one-third of the leaf area in the first pass. By maintaining the vegetation point, you provide your grass with the opportunity to develop new side shoots and resprout.
This will make the grass carpet denser and less likely to burn in the sun. So give your lawn a little vacation so that it can now slowly get used to the “old” cutting height.
