Grass type

[Lawnnut]

Okay so I have a couple of different questions to some of you might think these are silly or stupid questions,but I'm kinda starting out and learning.

1. In the pictures what type of grass do I have ? I know most of it is KGB but what is the thicker stuff ?

2. For some reason my grass is flopping down when I cut it at 4 inches, so I cut it at 3 inches and it seems to help. I have a craftsmen lawn mower. On the deck height level 5 which is 3 inches and level 6 is 4 inches. There doesn't seem to be a option for a mowing height of 3.25 or 3.50 which is what I need . So can I put the front on level 5 and the rear wheels at level 6 ? I measured and this will give me about 3.25, or will this give me a uneven cut ? Something is telling me the deck number should match front/rear. When I put the rear on level 6 and front at level 5 and I measured it seems to be about the same height all around.

[Lawnnut]

Okay so I have a couple of different questions to some of you might think these are silly or stupid questions,but I'm kinda starting out and learning.

1. In the pictures what type of grass do I have ? I know most of it is Kbg but what is the thicker stuff ?

2. For some reason my grass is flopping down when I cut it at 4 inches, so I cut it at 3 inches and it seems to help. I have a craftsmen lawn mower. On the deck height level 5 which is 3 inches and level 6 is 4 inches. There doesn't seem to be a option for a mowing height of 3.25 or 3.50 which is what I need . So can I put the front on level 5 and the rear wheels at level 6 ? I measured and this will give me about 3.25, or will this give me a uneven cut ? Something is telling me the deck number should match front/rear. When I put the rear on level 6 and front at level 5 and I measured it seems to be about the same height all around.

[PW405]

The second two pictures are Fescue. The first one may be a different variety of fescue that is finer leaf, but possibly kentucky bluegrass? Not entirely sure. Somebody here will know though!

[Lawnnut]

I wish I could get rid of the thick grass and just get kbg

[Green]

Is this a push or sit-down mower?

[Lawnnut]

Is this a push or sit-down mower?

Push

[Green]

Oh, ok. It must be similar to mine, then. But mine goes up to 3.75 inches. It's from 2014. I do get some floppiness at the highest setting. I just made the switch this past week.

Imho, the only reason to tilt the deck would probably be if you had trouble doing leaf mulching with it flat.

[GaryCinChicago]

I wish I could get rid of the thick grass and just get kbg

Hello neighbor, from Midway.

Your wish can not be granted because someone seeded a northern mix ( KBG, Rye & Fescue) which may have also included a couple/few undesirables too like K-31.

PS. With this rain, keeping your grass too tall only invites disease. Tall grass (blades) needs to be dry.

[Lawnnut]

I wish I could get rid of the thick grass and just get kbg

Hello neighbor, from Midway.

Your wish can not be granted because someone seeded a northern mix ( KBG, Rye & Fescue) which may have also included a couple/few undesirables too like K-31.

PS. With this rain, keeping your grass too tall only invites disease. Tall grass (blades) needs to be dry.

Lol so what if I reseed kbg every year ??

[Marinegrunt]

Without doing a complete reno you'll always have some fescue. There's still time to plan for a reno in the fall if you plan asap and make sure the seed you want is currently available.

[bpgreen]

I wish I could get rid of the thick grass and just get kbg

Hello neighbor, from Midway.

Your wish can not be granted because someone seeded a northern mix ( KBG, Rye & Fescue) which may have also included a couple/few undesirables too like K-31.

PS. With this rain, keeping your grass too tall only invites disease. Tall grass (blades) needs to be dry.

Lol so what if I reseed kbg every year ??

You'll get some new KBG in the mix. Maybe not much, because not much will germinate in an established lawn. If you really want an all KBG lawn, you'll probably need to kill what you have and stay over (renovate).

[Lawnnut]

So would anyone know does it really matter to the soil if the grass is cut at 3 or 4 . Yes I understand 4 is better health wise, but does it really help out that much ?? Now that I'm cutting at 3 it does seem so short .

[ClintB]

My opinion is that the height of cut is variable on your weather conditions, grass type(s), and level of input you are willing to put in. Generally the best practice for a normal guy with a normal northern mix lawn is to mow slightly lower in the spring and then work up to the highest cut you are able to before it flops over. For you that may be 3 to 3.5 or so for others 4 or slightly more. I would try and see if you can adjust higher than three (drill a extra whole on your bracket or see what other adjustments you are able to get). As the high temps of summer start going away start working your height of cut down slowly month by month to levels where you are not scalping and the turf still looks healthy. After a season or two you will know what you like and what the lawn is healthiest with. For me it took a little patience and experimenting.

The higher height of cut helps shade the soil and keep the grass healthy in the heat. Everyones northern mix and mower is slighly different so do what you see your lawn is best with. You can keep the height of cut lower but you may have to water more or cut more often as removing more than 1/3 of the grass height can cause additional stress on the grass and although everyone (ok almost everyone) does it once in a while it is not something you want to get used to repeating.

Hope that makes sense. Tried to bring in the bigger picture.

[smast16]

For what it's worth mower blades only cut on the ends, not the middle. Having the front wheels at a lower height than the back wheels will just give you an uneven cut. The cut will not be the mean between the two wheel heights.

[Jackpine]

If you are looking for an in between cutting height raise the front a notch which tilts the deck lower at the rear. The grass gets cut twice with the front cutting higher and then a final lower cut with the rear of the blade. With single blade mowers this will also give finer clippings. How much of an "in between cut" you get depends on deck design and if the factory settings actually have the blade parallel to the ground as some have some offset built in or due to tolerances in assembly.

In your case I would start out with the rear at 6 and the front at 7, mow a strip and measure the HOC.

[Lawnnut]

If you are looking for an in between cutting height raise the front a notch which tilts the deck lower at the rear. The grass gets cut twice with the front cutting higher and then a final lower cut with the rear of the blade. With single blade mowers this will also give finer clippings. How much of an "in between cut" you get depends on deck design and if the factory settings actually have the blade parallel to the ground as some have some offset built in or due to tolerances in assembly.

In your case I would start out with the rear at 6 and the front at 7, mow a strip and measure the HOC.

It doesn't go to 7 the highest setting is 6 which is the front/rear set to 6 it's 4 inch inches cut length and my grass will flop..

[Lawnnut]

So I was thinking my mower with the deck set all the way up is a 4 inch cutting height. Now it does have the larger wheels on the back if I replaced those with small wheels like the front ones,it should bring the cutting height down to 3.50 3.75 what do you guys think ??? Would it work anyone tried it ?

[smast16]

Your mower was designed to be level at the same position with the larger wheels. They are 11-12" diameter right? If you swap them out for the 8" diameter wheels, the back of your deck will now be lower by 1.5 - 2" (depending on the diameter of the stock larger wheels) at the same setting as before, since the height of the front wheels didn't change. This setup is just the inverse of what you described in your original post about lowering the height of just the front wheels.

[GaryCinChicago]

So would anyone know does it really matter to the soil if the grass is cut at 3 or 4 . Yes I understand 4 is better health wise, but does it really help out that much ?? Now that I'm cutting at 3 it does seem so short .

Here's something I wrote a long time ago.
In my opinion, no hard set rules, adapt and use common sense.

Understand one thing - understand the concept my dad would always preach the most. Your grass is a living thing, no different than you or me. It needs to eat, drink, breathe and sleep just like we do.

Eat, drink, breathe and sleep is where we become the caregivers. In order for the lawn to eat, it needs sunlight absorbed through the grass blade, chorphil via photosynthesis. During times of high direct sun (late spring and summer) raise your mower. Let the grass grow and maintain it at a higher cut. The taller grass has more blade surface which in turn can absorb more energy from the sun, thus producing its food easier.

Now I'm not saying let the grass go wild tall, because I only 'believe' (being a few credit hours short of my agronomy degree) too tall promotes fungus problems when moisture and heat are present, but do not whack the lawn down like the professional landscapers do. I feel they mow very low so that the customer notices the weekly cut and then they feel they are getting their moneys worth.

Notice I said "weekly cut" above. Truth be told, during the spring you need to mow twice a week. Landscapers can't mow your lawn twice a week and remain competitive with their pricing. During spring, turf grass is growing vigorously. All growth is concentrated to new shoot growth. Mowing once a week will break the mowing golden rule. NEVER remove more than one third (1/3) of the total blade length, in order to keep the turf healthy. Mowing is stressful to the lawn. It puts all its effort into shoot growth and here we come and cut off all its work. Removing no more than 1/3 of the blades surface allows the grass to recuperate and start its process all over again.

The height you mow your lawn at is debatable. Newer elite Kentucky Bluegrass cultivars have been genetically bred to be grown low. Numerous breeders recommend "Mow at 1.0"–2.5"

On the other hand, taller grass has its benefits like mentioned above, plus shading out weed germination, shading the soil in high summer temperatures and retaining moisture, by preventing evaporation.

In spring - early summer, I like the look of 3 inches. I try to maintain 3 inches as my average height by mowing when the grass is about 3.5 inches tall down to 2.5 inches. This keeps the grass at a constant 3" height more or less and maintains the high and tight flat top look that I prefer while being just a little taller than what the breeders of my Kentucky Bluegrass cultivars recommend.

During the heat of summer, I'll raise the cut to 3"
During the dog days of summer and blistering heat, I might raise the mower all the way up.
Taller grass keeps the soil and roots cooler and retains the soil's moisture - adapt accordingly

After summer / Labor Day - I start lowering gradually, going back to a 2.5" mowing height by November, like I had in spring.

[GaryCinChicago]

I wish I could get rid of the thick grass and just get kbg

Hello neighbor, from Midway.

Your wish can not be granted because someone seeded a northern mix ( KBG, Rye & Fescue) which may have also included a couple/few undesirables too like K-31.

PS. With this rain, keeping your grass too tall only invites disease. Tall grass (blades) needs to be dry.

Lol so what if I reseed kbg every year ??

Bluntly put. Waste of time, effort and money ... but I'm old, fat, lazy and cheap!

However, if agronomists at Colorado State can't do it, how could I?
http://gsrpdf.lib.msu.edu/ticpdf.py?fil ... 040106.pdf