How long before mowing new grass

That would be a big mistake. The structure of a young grass plant is nowhere near strong enough to cope with heavy wear and tear. Grass has evolved to be walked on and eaten by animals. This is why the actively growing cells are at the end of the roots and the crown of the plant. In the natural world, the grass blades are nibbled, and then, using nutrients supplied by the roots, they regrow.

For lawn grasses, the secret to durability is to have strong enough roots to support speedy regrowth. A turfed lawn can receive regular foot traffic in months after installation. This will encourage a nice, dense, weed-free lawn. For your lawn, mowing is the equivalent of having a teenager come into your kitchen and eating everything in the fridge. The grass blades are the power house for the whole plant. Mowing too short will really weaken the grass plants.

Try to maintain your new lawn at a height around 5 cm for at least the first months of its life. Aim for 3 cm in those all-important early months. Your lawn care regime should include regular lawn treatments and feeding. I recommend applying a pre-seeding or pre-turfing fertiliser 6 weeks after laying turf or sowing seed. And more importantly, how long to wait after planting can you mow?

Depending on the type of seed you have spread, it may take anywhere from 5 to 30 days until you begin to see anything happening, and many factors need to be considered during this process as well, including the age of the grass seed. According to The Garden Counselor , moisture, warmth, oxygen, and light are important details to consider as well when thinking about seed germination success. Moisture is the number one factor to consider when wondering how soon your seeds will burst to life, and how long you will need to wait until you can add a lush carpet of new grass into your lawn care schedule.

Watering new grass seed correctly is crucial to the germination, growth of the seedlings, and root creation during the entire life of your lawn. Proper moisture maintenance from the beginning will develop your new growth into the lawn you always wanted.

Seeds and seedlings need to be kept moist not drowned at all times to keep from drying out. In general, a four-week period needs to pass after your seeds germinate before even placing the mower on the new turf.

Seedlings do not have the strong leaf blades that withstand compaction and cutting from a mower - allow the turf plants to gain some strength and age before cutting them. In addition, new seedlings are still trying to establish their roots in the soil. For example, if you mow too soon, the mower's wheels and blades simply pull grass sprouts out of the ground, rather than simply cutting them. The mower also compacts the soil at the same time, which contributes to poor root spread as the seedlings struggle to gain purchase in the ground.

Another way to determine mowing times is through grass height. Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of California. How to mow your new lawn Be sure that the lawn is fairly dry before mowing so that you do not pull out any of your new lawn. As a general rule, you should let your lawn grow to about one-and-a-half times the recommended height before cutting so that you are cutting off no more than one-third of the height of your lawn at a time. Set your mower blade to the recommended cutting height for your turf species.