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Do you always mow a certain way, such as straight across or at an angle? I actually try to change up occasionally, because I have heard that it stimulates growth doing that. Since we had so much sun and no rain this year, I can't really tell if I did any good.

Mow anticlock wise then clockwise next time.......hey you can mow back and forth and you will get more clippings........just mow it!:confused2:

Hmm, clockwise? Gee, that's one I didn't think of, lol. Except I might get dizzy doing that. Well, I agree, just mow it! But some people are real fanatics about a "pattern".

My technique, now that I have two sons old enough to help, is to hop on the mower and start it up. They race each other out to see who gets the job.

Seriously, though, I tend to go around the outside edge first, the up and back in a zamboni-style pattern. Sort of like an oval that shifts with each loop, so I don't need any tight turns.

Manny said:

Do you always mow a certain way, such as straight across or at an angle? I actually try to change up occasionally, because I have heard that it stimulates growth doing that. Since we had so much sun and no rain this year, I can't really tell if I did any good.

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Changing your mowing patterns can help prevent the creation of ruts and/or compacted soil in your yard which leads to an uneven appearance and can eventually thin out or kill the grass.

When mowing with a 'Rotary'.....becarefull not to burn the lawn if you leave it stationary while going or on uneven surfaces can lead to 'Scalping' the lawn.
Always use a catcher to remove clippings from the lawn when mowing.
Air broom the lawn after mowing to remove any leaves or dropped clippings.
Edges should be done with a Blade edger.:biggrin:

I never really thought about it before, but I always mow the exact same way each time. How strange lol. I go up and down my lawn from left to right. Changing it up would seem strange.

Just to be different cut diagonally for a change... You may like the pattern ... :smile:KennyV

The best way to mow is 'Criss Cross'.........you cut the lawn extra well.........I do this to achieve the 'Ultimate Finish'.
Truly amazing that you can still get extra clippings doing this shaving method.:licking:

My mowing technique depends on how i would like my lawn to look like. If I want it to have a plaid look I go north to south back and forth then east to west back and forth and diagonally back and forth.

I usually just go from one side to the other, turn around, then go back again, and work like that.

My lawn looks like a golf course (if I do say so myself), so I must be doing something right :laughing:

My lot is half an acre and the lawn is back yard and front yard split by the driveway. Mowing takes me about an hour going round and round. If I was going to do fancy stuff like diagonals and parallel stripes, I'd have to allow at least 50% more time, if not double. Going clockwise without a mulching plate just piles the clippings towards the centre, making it hard on the mower and leaving a mess. So, the way I would do it is once around the fence line clockwise, then continue counterclockwise, blowing the clippings to the outside. The next time, I'd put on the mulching plate and do it all clockwise. Then, last year, when I thought I'd broken the axle on my 34" JD RER, I bought a used Honda 30" RER. Well, it turned out I could fix the JD (just a broken axle flange weld), so now I have a different system. I mow alternately with the Honda counterclockwise and with the JD clockwise with a mulching plate. The 4" difference in cutting width ensures I'm not driving in te same tire tracks every time.

I do 2 laps around the perimeter chute aimed in. Then stripe back and forth changing direction next time I mow.
Or I do the 2 laps chute aimed in then reverse direction to chute out and continue the laps until finished.

Most important thing is not the same way every time.

Yeah, I'd love to be able to stripe back and forth, but neither of my mowers can turn in their own width and making a hundred 3-point turns would wear me out and be way too time-consuming. I enjoy mowing and that would take the fun out of it and at my age, time is also important.

i just mow up and down it leaves good stripes...

I change the way I mow but my goal is to leave NO stripes or markings of any kind.
I hate the look of them.
After mowing I can see where I went but 24 hours later you can not it is just all smooth and no patterns just green and it all looks the same. :thumbsup:

I usually alternate the heading that I mow at every other week by roughly 45*. It cuts down on the ruts, and makes an interesting cross-hatch design.:wink:

I say just mow it but occasionally mix up the pattern.:smile:

Depends, usually i mow different patterns each time - keeps the grass from being cut the same way and looking bad - also i dont use a bagger - i leave the clippings on the yard and spread em around if too heavy.

I let the yard get pretty tall, then mow it still somewhat at a tall height, not scalping the yard - also run around with a spike areator before a good rain comes in, helps get water down to the roots easier.

wmalifer said:

Changing your mowing patterns can help prevent the creation of ruts and/or compacted soil in your yard which leads to an uneven appearance and can eventually thin out or kill the grass.

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Many years ago living in a rural area mowing your lawn was a chore, something that got taken care of after regular farm work. Appearance or direction wasn't even thought of other than freshly cut. It was usually done the fastest and easiest way. Most had push mowers but my neighbor had a IH Cub Cadet. He was one of the few who had such a mower. He took care of his very large lawn and it looked nice. A very neat and meticulous man in every way. Autos were spic and span, home maintained. He wore the fancy leather gloves when ever he did anything. Remember the ones with the little leather strap with the little red ball on the end the cinch them tight. Always mowed parallel to the roadway with no variation. He's no longer with us an now and elderly friend of my family owns that property. I have the chore mowing this lawn (freebee) and you can feel the jar each time your tires cross the trails as he went back and forth over the years. Save someone some abuse and do it the right way.

Often the size and shape of the lawn and the kind of mower you have (not ZT) severely limits the pattern you can mow. If I were to mow mine diagonally instead of my regular spiral pattern, it would take twice as long, an hour I'm not willing to give up. I use two mowers with different cutting widths alternately in opposite directions. However, even with one mower, you can work in a half or third-width lap to distribute the wheel ruts more evenly.

I cut in the most efficient and fastest way, Saves time and fuel.
No striping for me it is just grass i cut it and don't worry about it until it needs cutting again.

A bagger system makes a big difference you don't worry about throwing clippings on the walk or drive. You can mower in any direction what ever is the most efficient and not worry about the clippings.
Reduces mowing time saving time fuel wear and tear on the mower and looks better also. :thumbsup:

But the clippings provide mulch and extra lawn food and if you bag them, you have to find a way to dispose of them, which is time-consuming and not always free.

oldyellr said:

But the clippings provide mulch and extra lawn food and if you bag them, you have to find a way to dispose of them, which is time-consuming and not always free.

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Well we all have a different situation mine is the city picks up my trash I have 2 very large containers and full or empty I pay the same every week so putting the clippings in them cost me nothing.

Grass clippings provide 10 percent of the needed nitrogen so I have to put on the 90 percent in fertilizer so no big deal to just apply a little more and have a much better looking lawn.

Leaving the clippings lay causes Thatch and disease I stopped detaching when I started using the bagger.

IMO the lawn looks much nicer when I don't leave the clipping lay.
The cheap ones that use the blades to blow the grass up into the bag are junk if it is just a little wet it won't work.
My neighbor has a craftsman made like that and he has to run really slow can't feed it much grass mine has a blower on the end of the deck it will blow wet grass if you want to mow when it is wet.

I'm a big fan of the bagger system and in the fall it picks up the leaves and cuts the grass all at the same time.:thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

I used to switch up the pattern of my mowing with every mow. One week I'd go up and down, next week would be diagonal, next week side to side; because I too heard it stimulates growth. Well, I ended up getting lazy and just mowing in a spiral. Clock-wise, counterclock-wise, didn't really matter.

And I never noticed any difference with the growth of my turf. So I'd say "just mow it!" :laughing:

Now do you guys mow or edge first? The obvious answer is edge first, right? But I've been surprised at how many people mow before they edge.

:anyone:

Speaking as a head Greenkeeper I find it is important to alternate your mowing directions. I find that " washboarding" occurs which are ribbing lines resembling a washboard due to the grass being cut in the same direction. From a aesthetic point of view yeah but if u use a rotary mower for your lawn at home it doesn't really matter as your not cutting your lawn to the intensive like golf courses

What is your mowing "technique"?

1) Fill mower with gas.

2) Check oil, add as needed.

3) Start mower ...

Just kidding, I tend to mow my front yard, which is fairly unobstructed and visible four alternate ways. I always mow 2-3 strips around the edge and the flower bed in the middle, then alternate between across, up and down, diagonal from upper left to lower right, and diagonal from upper right to lower left. Keeps the tracking and mulching trails from being the obvious. The back yard has about 15 obstructions; trees, raised bed gardens, swing sets, etc. So I just mow it any which way I can.

When I have the tractor style mower I mower in a clockwise circle. Now that I have a ZT once around the out side and then back and forth.

We change mowing directions each time we are on a yard. I have found this works best for me, it seems to keep the yard in better condition.

Not only should you change directions, you should also work in a lap cutting at half width, so you're not running in the same wheel tracks, creating ruts.

My front yard is about an acre and a half and is on a slight slope towards the road,so everyone going down the road gets a good look at it,so I try to keep it looking pretty good.We alternate mowing patterns every three or four cuts.We have Ky 31 Fescue in the yard,and it tends to get memory in it and will kinda lay down on you if you don't change your patterns.We leave our clippings on the yard...we knock it down and come back with the deck raising all the up and blow out the clippings.Works out great.Something else,both our mowers are set exactly the same height....not by my design,just happened....so we can cut side by side and you can't tell any difference.jc