Flattening not cutting the grass

[Keitai]

This bloke from the block of flats accused me of flattening not cutting the grass, he said blade isn't sharp but had it serviced a few weeks back. Is he talking nonsense. The grass is cut high as it grows incredibly thick and quickly

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

Why not let your horse graze on it instead?

 

[Old Salt]

Just because the mower was serviced it doesnt mean the blade has been sharpened unless thats what you asked for.

Cut how you want and tell the bloke in the flats if he can do it better you are willing to let him do it weekly until October

 

[pcaouolte]

It is difficult to tell from the photos but it does look very long. If those photos are after you have cut it then I think that you should try to get it lower (gradually reduce the height of your cut over a few weeks, don't hack it down low in one go).

You should try to remove about one third of the grass height each time you cut, so if the grass is 75mm high you cut it down to 50mm. The maximum cut height of most mowers is 75mm so if the grass is more than about 110mm high before you cut it the cut isn't likely to be satisfactory and the mower may struggle.

Wet grass doesn't cut as well as dry grass, tall grass takes a long time to dry out.

 

[cwhaley]

It's too early to be cutting grass short. It's still cold and we get a lot of grey, sun-less days. Blades are where grass stores its food to get through the Winter. You should only be cutting around a third off at a time to avoid sending it into shock.

Not knowing what it looked like before, it's not possible to understand how much was taken off.

It does look clumpy and like it could do with cutting a bit shorter, though. A mower with a nice heavy roller on the back can help further, too.

 

[ETAF]

just cut mine today , and looks the same , grass was wet, and i sharpen my own blade over the winter - so it was sharp
Honda Izy

was it wet

whats the mower

 

[JohnD]

I got a replacement blade for my big flymo recently. It was surprisingly cheap and less effort than taking the old one off and sharpening it.

At this time of year you need to take the cuttings off. How big was your heap?

 

[foxhole]

You can’t cut wet grass effectively , just flattens it .

 

[Odds]

It's too early to be cutting grass short. It's still cold and we get a lot of grey, sun-less days. Blades are where grass stores its food to get through the Winter. You should only be cutting around a third off at a time to avoid sending it into shock.

Not knowing what it looked like before, it's not possible to understand how much was taken off.

It does look clumpy and like it could do with cutting a bit shorter, though. A mower with a nice heavy roller on the back can help further, too.

Only thing i'd add to that is keeping your grass long helps it avoid burn in very hot weather.

 

[cwhaley]

Only thing i'd add to that is keeping your grass long helps it avoid burn in very hot weather.

Agree with you. Father-in-law has his lawn done by Green Thumb and they almost scalp it when they mow it! Last year it looked like the Sahara.

I cut it a little longer but tend to keep the sprinkler on it if we've had no rain for a while.

 

[Odds]

Agree with you. Father-in-law has his lawn done by Green Thumb and they almost scalp it when they mow it! Last year it looked like the Sahara.

I cut it a little longer but tend to keep the sprinkler on it if we've had no rain for a while.

I encourage folk to let moss grow into the lawn; contrary to advocates of 'the perfect lawn'. Irish moss, for instance, can make a lawn feel springy underfoot, feels fantastic on bare feets and springs to life with small, white flowers that look lovely against the green grass. Better for small patches of lawn as you're advised to cut it by hand. I planted chamomile in one a couple of years ago and it's getting character now.

 

[robinbanks]

A mower with a nice heavy roller on the back can help further, too.

Yeap, though can you imagine what the bloke in the flats is gonna say about flattening it then?!

 

[robinbanks]

The grass is cut high as it grows incredibly thick and quickly

I'd have expected it to look a bit smoother than that if that's just after it was cut; was the mower set so high it didn't take much off? Also do you have a grass bag on the mower or do you mulch it back in? Picture 2 looks like it has some faded clumps of cuttings in the distance. If you're not bagging you really need to be cutting very regularly and taking barely any off to avoid huge balls of grass collecting on the lawn. Either that or do it before high winds are forecast

 

[Burnerman]

Don’t expect the mower blade to be like a razor - they aren’t even when new. However it should have a good edge on it and hopefully be notch free.
Keep the machine at high speed and raise the cutting height for a while, remove mulched grass until things dry out a bit.
John

 

[JohnD]

I use the cuttings as a thick mulch to suppress weeds around plants and under hedges. Some people dislike the look of it.

I get the thickest cuts before the dahlias are underway, they quickly spread and hide it. It rots and the worms take it down by autumn. Ready for the leaf mulch.