It is easy and it is important to know how to mow the lawn correctly. In fact it is your first lawn to defense against weeds, pests and lawn disease. While you may think that you are just cutting the grass, you are actually creating a healthy environment for lawn growth every time you mow your lawn correctly.
First, a few words about mowing safely, every piece of outdoor power equipment comes with an operator’s manual. Refer to this manual before you use your equipment to make sure that you are operating it correctly and safely. Never start any outdoor power equipment in a garage, shed or other building. Also, be cautious when adding fuel. Only add fuel when the mower is turned off and cool, and only do this outdoors.
Before you start your mower, remove any potential hazards such as toys, branches and debris from your yard. Also keep children and pets out of the mowing area and under the watchful care of a responsible adult other than the operator. Never allow a child to ride on a riding mower or walk along side with you even with the blades shut off. They may fall off and be seriously injured or in the fear with the safe machine operation.
Children who have been given rides in the past may suddenly appear in the mowing area for another ride. For this reason, use extreme care when approaching blind corners, shrubs, trees or other objects that may block your view of a child. Be alert and turn off the engine if a child enters the mowing area. In general, never allow child under the age of 16 to operate any type of outdoor power equipment.
Wear appropriate clothing when you mow, long pants and sturdy shoes. Never sandals or tennis shoes. Work gloves and safety glasses are recommended. Remember to only mow when you have enough daylight and do not mow when the lawn is wet. For more lawn mower safety, please visit our lawn mower safety tutorial.
If you are using the mower for the first time be sure to check the oil and add it if needed. Many new mowers are shipped without oil in them and running a mower without oil will severely damage the engine.
Most walk behind mowers requires priming and choking to start the engine. This provides the right mixture of fuel and air for combustion when you pull the starter chord. Refer to your operator’s manual for instructions on how to prime and choke your mower. A new mower and a mower that is tuned up each year should start quickly. If it takes many pulls to start your mower, review the starting procedure in your operator’s manual. Stale gas is the number one reason a mower will not start. You can keep your gas fresh by adding a fuel freshener to the gas tank or by using a fresh start gas cap which automatically drips freshener into the fuel. To keep you mower running right and starting quickly, be sure to tune up the engine once a year. You can learn more about doing a tune up at www.yardsmarts.com.
When you mow your lawn, follow the one-third rule. Cut only one third of the length of grass blade in anyone mowing. If your lawn is three inches tall this means you only want to cut off one inch. If your lawn has gotten very long, maybe you were on vacation or it has been raining for days, you may have to mow twice within a few days cutting no more than one third of the length of the grass each time.
You can easily adjust your mower deck so that it only cuts the amount of grass you want to cut. Be careful that you do not scalp your lawn, scalping means cutting the grass too short. Some people mistakenly do this, thinking they will have to then cut the grass less often. But scalping actually injures and stresses your lawn making it easier for pests and disease to take hold. Change your mowing direction from week to week. If you cut the lawn from North to South last week, mow east to West this week. This helps you achieve an even cut and prevents wheel rots from forming.
Finally always be sure that your mower blade is sharp. A dull blade tears the grass rather than cutting it cleanly and damaged grass blades are always more susceptible to pest and lawn disease. The safest and easiest way to ensure a sharp blade on the mower is have a professional sharpen it at least once a year.
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