What a Weekly Mowing Visit Should Include

What a full visit covers

A proper weekly mowing visit has four parts: mow, edge, trim, and blow. If a service only does the first one, you end up doing the rest yourself by the weekend. Here is what each part means, so you know what to expect from whoever cuts your grass.

Mowing is the cut across the open lawn. Edging is the clean vertical line where grass meets a sidewalk, driveway, or flower bed. Trimming is string-trimmer work in the places the mower can't reach, like around fence posts, tree trunks, and the base of a mailbox. Blowing clears the clippings off the walks, driveway, and patio, so the property looks finished when the crew pulls away.

Ask before you sign up whether all four are included. It is a simple question and a fair one.

Mowing height is half the story

Cutting grass too short is the most common mistake in a dry climate. Most lawns in the Yakima area are cool-season grasses, and they do better when left around three inches tall. Taller blades shade the soil, hold moisture, and push roots deeper, which helps in July and August when the sun is hard on a lawn.

A good rule is to never take off more than a third of the blade in one cut. If the lawn got ahead of you, weekly visits let you bring it down in steps instead of scalping it. Scalped grass turns brown, lets weeds in, and takes weeks to recover.

Mower blades matter too. A sharp blade slices cleanly. A dull one tears the tips, and the lawn takes on a gray, ragged look a day or two after cutting.

Why stripes show up

Lawn stripes are not painted on, and they are not a special grass. They come from the direction the blades are bent. A mower with a roller or a weighted drag behind it presses the grass over as it passes. Grass bent away from you reflects more light and looks lighter. Grass bent toward you looks darker. Mow back and forth in alternating directions and you get bands of light and dark.

Stripes show best on a healthy, fairly dense lawn cut at a decent height, since there is enough blade to bend. They show less on a thin or very short lawn. If you want a pattern, ask for it. Changing the mowing direction from week to week also keeps the grass from leaning one way and wearing ruts into the soil.

Crisp edges along beds and walks

Edges are where a lawn goes from fine to sharp. Along a concrete walk or driveway, a clean edge usually comes from a dedicated edger, or from a string trimmer turned on its side. Along a bark or rock bed, a shallow trench cut with a spade or edger keeps grass from creeping into the mulch.

You may not need a full edge every single visit. Grass grows slower in cool weather, so a full edge every other week with a light trim in between can be enough in spring and fall. In midsummer, a lot of properties need it more often. Talk with whoever mows about what your yard needs.

Bark and rock beds hold their line better when the edge is cut deep and clean, and they stay tidy longer. If your beds have gone soft and grassy, refreshing the bark and recutting the edge is a one-time job that makes every later visit easier.

What you can do to help

A few small things make a weekly visit go better:

• Pick up toys, hoses, and pet items before mowing day.
• Flag any sprinkler heads that stick up, since a mower can clip them.
• Point out dog spots, bare patches, or low areas so they get extra attention.
• Let the crew know if a gate will be locked or a dog will be out.

Keep your sprinkler schedule steady, too. A lawn that is soaked on mowing day gets rutted and clumpy. A little dry is easier on both the grass and the mower.

Finding a weekly crew

Abel's & Sons Lawn Service takes on weekly mowing along with lawn and property maintenance, bush trimming, and cleanups across Yakima County and the Ellensburg area, including Naches and Moxee. Teresa Hanses wrote in a Google review: "Abel and Sons have taken care of our lawn for 3 years. They do a great job and are reliable and professional."

To talk through a weekly schedule for your yard, call (509) 985-4603 and ask for a free estimate.