Mowing problems

There are a various problems that you may come across when mowing the lawn. These are caused by poor mowing techniques or poor mower set up, these problems include:

Scalping lawns

This condition is caused where the mower cuts the grass too short leaving unsightly brown patches where the grass has been scalped.

This can be caused by unevenness in the lawn, poor mower set up or excessive thatch creating soft conditions which cause the mower to sink in.

To eliminate scalping just address the problem that causes it. e.g. Raise the height of cut on the mower or re-level the lawn. Scalping can happen with both cylinder and rotary mowers.

Ribbing

Ribbing is a series of short and long bands of grass running cross ways down the mower breed. There can be a number of causes for this problem. The cylinders can spin too slowly and create a ribbing effect on the grass. The grass can simply be too long or the mower may be set up incorrectly and need adjusting.

Bruising

This is where the grass tips turn brown after mowing, it also has a chewed effect where the mower has not cut cleanly. This can leave the grass open to disease attack as it takes longer to recover. The main causes of this is a poor mower set up or blunt blades, also make sure that the lawn is dry when you mow it.

Washboarding

This is a condition that is caused by mowing in the same direction each time you mow, this causes the mower to vibrate, which results in wash boarding. The end result is an uneven corrugated and rippled appearance.

Do not confuse it with ribbing (wash boarding creates and uneven surface while ribbing does not). The cure of wash boarding is to simply change the direction of cut each time you mow your lawn. However if the wash boarding is very severe it may need top dressing to relevel the surface.