Mowing How high do you mow your lawn

[medic1050]

That's a bit higher than mine. I set my deck to 3.14159265358979323846...

The markings go on for a while more, but that's all I can recollect.

I tried that setting on a ZTM and all I could do was drive around in circles with a strange hankering for lemon meringue...

In all seriousness though I use a Flail mower on the back of my JD 4410 I just got it and have mowed twice first scalping pretty badly as I was trying to learn then after a bag of seed and two weeks of rain I set it a bit higher and used a hydraulic top link for more control and great success. I think I will set the roller for a slightly higher cut as we are on a sandy hill and the grass goes brown pretty quick. I move in 6 weeks to a 30 ac farm and got the flail for there but I'm using it at my current house to save the father in-law from having to come over on his riding mower. I think he is a little miffed about losing seat time but I'm gaining.

 

[jpm1]

I have been mowing about 4" up, takes the heat nice and feels nice on my old tired feet. All 37 acres gets mowed the same. . .John

 

[Ric27]

I have a Dixie Chopper and set it as high as it will go about 4.5" for the big yard around the property. That is about 2.5 acres and pretty ruff. The yard right around the house, about .35 acre I cut about 3". It gets hot as the devil here and the lawn will burn up if the roots are not well established.

 

[hizoot]

measure twice....cut once

 

[LBrown59]

4 inches above ground.

 

[Rich F]

3.0-3.5 inches.When it is to tall to cut 4 inches less clippings.

 

[Bartcephus]

'Bout 4" here in NE Texas.

 

[SixHoeBob]

Would there be any advantages to letting the grass 4" long going into winter?
Would that help insulate the roots from freezing? Or is it correct to cut the grass shorter on account of mold and matting?

 

[Greenacres12]

I mow mine at 2 1/2 inches the first month or so, then raise it to 3 inches for most of the summer. The low mowing early helps get rid of last year's dead grass and exposes the soil to more sun, so I get a little faster green-up. It's mostly Bermudagrass, which likes heat. Sometimes when we get too much rain, it gets too high. Then I often mow it at 3 1/2 inches until I can cut it twice in three days and get it back down to 3 inches before it gets ahead of me. The best height for your grass is probably a bit higher than most people prefer, but as several TBN folks have said, the grass requires less water and cuts with less effort if you cut it half an inch or an inch higher than suburbanites do. I have an area under some trees that is mostly fine Fescue. I cut that at 3 1/2 inches every time, because it looks scalped in places if I cut it lower.
With a Bermuda lawn, if you live in the 'burbs and notice that your grass shows a lot of brown every time you cut it in mid to late summer, here is a neat trick that may make the neighbors notice: cut it a half an inch lower, just once. That will make a lot of extra clippings, but it removes the top layer of brown thatch and makes your lawn look a lot greener the rest of the season. It's a pain in the neck, but when you are competing for the greenest lawn on the block, the results are worth it. Now that I live in the country, I don't worry about it.

 

[Greenacres12]

SixHoeBob - I doubt that 4 inches would cause extra problems, but I don't know that it would insulate the roots significantly better, either. If you have a problem with matting, consider cutting it extra low in the Spring (or dethatching it) just about the time it is beginning to grow again. If you do it pretty early in the year and you get a good rain storm, the extra cuttings will probably mostly float away, but some will work their way down and help the quality of the soil.