A gardening expert has warned that one key adjustment should be made to your lawn mower before you give your grass a trim.
As the weather warms and the days begin to brighten, more of us are noticing that our gardens could do with a little TLC. Over winter, our grass can become unkempt and run wild with weeds. Worse still, the damp, cold conditions mean that our gardens can become overgrown with moss and algae, making them incredibly unsightly. One of the first things most of us think of when trying to fix up our gardens is to trim the grass. Not only does it make your lawn look more uniform, it can also kill off unwanted weeds.
Unfortunately, mowing your lawn incorrectly can actually do more harm than good. Experts from the lawn mower company Hayter have advised that you should adjust the height of your lawn mower before sheering down your grass.
This is because cutting your grass too short can actually lead to unwanted weed growth. Particularly with summer just around the corner, this has the potential to cause havoc in your garden.
Hayter advises: “During spring, cutting your lawn’s grass as short as you would in the summer will encourage lawn weeds to take stronger roots, so raise your petrol mower’s cutting height until summer is here.”
They add that gardeners should always leave “approximately one-third of the grass length”. Any shorter, and it will promote unwanted weed growth during sunnier weather. When you cut your grass too short, it reduces the surface area of the blade. This means that there is less chance for photosynthesis to occur, resulting in stunted growth.
When the grass becomes stunted, it thins out, leaving bare patches in your garden. These patches make it far easier for weeds like chickweed and milk thistle to take hold.
Weeds are problematic for several reasons. They can attract infestations of insects, like whiteflies and spider mites, which can in turn carry diseases.
They also drain nutrients from the soil, making your grass even sparser. Equally, they can siphon vital nutrients from other plants in your garden, leaving them shrivelled. Another way to reduce the likelihood of weeds infiltrating your garden is to make sure you fill any spare lawn patches with fresh grass seeds. Once these germinate, they will grow new shoots, reducing the chance for weeds to take hold.
Although, be careful not to overpopulate the bare patches with seeds either. If there are too many competing with each other it can make it difficult for the new grass shoots to appear.
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