What height do you cut your grass at?

Doc

Admin
Staff member
Gold Site Supporter
I cut tonight. 4" seemed to high so I backed it down to 3 1/2. Seemed like a good healthy length. I don't think it will grow faster, but will it start looking like it needs cut sooner than 7 or 8 days. It was 8 days since my last mowing. So, I'm going to try to go 8 days again after this cut.
I'll let you know the outcome next Thursday or Friday.

Opps, just noticing I did not follow up on my results. I have found my yard looks healthier and I do not have to mow any sooner cutting it higher than previous years. :thumb:
I have cut at 4 1/4 inches for the past 4 or 5 cuts and I like the results. The areas where it would clump are no longer an issue (places where the dogs fertilize grow thicker and used to clump if cut the same height as the rest of the yard).
I see no downside to cutting approx 4 inches instead of 3. (4 1/4 is an easier setting to get the cotter pin through than the 4 inche setting, that is the only reason I'm at 4 1/4 :D )
 

olcowhand

Member
Too dry to mow at all, so my height of cut is 0"! Haven't mowed in almost 2 weeks & will not mow until it decides to rain. Right now it's nearly all brown....crunches when you walk on it.
 

Doc

Admin
Staff member
Gold Site Supporter
I'm in south eastern part of Ohio and we've had plenty of rain. It must be passing just north of your location. We have a 30% chance today and 50% chance tomorrow. I'd gladly send it your way if I could. :D
 

Glowplug

Member
I'm in south eastern part of Ohio and we've had plenty of rain. It must be passing just north of your location. We have a 30% chance today and 50% chance tomorrow. I'd gladly send it your way if I could. :D

No kidding! I live just barely north of Lexington, Kentucky. We seem to be getting plenty of rain as well. I could mow every 4 days if I had the time!

I DO think that 99% of the general homeowning public probably mow "too short".
 

olcowhand

Member
The entire north half of Ky has been getting plenty of rain. I'm 25 miles SE of Elizabethtown, Ky. We only had one rain here since May 25th or thereabouts. That gave us 1/4" and the sun popped out & the 95 degree heat evaporated it in an hour. The spotty storms have come within a few miles of here. Near small town of Buffalo had one side get 2" rain (in 30 minutes), it's other side got 1/2", we got the 1/4". Johnsongrass is even curling up!:eek:
Had sprinkles this am, but not enough to dampen my balding head. Been watering my garden with weep-hose for over 3 weeks now. Last year our corn crop was awful. Usually have all the corn for silage & grain needs. Last year we had silage but NO grain period...all had to go into silage. Corn is hovering around $8/bushel, so if we have a crop failure we're gonna be hurting......BAD. We contracted our feed till this September, but any new contract will be nearly double last years's cost! Feeding 100 head grown dairy cows & right at 100 head backgrounded heifers is terribly expensive as it is right now.
Hoping for rain soon. At our corn's stage of growth it can pull out easy enough IF we get rain within a week. After that the harvest will be cut sharply. Saw a drought map of the US this morning on the farm report, but didn't include my area.....they need to come see our burnt down pasture!
 

Glowplug

Member
Man I feel for ya!
I'll do a rain dance up here in Lexington and direct it toward E-Town for ya! Hope things get better.
 

olcowhand

Member
Man I feel for ya!
I'll do a rain dance up here in Lexington and direct it toward E-Town for ya! Hope things get better.

Thanks GP. Been through worse years & survived, but doesn't do much for morale....or the dinner table for that matter. It is what it is though...gotta do the best we can with what we've got. Every average person is getting pinched one way or another.
Sorry for taking this thread off kilter, just worked out that way, not intended.
 
Places with an excellent allotment of rain...i.e. Vermont, The GREEN Mountain State, allows us to cut shorter than most places in the U.S.

If we experience a shortage of rain...if you want green lawns then you have to increase the height of your cut...over the last 10 years...we've only had one fairly dry summer that required adjustment of cutting...and this is WITHOUT fertilizing over the last 10 years!!!
 

billbill1

Member
I have the riders set as high as they will mow and the rear finish mower set to match them. My guess is just over 4". While it's rainy, I mow once a week and it sure looks healthier cut higher. There has been massive flooding within 40 miles of where I live, taking the crops with it. The lakes near me are way up, most of the boat ramps are under water. Too much rain some places and none elsewhere, crazy!!
 
Top