Conservation: Reduce Mowing and Watering

One major aspect of resource stewardship is conservation. When it comes to lawn care, conservation may start with reduced mowing. In order to reduce mowings, it is necessary to either reduce the rate of growth, or allow the lawn to grow longer before cutting. Maybe both.


There are two ways to cut back on mowing while maintaining a healthy lawn.

Option One: Reduce growth of your existing lawn. A couple of years back, I came across a group of products called PGR's: Plant Growth Regulators. One such product is Embark by PBI Gordon.  Embark reduces the rate of foliage elongation while encouraging lateral growth. The use of PGR's gives you a thicker, slow-growing lawn. Great idea. I have yet to test these PGR's myself. I am in the process of researching independent studies on the affects of PGR's in regard to the root system and overall health of the turf. Currently, these products are only available to professionals.

Option Two: Lawn Renovation utilizing slow-grow, low-grow grass. There are several companies claiming to sell grass seed that grows lower and slower than previously available cultivars. All of these web sites claim to sell grass seed that, once established, requires little to no regular watering, no fertilization, and reduced mowing. If you could reduce your mowings to once a month, would you do it? I would. I will be puchasing these lawn seeds and testing them myself to see how they live up to their claims.
For more information, check out these sites: http://www.low-grow.com/; http://www.eco-friendly-grass.com/; http://www.protimelawnseed.com/.

Proper lawn mowing can also reduce gas and fertilizer and pesticide use by encouraging a naturally healthy lawn.  Close cropped lawns have become the standard in the United States. Most people cut their lawns as short as two inches. However, studies indicate that lawns kept at a minimum height of three inches suffered less stress than lower cut lawns.

Why is this? Lawns benefit from increased height in three ways:

First, there is a direct correlation between the height at which a lawn is maintained and the depth of its roots. Deeper roots require less watering. If roots only reach two inches, the lawn only benefits when the top one or two inches of the soil is moist. Deeper roots lead to less watering and more drought resistant lawns.


Second, when a lawn is kept longer, it reduces the rate of evaperation, thus, preserving soil moisture. Again, less watering is required and the lawn is more drought resistant.

Third, most weeds prefer full sun. If no light reaches the soil, weed seeds struggle to germinate. Those weeds that do manage to grow are choked out by the more established grass. Weeds cannot easily compete with a healthy lawn.

Site with additional information on PGR's.

http://www.turf.uiuc.edu/hort436/Lec%2016.stm