Change How You Mow Grass To Conserve Water

The experts at Nutri-Lawn Ottawa Irrigation know that homeowners are concerned about conserving water. We are too, so we put together these three simple tips on saving water simply by changing how you mow grass. Of course, we’d love to help you further conserve water with one of our inground sprinkler systems.

Let It Grow!
Leaving your grass to grow long is probably bringing images of derelict houses and bad homeowners to mind. Some homeowners like to keep their grass cut very short in hopes they won’t have to mow as often. However, grass that is shorn at the crown is more vulnerable to weeds and disease. Leaving your grass at 2-3 inches long is optimal for helping the soil retain moisture. The inevitable bumps and dips in your lawn mean close-cut lawns are trimmed bare. Soil exposed to the sun loses moisture rapidly and invites weeds.

Longer grass shades the soil helping with water conservation, resists weeds and disease better, and is better able to resist mid-season heat and drought. If water conservation is important to you, raising the deck on your mower so the grass is left a little longer is a great tip.

Let It Decompose
Some homeowners are meticulous about raking the grass clippings after each mowing. This is time consuming, especially when you factor in the time spent fertilizing the lawn – because the grass clippings could do that for you! Instead of bagging all the clippings and sending them to the landfill, why not leave them where they are. Recycling grass clippings provides your lawn with a natural source of nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus reducing your need for fertilizer potentially by as much as 50%.

Mow around the outside of your lawn pointing the clippings into the centre of the yard. As you mow closer to the centre, the clippings are passed over several times further breaking them down. Grass clippings will decompose quickly and creates a natural mulch which provides shade to the soil. Mulch is great to retaining moisture in the soil and preventing weeds.

Stop Mowing!
Not all yards are perfectly level in full or part sun with well-drained soil. Though, these are the best conditions for grass to thrive. Is there a part of your yard that’s heavily shaded, slopes, or is low lying? Do you continue to try and coax grass to grow in that part of your yard?

Why not stop trying so hard? Let the grass grow where it’s going to flourish, and consider planting a garden with shade-loving plants, rock gardens or other features better suited to those soil conditions? In the end, this will probably result in less frustration because the plants will do well and you won’t waste time and energy trying to coax life into plants not suited for that part of your yard. You’ll conserve water because those shade-loving plants will use less water than the sun-loving lawn, and by adding mulch and other barriers the soil will lose less water to run off.

The irrigation experts at Nutri-Lawn Ottawa Inground Sprinkler Systems love to help our customers conserve water. Call us today for your irrigation consultation. We can design and install the perfect irrigation system for your property.