How to Mow a Lawn Professionally?

Table Of Contents

Introduction

You do not need to be a professional mower to know how to mow a lawn professionally. If you follow the detailed steps below, you will end up mowing it even better because no one knows your lawn better than you.

It is important to make your house and its surroundings look good and clean. The first thing people are going to notice is your lawn. If it is bushy and full of debris, it will give a bad impression of you.

In order to present your house as neatly clean and aesthetically pleasing to look at, you may want to take good care of your lawn.

Many people do not bother with mowing their lawns regularly. Little did they know that if the grass is long and not clean, it will attract snakes and hurtful insects.

Cutting your grass regularly not only protects you and your kids from harmful creatures but also gives your house a beautiful look.

Mowing lawns seems like a very easy activity to do. Some people do it as a hobby to spend time. Yet they do it the wrong way most of the time.

It is not because they are careless but rather ignorant. It is because mowing needs you to be focused on details that people usually ignore. As the saying goes, the devil is in the details.

So, following the exact steps and details would make you a better mower, even a professional one if you practice enough.

To begin with, mowing a lawn like professional consists of four essential steps. Mowing, edging, trimming, and blowing. If you follow these steps along with the below-mentioned tips and tricks, your neighbors will be impressed by your neat and beautiful work.

Before explaining the steps, I would like to draw your attention to two important things:

First, be sure you are safe by wearing safety glasses, earplugs, covering clothes, and safety boots. That is because we do not want you to harm yourself in the process.

Second, you need to make sure you have all the equipment that you need: a mower, a trimmer, and a blower.

Steps of professional mowing

1- Mowing

When to mow

It is preferable to mow your lawn late in the morning when the grass is no longer dump, and it is not that dry from the sun yet. You can also mow your grass early in the evening.

In spring and summer, you can mow your lawn each two to three weeks. In winter, you may not want to cut the grass because it is wet.

Cutting wet grass is dangerous for you, the machine may slip away and you end up hurting yourself which is the last thing we would want to happen.

Also, you would dig up the grass easily with the mower’s wheels and damage its roots. If you damage the roots you will end up with patches all over the lawn. So, avoid cutting wet grass because we want your lawn to look flawless.

Sometimes, it is not that bad if you mow your lawn in winter if you are being careful enough. First, cool air would freshen up the roots of your grass which protects it from mold, moss, and fungi.

Second, it reveals patches since the grass is short so you can seed some again which will be ready to sprout in spring.

How often do you mow your lawn

It depends on how much you fertilize and water your lawn. If you do it very often then two times a month is good. But if you forget to water the grass sometimes, then let the grass grow longer first.

Also, if you keep cutting it while it is short, the grass will stress and turn into a yellowish-green while we want your lawn to scream green.

How to mow

Before starting to mow, try to blow all leaves if there are any to the center of the lawn. That would make mowing less messy and you will not stain anything near the lawn; like the garage door or your car.

You may also want to check for any debris like rocks or dolls left there because they would ruin your mowing machine.

The first thing to consider is to divide your lawn into small sections like squares. It makes it easier for you to remember the places you have mowed and not miss on any spot. The lawn would not look good if it is uneven.

If you want your grass to stay straight and always look healthy, you may want to change the directions of your mowing. If you keep mowing the grass from left to right all the time, it will lean to the side. Be patient, and take from 2 to 3 passes and change directions.

How fast:

Mowing faster does not necessarily mean mowing well. If the mower is not automatic, then you may want to go slow so that the machine does not bump and miss out on some grass.

Especially if you have slopes or hills in your yard. You can check my suggestions for best mowers for hills.

Going fast would damage the grass because it will not be cutting anymore but ripping off and digging up the grass.

Also, it is important to know how to turn the mower properly. Make sure both wheels are moving. Avoid staying still while moving one wheel and sliding the other one.

That is one mistake people often do that makes one’s heart hurts. To turn without harming the grass, you should let one wheel move forward and the other backward, slowly.

How short the grass should be:

It may be satisfying to keep cutting the grass. However, be careful of scalping, which means cutting the grass too short. The grass should not be less than 3 inches.

If you go shorter than you may endanger the life of grass. Keep in mind it is a living organism as well. Short grass cannot produce nutrients and gets dry quickly.

It is not always a bad idea to cut the grass short. For example in winter, you can cut it short because the grass will always be wet and recover. Besides, it would make your lawn look neat all winter.

If the grass is very long, avoid cutting it very short all at once. That would shock and stress the grass and it may turn yellow and struggle to recover and die. Do not hesitate to cut it twice to make sure it will not stress.

For instance, you can mow half of the height you want to cut in total. Then leave it to rest a couple of days before you carry on cutting the second half.

It is true that it takes longer, yet it is better to be patient cutting it than spend months trying to revive your dead yellow grass.

Another important thing to consider is to choose the correct height in the mowing machine before you start. Especially that different kinds of grass need to be cut at different heights.

The case differs in summer, the grass would better be left long. Long grass in hot weather helps it remain damp inside and moisturized. This will protect the grass from drying.

2- Edging and Trimming

Edging is an important step in learning how to mow your lawn professionally. It is cutting the grass that comes out of the lawn and over the concrete.

Edging can come before mowing because it does not affect the process. However, trimming comes after all the mowing and the edging.

It comes after because you are going to follow the height of the mowed grass as you are trimming. Also, avoid edging at the end. That is because the grass gets straighter when you edge it and the grass would not look even.

Both edging and trimming need planning. If you keep jumping from one edge to the other, you may forget a certain area. So start from the right front and follow with the line till you end.

Trimming is not for long grass on the edge only. It is also used for obstacles in general. It can be used around areas your mower can not reach like around trees, pipes, flower beds, and fences.

When you are using the trimmer, do not give the machine full throttle to make sure you will not ruin the edges.

3- Blowing

It is really important to clean up after you mow your lawn. Unlike the trimming and edging, in blowing you give the machine full throttle. You can check this guide in case you need help choosing a leaf blower. That is to make sure you blew all your grass off the street and the sidewalks.

Although your lawn would look much nicer if you use a bag for the clippings and throw them away, there is a better solution for this. It saves you both the energy and time and benefits your grass.

The reason why we blow leaves and grass back to the mown is that they can serve as mulch for the grass. In other words, it provides it with nutrients and helps it grow longer and greener than the Grinch.

4- Extra tips and tricks

Here is some extra information that you need to know:

Sharpen your blades to make cuts clean and neat. It also helps to lower the chances of your grass getting bacteria.
Avoid cutting the grass when it is wet because it makes the blades damp and causes them to be rusty. The grass will also stick there and it will be hard to clean once it dries. So either avoid that or clean your machine right away.
Make sure your machines are not running out of gas or oil so that they do not break down in the middle of the process.
The mower is pushed only forward; do not try to push it backward because it is not safe.
If your lawn is small, try to buy a small mower to make the mowing easier and vice versa. If you have a small one I suggest Greenworks mower. You can also check more mowers for small yard in here. If your lawn is huge, avoid buying a small mower because mowing will take you forever.
Store your equipment well in winter so that nothing breaks and no fluids spillover. Also, do not forget to use a fuel stabilizer to keep your fuel in a good state.
You check your machines’ services once a year to be sure nothing is wrong with your equipment and you are ready for mowing your lawn.
As a last tip, I would love to remind you to always check the manual of the machines before using them or when they break down.

Conclusion

To wrap up, one does not need to have a degree in mowing to know how to mow a lawn professionally. It all depends on paying attention to details and being extra aware and careful during the process.

You can be the best at it if you do not underestimate the importance of each step. As well as that of the above-mentioned tips and tricks.

Aside from being professional, mowing can be a very fun activity that you enjoy doing once in a while. It is an opportunity for you to focus on reality rather than just zone out.

Mowing can also help you be aware of spots in your lawn you would have never seen before if you have not mowed. It is your chance to be a good sensor; someone who is good at noticing details of his surroundings.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you use a trimmer to cut your lawn?

Well, are you ready to take forever doing that? Because a trimmer is used for areas that the mower cannot reach. You can only use it for small areas to even the grass.

What do you do in case you lost control over the mower?

You should turn it off and check the manual. If it is still not working right, check to service for help before you cause any damage to your lawn.

Can you use the trimmer to blow leaves to save time?

Yes, you can use the trimmer to blow leaves but only when they are close to you. However, be careful of any debris out there. You do not want to touch any hard objects and ruin your machine.