As far as ride-on mowers are concerned I was taught to mow the lawn in a spiral pattern - starting around the perimeter of the yard and gradually working my way inward toward the center.
My neighbor mows his in a pattern that can best be described as similar to that of a zamboni cleaning a hockey rink - one or two big passes around the perimeter, then bisect the area, then work your way across.
Then I see the commercial guys mowing in stripes - back-and-forth, back-and-forth,…
I usually try and mow in a different pattern each time, whether it be circular, stripes or diagonal, in an attempt to disperse the tracks and make sure permanent lines don’t form.
This time of year (Northern Hemisphere) you’ll want to make sure your blade is sharp to lessen the stress on the blade. Also, never remove more than 1/3 the length in any given cutting.
I usually try and mow in a different pattern each time, whether it be circular, stripes or diagonal, in an attempt to disperse the tracks and make sure permanent lines don’t form.
This time of year (Northern Hemisphere) you’ll want to make sure your blade is sharp to lessen the stress on the turf. Also, never remove more than 1/3 the length in any given cutting.
In Britain, if you have a mower with a roller, it is usual to mow in stripes. The vast majority of people don’t have lawns big enough to warrant a ride-on mower. I used to mow the lawn twice - first one way, then again at right angles to the original cut.
The first thing to do is raise the deck – most lawns are cut way too short. I set my mower to the highest setting, and that works just great. Another consideration is whether to bag, mulch, or rake. I mulch, that is I don’t discharge any grass, all of it falls back into the yard. This only works if you keep the lawn well-trimmed, otherwise you end up raking anyway.
As far as pattern, my understanding is that one should vary the pattern – go around in a spiral one time, then go back and forth, then diagonally. This avoids compressing the lawn with the tires in a pattern, a practice that can cause problems over time.
My personal preference is to alternate not only the patterns, but to divide the lawn into sections and do those sections in different patterns. It makes it so much more interesting, although I do sacrafice somewhat in efficiency.
There are a few parts of the lawn that just must be mowed the same way each time, usually along the edge – I do those first, then make patterns as I wish.
I change the pattern just cause I get bored with the same one. I don’t think it really matters to the grass. Plus, some areas you just have to do the same way cause if you don’t the grass gets cut too close.
I think the reason behind doing the perimeter first and gradually moving in closer to the center lies in not cutting your thrown grass again. (Assuming you are throwing it out of the circle.)
My question is: Why do some riding lawn mowers have headlights? Do people really mow in the dark?
My summer job is working grounds crew at a golf course. When mowing greens we only cut the “perimeter” every other day to avoid leaving a ring on the outside and ruining the edge. We mow fairways three different directions: “straight”, “at an angle”, and “at the other angle.” I think we switch it up to avoid cutting a pattern into the grass. Also, it might just look fancier to have crossing patterns. Mowing rough is pretty much a free for all. We don’t worry about a pattern since it takes about 15 hours to mow it all going as fast as possible.
If you cut the grass too low, it will appear yellow. After awhile the grass will get used to being cut lower and look fine. Also, if your’re using a rotary mower, sometimes going over a hill or big bump the grass will be scalped and look like crap.
There’s a whole science to this stuff, but after spending 8 hours mowing today, I can’t think of much.
My neighbor mows her lawn only after dark. Many times, I can’t even see her out there, it’s so dark. And she only has the regular kind of push lawnmower. I’ve always wondered how she could see where she was going…
I don’t know that much about proper (anything :)) but I know if you want a checker board pattern mow one direction with the blade set high, then the other (perpendicular) with the blade set down.
I used to work with a guy who cut his at about 3 AM. I asked him if his neighbors complained. He said, “Nope. I thought about it before I did it and I realized that I don’t hear them cutting the grass when I sleep during the day, so they won’t hear me cutting the grass at night.”
I live near Colonial Williamsburg http://www.colonialwilliamsburg.com/ which essentially is a colonial town populated by historic interpreters. Some of my friends have parents who work as interpreters and usually live extremely close to the town, in time-period-perfect households. They have codes that prevent them from mowing during the day, so tourists can’t see modern machinery during their vacations. :dubious: They all have to do it at night, and apparently isn’t so bad once you get used to it.
I personally mow in the standard circular clockwise pattern because then you don’t get “trails” of grass clippings that you might if you did it counter-clockwise or diagonal. I have noticed the grass dies much quicker this way, though, so YMMV.
Counter-clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere, clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere, and in rows on the Equator. That way, the Coriolis force pushes you along!
I’ve always felt that the caveats against mowing with the same pattern were overstated. I’ve mowed my lawn with the same “zamboni” pattern for 15 years with no discernable tracks or grain.
I always mow diagonally – it looks neater than the other houses’ lawns. And I try to rotate the diagonal direction if I remember how I did it last time. Then, as you walk or drive past, it looks diagonal from both directions.
