Cutting The Lawn/grass

[Mondy]

Serious question.

Frost free here for weeks now and seemingly into the distant future by the looks of things (thanks to Mr Anticyclonic Gloom High Pressure)

My question is in the topic title. If there is technically nothing stopping you cutting grass all year round, is it advisable to do so at the moment? Granted, it is v.early, but in the current weather setup, what harm could i do? ie the temp is cold, but not freezing, and hardly unlikely to wreck it...or is it? It's damn dry too.

Just a thin skimming of the lawn , even.

All responses welcome, especially from avid gardeners

[Cheeseburger]

Should be fine Mondy. As long as its not mown too short, and you dont take more than a third of the leaf blade away. At this time of year when soil temps and light intensity are low, its better to keep the lawn long rather than short as there is more leaf blade area to collect light for photosynthesis, helping to keep the plant healthy.

Grass is a pretty resilient plant and will recover from most stresses like frost and mowing fairly quickly.

[Thundersquall]

It's probably not a good idea to mow the lawn in January, as the mower will probably make a mess of the lawn, bringing mud to the surface. Unless it's been dry and sunny for some time, I guess.

[kippure]

Cutting your lawn in "winter" isnt a good idea mainly because you introduce the chance of moss growing.

It loves the cold damp conditions that if theres any space in your lawn it will grow like wild fire.

Thats a no no but its not a bad idea to feed your lawn to just help it along a little with a moss killer in the mix :lol: .

[Mondy]

Thanks, folks :lol:

Was unsure (still am, i suppose) maybe hold back for a few weeks yet...

Moss has never been a problem here. The lawn is on a slope, with a drainage ditch to help. Currently very dry and "looks" like it needs cutting. Just goes to show how mild winter has been, i guess!!

I do know Cheeseburger is a greenkeeper to trade, so his input is duly noted too!

Shall keep you posted.

[Stoxs]

hey mondy i think it will be fine to cut the grass as long as there is no frost iminent i.e a couple of days .as cheese said don`t cut it to low just a quick trim will be fine .Think about it we are still grazing grass down here and it will still grow when the temps warm up .actually some grasses have been growing since christmas so it won`t take to much for it to be away.get the mower out man , give you somthing to do tommorrow

[Mondy]

hehe!

Cheers, Stoxs...yep, many/most people associate grass cutting in warmer, Spring-like condx...i know i do - just seems odd that the prevailing weather at the moment is probably ideal for mowing!....

9% sure i'll cut it tomorrow. If only a graze. :lol:

(quite what the neighbours will think, i'll never know ----stuff 'em)!

[I can't believe it's not better]

Fancy having a lawn! Haw, haw,haw! Oh dear me *Crying at last*. :lol:

"Rhubarb, rhubarb, rhubarb".

*weep, weep* -_-

[Mondy]

Hmmmm!

I forgot to add icbinb --- need to get the old Ox outta the shed :lol:

[Stoxs]

yea go for it , a couple of pointers what mower you got if you got one with wheels and a rotary cut (blade goes horizontal ) then that will be fine if you got a cylinder(blade runs vertical )with a roller on then this might struggle with damp soil .hope that akes sense :lol:

in your picture that is a cylinder mower !!!and an ox

[I can't believe it's not better]

Ah! I see. Fairly large grounds then. Still that old Qualcast mooer ought to handle it.

[Shiny_Bottom_1]

Speaking of grass...can anybody advise the best time to sow new grass seeds? About 1/5 of our grass area has pretty much disappeared since late autumn. Whether it was my mass mowing or the hawthorn leaves, not sure myself.

[Stoxs]

Speaking of grass...can anybody advise the best time to sow new grass seeds? About 1/5 of our grass area has pretty much disappeared since late autumn. Whether it was my mass mowing or the hawthorn leaves, not sure myself.

give it another few weeks yet mate early spring will be fine get temps up a bit . get the ground quiet dry rake until a fine seed bed that is not loose and sringle seed on then rake in seed into top half inch then roll or tread in and hope for a few days of light rain ,it will come up lovely

[Cheeseburger]

As Stoxs has said, Spring is the best time. Once the temps have started to rise above 10oC and the frosts have ended.

[noggin]

Agree that Spring is a good time, but must keep an eye on the watering. It's best kept moist for a few weeks after sowing. But if you water, do it really gently or you will blast the seeds out. Regarding raking over after sowing....I found that this just resulted in the seeds ending up in piles, with bare areas in between. So what I do is get me riddle out (or sieve, if you prefer!) and sieve some soil over the top of the seeds to make sure they are well covered.

Don't forget the biggest problem of all......BIRDS. They will have every last seed. What I do (and it's tedious, but it works) is to use sticks and string and set up a sort of latticework over the seeded area to keep the blighters off. Or you could lay some plastic netting over the seeded area, anchored down with sticks around the edge. Keep it raised a couple of inches off the ground, though, or the seedlings will become tangled up in it. In addition, tie some supermarket carrier bags to the top of the sticks....they blow around and frighten the birds away.

[Stoxs]

Agree that Spring is a good time, but must keep an eye on the watering. It's best kept moist for a few weeks after sowing. But if you water, do it really gently or you will blast the seeds out. Regarding raking over after sowing....I found that this just resulted in the seeds ending up in piles, with bare areas in between. So what I do is get me riddle out (or sieve, if you prefer!) and sieve some soil over the top of the seeds to make sure they are well covered.

Don't forget the biggest problem of all......BIRDS. They will have every last seed. What I do (and it's tedious, but it works) is to use sticks and string and set up a sort of latticework over the seeded area to keep the blighters off. Or you could lay some plastic netting over the seeded area, anchored down with sticks around the edge. In addition, tie some supermarket carrier bags to the top of the sticks....they blow around and frighten the birds away.

another handy tip on keeping birds off is old or unwanted CD`s tied on sticks FLASH like a gooden ,gets rid of all your AOL discs

[frogesque]

Mowing now will tend to compact the lawn at a time when earthworms are fairly inactive. As has been mentioned it will encourage moss by reducing the aeration of the soil and encouraging surface water if we get a wet spring. Unless it's a real problem I would leave until March for its first light high cut of the year. Scarify in April to remove dead moss and thatch once growth is fully underway.