AgriLife Extension turfgrass specialist shares mowing tips for this spring.

As the weather starts to get warmer and homeowners are preparing their lawns for spring, many may be dreading the idea of mowing in the hot sun in the coming months. 

However, turfgrass mowing doesn’t have to be as tedious and exhausting as many may think. There are practices to make mowing quicker and easier to keep lawns looking lush with less work. 

Pablo Agustin Boeri, Ph.D., Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service turfgrass specialist, in the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences of the Texas A&M College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, shares tips for homeowners to make mowing as pleasant as possible this spring. 

Tip one: The right mower matters

The kind of mower you use can make or break your mowing habits. The sharper you keep your blades, the quicker and easier it will be to cut your grass. 

Boeri said if you let your blades get too dull, your turfgrass will be damaged. This can cause grass to be cut at uneven lengths, which makes mowing more tedious.

Autonomous mowers or robot mowers have been gaining popularity due to various benefits, such as reduced labor, energy consumption and gas emissions compared with traditional, gasoline-powered mowers.

“Robot mowers have small blades that only need to be changed every month or two to keep them sharp,” Boeri said. “Which is nothing compared to the larger task of changing a rotary mower’s blade.”

Tip two: Reducing mowing 

Once the temperatures start to increase, mowing can be a daunting task to many homeowners, especially if their yard doesn’t get much shade. Boeri said there are practices you can take to reduce the amount of mowing without making your yard look overgrown. 

“If you irrigate too much and use more than the recommended amount of fertilizer, your grass will grow too quickly and you will have to mow more often to avoid scalping the turf,” Boeri said. To learn how much water your specific yard needs, AgriLife Extension offers the WaterMyYard program, which will send you weekly watering advice specific to your irrigation systems and lawn.

If you choose to use a nitrogen-based fertilizer for your grass, Boeri said it should be kept at a minimum for less frequent mowing.

“It’s better to use a fertilizer that will release slowly,” he said, “If you use a quick-release fertilizer, your grass will grow significantly in a shorter amount of time and can be hard to keep up with.”

If you want to avoid mowing in the summer, you can maintain irrigation at a minimum and let your grass go dormant. Check the drought tolerance of your turfgrass and the soil conditions before doing so. Boeri warned that if you are concerned with the color of your grass, your lawn will look brown if you let it go into dormancy.

Tip three: Select the right turfgrass 

How often homeowners need to mow is also dependent on the kind of grass they have. Some grasses have slower vertical growth rates than others, which can produce greener looking lawns with less maintenance. 

“If you’re looking into picking a new turfgrass, buffalograss is a native grass that can be left unmowed,” he said. “Species like Bermuda grass tend to recover faster than other turfgrasses from scalping damage.”

Boeri said ProVista, a St. Augustine grass variety, is also a good low-maintenance breed of turfgrass. This variety has a gene that makes the grass denser and lower to the ground, requiring less mowing than other grass varieties. 

Tip four: Don’t cut your grass too low  

One of the most important things to remember when taking care of your lawn is to follow the recommended mowing height. Boeri compares the practice of mowing your lawn to pruning a plant. 

“We need to follow proper maintenance practices and to make sure we aren’t reducing the grass’s ability to deal with stressors such as drought,” he said. 

Boeri said the general rule is to mow less than one third of the leaf each time you mow. It’s important for homeowners to be wary of the height of their turfgrass and the frequency of mowing to ensure lawns are kept happy and healthy. 

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Ready to raise backyard chickens? Free webinar series starts March 18

Chicken basics for beginners March 18-22, egg grading series April 16-19.

What came first, the chicken or the egg? We may never know, but for two upcoming webinar series, the basics of backyard chickens will come before egg-grader training.

A Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service poultry specialist will share his expertise during the free seminars March 18-22 and April 16-19. Each series will be held on consecutive days from 11 a.m. to noon.

Preregistration is required, but those unable to attend the webinar live will have the opportunity to watch the recordings later. Register for chicken basics at https://tx.ag/SpringBackyardChickens and for the egg grading at https://tx.ag/SpringEggGrader.

“We are offering this course virtually because it has become so popular that I can’t get around the state to teach it to all counties that request it,” said Gregory Archer, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension poultry specialist and associate professor in the Texas A&M Department of Poultry Science, Bryan-College Station.

“This format also allows participants to get more out of the series because I have five to six hours of information to share over multiple days, rather than trying to consolidate all that into one class.”

Participants will also be able to ask Archer questions and chat with other participants.

Backyard chicken boom

Whether you’re new to raising backyard chickens, are considering raising backyard chickens or are just chicken curious — you’re not alone.

“We saw the popularity of backyard chickens explode in recent years and that grew even more during COVID,” Archer said. “Rising egg prices have also driven the increase in backyard flocks.”

But Archer said there are breeds that don’t do well in the heat of Texas and certain breeds that are aggressive. So, while it may seem as basic as getting a chicken coup and some birds — it is more complex, and people need to be prepared to properly select birds and care for their flocks.

“While the internet and YouTube may be great sources of information for those with backyard birds, what works on the East Coast for example may not work in Texas,” he said. “It is important to understand what your birds will need to survive and thrive as well as the rules and regulations of the state.”

While the backyard basics course is ideal for beginners, it is also for those with established flocks.

“Even if you’ve had chickens for a while, these series are a great way to brush up on your knowledge and delve deeper into topics as well as learning the latest information and research related to backyard chickens,” he said.

Backyard chickens dates and topics

The five-part series will cover the following topics:

• March 18, Introduction, Housing and Lighting.
• March 19, Breeds and Nutrition.
• March 20, Selling Eggs and Poultry, Food Safety.
• March 21, Health and Disease.
• March 22, Chickens, Your Garden and the Environment.

Egg grader training dates and topics

Archer said there is a great deal of information people should know before they sell backyard eggs.

“If you’re selling your eggs to a grocery store, restaurant or food truck, by law you have to grade your eggs,” Archer said. “This series will explain what all that entails and help people who need to grade their own.”

The four-day egg-grader classes will cover the following topics:

• April 16, Egg Composition and Biology.

• April 17, Egg Microbiology and Food Safety.

• April 18, Interior Egg Quality and Defects.

• April 19, U.S. Department of Agriculture Grading Standards.