Yes, You Still Should Mow Now, But Not Too Low

Yes, You Still Should Mow Now, But Not Too Low
As Tom Skilling has promised (or was that a warning?), mild weather was predicted to be on the horizon for the rest of this year and beyond. I know we had that one cold freeze night a few weeks back, but nature didn’t take the hint. So, what is the gardener supposed to do? The answer is, keep going.
I know in the days of snowy Novembers and frigid Decembers, gardeners looked forward to that comfy chair with a glass of their favorite beverage and a pile of seed catalogs. But now we are in a whole new ballpark. If you don’t attend to a few tasks outside, they will come back to bite you, right in your spring garden clothes.
For those of your lawn rangers out there, and for everyone else, remember this rhyme: You don’t stop mowing until the grass stops growing. For me, that used to be mowing after the Thanksgiving meal; in the last few years, my final mow went into December.
You still mow high — no close buzz at the end of the season, which used to be the recommendation. Maybe the idea there was if we cut it so low like a new Marine’s first haircut (thank you for your service!) that you wouldn’t have to go back and mow again.
But that brings a slew of lawn problems for the future. Mowing high not only looks better, but it keeps the grass plant the healthiest it can be. Grass is a 3-piece plant: roots, waxy cuticle and blade. When we buzz cut the lawn, we remove the powerhouse — the grass blade — so the plant can’t continue what they do best: make its own food.
Did you ever realize that plants are the only organisms that actually manufacture their own food?
So, you are starving your grass for winter and the following spring if you cut your lawn too low in the fall just to get the task of mowing over with. Also cutting grass too low allows the arch nemesis – weeds — easy entry. Weed seeds need two things to germinate: seed/soil contact and light availability.
When grass is kept at 3 inches or taller, the weed seeds that blow over from that one neighbor (you know the one), the seeds won’t make soil contact because they are hung up on the grass blade. Or if they do, those tall locks of green grass blades shade them out. Either way, mowing high is your best weed killer.
The other issue lawns face in these mild, mostly snowless, and rainless, winters is lack of moisture. No, I am not suggesting you go out and water in the winter (unless you have recently laid sod). But if the grass is cut too short, it easily allows the soil below to dry out.
On the other hand, if we end up with a wet winter, and you don’t continue to mow to keep your lawn at that perfect 3- to 4-inch height, you can end up with greasy, mucousy dead grass areas in spring caused by snow mold.
Snow mold occurs when we have a heavy or long period of snow coverage over too-tall grass. The grass folds over on itself and starts to rot. I often get questions in the spring asking if it was possible to get winter grubs. After I do a biology lesson on cold-blooded animals, (grubs are the babies of beetles and as such are cold-blooded and not active in winter), I indicate except for that occasional housefly you see around on a warm February day, outdoor insect activity is almost non-existent in the winter.
The reason these homeowners think they have grubs is they are finding large patches of dead, slimy grass that lifts off just like a throw rug. The symptoms are the same, but the cause is different: Snow mold grows in wet, moist conditions with the fuel of rotting grass.
Unfortunately, the solution is the same for both grubs and snow mold, unless you are expecting divine intervention or a delivery of AstroTurf, that grass is never coming back, and you have to seed or re-sod those areas.
The lesson … mow now or reseed in the spring.
The other November task I challenge everyone to try is a little composting. I know, I know, you are envisioning a smelly, raccoon-infested pile of waste, it is just not true … as long as you follow some simple recommendations.
You don’t need to buy some fancy $200 bin system to compost; just choose a little out of the way garden spot. Or dig an unassuming trench to put garden waste in. Also, you don’t have to recycle food waste, but why would you want to throw away free fertilizer? Homemade compost is as good as it gets.
Just be sure if you do put out food scraps to avoid the cardinal sin, never put meat or oily products in compost unless you want to open your own version or Raccoon Country Buffet.
And just let nature take its course. Decomposing is slow in winter, but not stopped. And if you are really interested in learning more about compost, stay tuned as I will be offering the next session of Master Composter training in the new year.
Until then, stay garden busy, and your landscape will show its appreciation come spring.