The length of your grass is vital to providing a healthy weed free lawn. Unfortunately, some people try to obtain a bowling green effect and cut a lawn to short. Bowling greens and golf courses are not low maintenance. They have teams of green keepers spending large amounts of time and money to achieve the finish they need.

The ideal length for your grass is about 3 inches, but for most people a good compromise
is 2 inches

Grass grows by using the energy of the sun to turn carbon dioxide and water into sugar and carbohydrates, which it then uses to fuel its growth. Within the grass, the green pigment known as chlorophyll makes this happen through a process known as photosynthesis. Therefore, if you cut too much off it cannot photosynthesise and will turn brown rather than green.

Lawns cut to short, dry out quicker and uses its energy trying to regrow the blade instead of establishing deep roots.

Only cut 1/3 rd off the grass of at any time. If you take too much off in one mow, it shocks the grass plant and suffocates it. So for example, if your grass is 3 inches tall take 1 inch off, leave for 4/5 days and then take another 1/3 rd off.

Make sure your mower blades are sharp. If they are not they will rip the grass rather than cutting it. Ideally, they need sharpening every 10 hours of use.

Try to mow in different directions as this help root strength and will catch any sneaky weeds, which will naturally grow with the cut.

A word on clippings
It is best to leave the grass clippings on the lawn as they contain good levels of nitrogen. It is completely untrue that they contribute to thatch as 85 % of grass is water which will break down quickly. However, clippings should only be left on a lawn during the summer when decomposition is quick and it is important to ensure that they are not left in clumps on your lawn.