Have you recently moved homes and now have a new lawn? Excited about the prospect of actually owning some garden space? Is the anxiety over how to mow the lawn spoiling your happiness? Don’t fret! If you have not done this job before, continue reading this article to find out how to mow your lawn in easy to follow steps. What’s more, there are safety tips on lawn mowing added as well to make sure your fist lawn mowing experience does not end in disaster.
Let me start out by putting your mind at ease – lawn mowing does not require any particular skills or strength for that matter.  The recipe for a super looking lawn is to mix together patience (lots of it), the right equipment and a basic knowledge of what to do.

Before we proceed to the actual guidelines on mowing the lawn let us take a good look at some safety tips to be followed.

Safety tips

-          Make sure you plan your lawn mowing activities in the day time when the sun is up and you have enough light to see by.

-          Do not mow the lawn if the grass is wet, so when you schedule your lawn mowing, keep that in mind.  You could slip and fall, wet grass has a tendency to clog the blades and fungal diseases breed in wet cut grass.

-          Send children and pets away from the area; never let them play near the place where the mowing is being done.  No rides on lawn mowers, simulations of driving cars using the lawn mower, or any funny stuff. Lawn mowers are dangerous machines and should be respected as such.

-          If your lawn is sloped take extra precautions when mowing; always mow across not in an up and down motion. Riding mowers are the exception – with them you need to mow in an up and down motion.

-          Always turn off the mower before you try to clean a blockage or do anything else with it.

Getting started

If you have a small lawn of approximately half an acre you can use a good old fashioned reel mower to do your cutting. This faithful friend has been around for a very long time, does not need fuel, just human power to push it, does not pollute the environment and gives a very clean cut which breeds a healthy lawn.

If the lawn is larger then you will have to get a more powerful machine unless you enjoy exercise!

Clear your lawn of large debris like big bits of wood, stones, toys, etc. before you begin.  Always mow in a back and forth pattern moving at a brisk pace; too slow and the grass will get caught in the blades. Mow around obstacles first in one direction and then the other. Try the overlap trick for a very smooth lawn, after one pass when returning; overlap half way onto what has already been done. Your mower will move a lot more easily as well.

Don’t forget, a well maintained mower will start off on the first go and not give you any trouble at all.

Now, be honest and tell us, did you ever thought about using your local lawn care services, eh?

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