*If long titles worked for blogs, the rest of that title would be, “and how to keep your mower from clogging.” That is because of another barrier people in the Lake Champlain basin expressed that keeps them from mowing their lawn to 3″ in height: the grass would stay wet and clog the mower.
Keeping grass maintained to a longer height (such as 3″) is a known benefit to the grass, as it is able to focus its energy to develop its root system, which can reach further into the earth for water. Plus, longer grass blades allow grass to shade the ground and prevent evaporation from the soil, reducing the amount of water lost to the atmosphere. This means that grass may stay wet a little longer in the morning, and as a result, make it more challenging to mow at that time.
A few tips you can use to help to reduce clogging of your mower or clumping of grass clippings include:
- Raise your mower deck to 3″ and
- Mow only 1/3 of the length of the blades at at time.
- Keep your mower blade sharp.
- Keep the underside of the deck clean. (Some mowers have a port to attach to a hose on the upper surface of the deck. If yours does not, when it is off, you can scrape away clippings from the underside.)
- Mow only in the afternoon or evening hours to avoid morning dew.