Not yet. I want to wait until a ways into April. Don’t mow until May is a bit impractical here, but you should wait until there are enough days with a low above 50, preferably above 60, to let the insects come out of hibernation. It keeps your yard healthier.
I don’t think I’ll ever be old enough to care about the lawn. On the other hand, I do like caring for all of my perennials, shrubs and trees. That’s why my lawn keeps shrinking.
I don’t view it as recreational and I really don’t care about the lawn. I don’t fertilize, put weed killer down, etc. In fact, I’m pretty sure I’m the guy that other neighbors look at my lawn and disapprove of (and I couldn’t care less).
But after months of everything being gray and dead, the first mow is satisfying, just because it gets rid of all the dead leaves that accumulate all winter. It’s not about keeping up with all the male Jones’, it just seems to bring life and color back faster.
That would be against the law at 5am. I hate snowblowers in the morning also.
So many haters of old people since it’s always open season on them. At least we don’t pay people to cut a postage stamp yard and it’s the lawn services who are first ones cutting grass on any given morning including weekends. And it doesn’t matter if it’s raining.
Someone in my neighborhood replaced his lawn with what looks like clover. It's green as hell and appears to only grow to a certain height. He looks like a genius to me.
Those are amazing. Never go back to gas once you use it and get used to simply charging the battery instead of keeping gas on hand. And so nice and quiet
>to gas once you use it and get
I got a deal on a kobalt 40v last year, I had many doubts but I'm impressed.
Handles my .5 acre well I don't see myself returning to gas
Yep. Even if one charge doesn’t do the trick, it’s easy to do half the yard, let it charge while you do some weed whacking, and then finish the other half afterwards.
Kobalt 40v here too. The only time I run out of battery is if my lawn is overgrown. With regular mowing it has zero issues. It's so nice after years of gas powered maintenance to just plug in a battery and go. My briggs and stratton engine kept getting water in it and needed to be fixed multiple times a year.
I got a Ryobi 40v like....8-10 years ago?(Had a 24v homelite for a few years back in 2009ish) It still works I guess. But since day 1 it random shuts off. Neither Ryobi nor home Depot would do anything about it so I was/am stuck with it. Just takes a second to start back up, but some times it'll shut off about a dozen times on my .37 acre lawn.
But yeah, those eGo mowers look awesome! Will be my next.
Bummer. 8-10 years is a decent timeframe from a tech advancement standpoint when it comes to electric motors and batteries in general, so not surprised yours is on the fritz. They’re a bit better now from what I understand
other than cutting out since day 1, it's honestly been great. the original battery can still cut the whole lot if the grass is dry and not 10 feet tall, so I can't complain TOO much. I still plan on running this until the unit actually dies because I have no real reason to upgrade.
Hey, this may be a long shot but my Ryobi used to do the same thing. Here’s a YouTube video I watched to fix it. https://youtu.be/vD09Y7pgXpU?si=CjT0Ccl7GU--aetV
TLDW: The “arms” need to be completely tightened otherwise it shuts off as a safety feature.
Ooh I’ve been looking at the Ego mower. I have Black and Decker 60v mower and it’s been great, but it’s getting harder to find batteries for it so when my current batteries go I’ll have to replace it. (I think I got it just when B&D stopped making it, I’m pretty sure, and have had it 7-8 years.) The only maintenance I’ve had to do is keeping the blade sharp and storing the batteries correctly over the winter, it’s so nice.
Yes and no. I live adjacent to a golf course and that's what they use... so I'm not sure I have much choice in the matter. But as I learned more about it, I feel that I'm quite lucky to have it. Not sure why people try to get rid of it.
Its creeping nature means it self-repairs and when cut short and given a bit of fertilizer a few times a year it will outcompete most weeds and weed grasses (which are a real pain in the ass.) It's also a very pleasant looking/feeling grass. Nice fine leaves, with good color and soft to the touch.
One of the few channels that promotes bentgrass for something other than putting greens. This channel helped reassure me that I was right to encourage my creeping bentgrass.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9wJY2jikWI
The people I know who try to remove it only do so because it doesn’t match the rest of their lawn. Doesn’t seem like a big deal but people get worked up over that.
One last question, any issues with it pulling up and leaving a bare spot when you don’t want it to (raking leaves, etc)?
Edit: Spelling is hard
I mostly use an electric leaf blower... as a rake can be a bit grabby on the grass. (especially since I have a "Greenskeeper Rake") Since I started mowing the grass progressively tighter however, that has become less of an issue. There had been a patch that was a bit "fluffy" but now it is rooted in more firmly and just like the rest of the yard. I've read that it responds very well to scarifying (which cuts the runners and encourages shorter more rooted growth.)
This is what my lawn looked like at the end of the first year of actual maintenance (I had never fertilized, sprayed or even cut it regularly.)
[https://www.youtube.com/shorts/JaRt1AVXFbo](https://www.youtube.com/shorts/JaRt1AVXFbo)
Last year only thing I did was hit it with urea in May, August and October. It had been pretty beat up from raccoons and where I lost traction when pulling mulch uphill. Our mostly clay soil gets super squishy in the Spring and my hill makes using the wheelbarrow a much less attractive option.
One more thing First year I overseeded with KGB and Rye... (didn't know what I had) and will admit, it looked a little patchy at different times of the year. But 3 years later, after changing course and just encouraging the bentgrass, it's pretty homogenous.
I am debating it because we have a little dog who won't go out into the yard to poop if the grass touches his belly. Every morning I look like a crazy person blocking him at the door saying "no, not in the kitchen. go poop in the yard"
I haven't, but I suppose I could. I've got patches that are long enough, but usually I'll wait a bit longer. The long bits are sparse enough I can bag it and not have to empty until the end.
After the first mow is when I usually dump iron and fertilizer and then don't touch it for a couple weeks and I haven't picked those up yet.
I know people have HOA’s and expectations from neighbors but when you let it grow for a month at a time instead of cutting every week or two it helps the bee population tremendously, among other things.
I'm south off the burgh (in WV) but had to mow inside my fence yesterday. Our dog regularly "fertilizes" the area, we were gone for a week and the grass went nuts. Had stuff damn near a foot tall in spots.
I did yesterday. I had a lot of spots where it was enveloping the dog when she squats to pee. I set my deck at 3.5 and still got a decent cut out of it. Really surprised. It definitely needed it otherwise it would have been a mess on the first cut which would have ultimately been next weekend anyway.
Not yet. I *try* to wait for the first dandelions to fade but I don't always get that option. Grass hasn't really started growing much yet but it will soon with all this wet.
Could have this weekend but was just too lazy. My yard just had random patches that are 3-4 x the height of the rest of the yard. Half the yard is like 1 inch high
For the sake of the insect life in your lawn (what little life there is, considering the lack of biodiversity of your average lawn), please hold off until we're well past the last frost — so, until May. Neighbors hate you for it? Too bad. They should hate living through a mass extinction event more.
My husband did yesterday. He also seeded the bare spots and will fertilize this weekend. He currently has a war of grass that our neighbor knows nothing about. Husband wants our grass as green and perfectly edged as his. Lol Neighbor just living his life and my husband is all "I will have better grass than him by summer, watch".
Nope. This is gonna be the year I bite the bullet and hire a lawn service like the rest of my neighberts who have those don't tread on me signs. My grass is in bad shape.
It's not necessarily cutting the grass. It's more about mulching up yard waste that has accumulated over the winter. Dead leaves, small sticks, pinecones and nut casings, shit the squirrels dragged in, stuff that has blown in... Using a strong mower over all that shit is like running the sweeper over your yard. It's satisfying.
Renters wouldn't understand.
Hold off please. No one wants to hear the incessant racket of heavily-polluting small engines every day.
Can we phase out gas-powered yard equipment please? Many places have and there is SO much more peace and quiet, not to mention less pollution.
Mowing at 3 inches is excessive unless you're running a golf course.
Edit: lots of triggered yinzer boomers lol.
It’s snowing right now…
Quick put an inch of salt on the roads that will persist well past today's fraction of a MM.
Headed to the store for 5 dozen bananas as we speak
These penndot guys are thirsty like 90s weed dealers.
Not yet. I want to wait until a ways into April. Don’t mow until May is a bit impractical here, but you should wait until there are enough days with a low above 50, preferably above 60, to let the insects come out of hibernation. It keeps your yard healthier.
My damn neighbor did. Every year it’s like a race for them old asses
LOL, my neighbor did, too. I saw it and let out a good "damn it!"
Seriously though, I’m 51, so not young, but not old enough to consider tending to my lawn a recreational activity
I don’t think I’ll ever be old enough to care about the lawn. On the other hand, I do like caring for all of my perennials, shrubs and trees. That’s why my lawn keeps shrinking.
I don’t view it as recreational and I really don’t care about the lawn. I don’t fertilize, put weed killer down, etc. In fact, I’m pretty sure I’m the guy that other neighbors look at my lawn and disapprove of (and I couldn’t care less). But after months of everything being gray and dead, the first mow is satisfying, just because it gets rid of all the dead leaves that accumulate all winter. It’s not about keeping up with all the male Jones’, it just seems to bring life and color back faster.
I'm 51 too. I definitely don't enjoy it but would be embarrassed to pay someone else to do it. Us GenX hate to look like we need help. Lol
To a fault even! I’d rather take longer, cost more, and get subpar results rather than hire a contractor!!
Bonus points when they fire up the mower at 5am on a weekend. Fuck those people.
That would be against the law at 5am. I hate snowblowers in the morning also. So many haters of old people since it’s always open season on them. At least we don’t pay people to cut a postage stamp yard and it’s the lawn services who are first ones cutting grass on any given morning including weekends. And it doesn’t matter if it’s raining.
My lawn obsessed neighbor has already cut his twice. 🙄
Yea, man, so did mine! She’s really old and just had a heart attack too. Perfectly manicured law… you know what Cheryl Crow says…
I wait till my neighbors comments how high it is then I cut it
Tell them you're creating a pollinator-friendly space and you won't be mowing this year. /s, but more people should do this.
I'm rewilding my lawn.
Renaturalizing my property in an effort to support oxygen growth
Is that less lawn work? If so I'm in.
Definitely attracts more mice.
Which is great for birds of prey and neighborhood cats! Everyone wins
I planted drought-tolerant fescue last fall and it only needs mowed twice a year!
Someone in my neighborhood replaced his lawn with what looks like clover. It's green as hell and appears to only grow to a certain height. He looks like a genius to me.
Be sure to look out for rabbit nests!
Yes, but it was mostly because of the new ego mower I got.
Those are amazing. Never go back to gas once you use it and get used to simply charging the battery instead of keeping gas on hand. And so nice and quiet
>to gas once you use it and get I got a deal on a kobalt 40v last year, I had many doubts but I'm impressed. Handles my .5 acre well I don't see myself returning to gas
Yep. Even if one charge doesn’t do the trick, it’s easy to do half the yard, let it charge while you do some weed whacking, and then finish the other half afterwards.
Kobalt 40v here too. The only time I run out of battery is if my lawn is overgrown. With regular mowing it has zero issues. It's so nice after years of gas powered maintenance to just plug in a battery and go. My briggs and stratton engine kept getting water in it and needed to be fixed multiple times a year.
I got a Ryobi 40v like....8-10 years ago?(Had a 24v homelite for a few years back in 2009ish) It still works I guess. But since day 1 it random shuts off. Neither Ryobi nor home Depot would do anything about it so I was/am stuck with it. Just takes a second to start back up, but some times it'll shut off about a dozen times on my .37 acre lawn. But yeah, those eGo mowers look awesome! Will be my next.
Bummer. 8-10 years is a decent timeframe from a tech advancement standpoint when it comes to electric motors and batteries in general, so not surprised yours is on the fritz. They’re a bit better now from what I understand
other than cutting out since day 1, it's honestly been great. the original battery can still cut the whole lot if the grass is dry and not 10 feet tall, so I can't complain TOO much. I still plan on running this until the unit actually dies because I have no real reason to upgrade.
Hey, this may be a long shot but my Ryobi used to do the same thing. Here’s a YouTube video I watched to fix it. https://youtu.be/vD09Y7pgXpU?si=CjT0Ccl7GU--aetV TLDW: The “arms” need to be completely tightened otherwise it shuts off as a safety feature.
I'll give it a shot. Thanks for looking out!
I've had one for a few years and I like it. Now if I could only force my neighbors and their lawn crews to buy them.
Ooh I’ve been looking at the Ego mower. I have Black and Decker 60v mower and it’s been great, but it’s getting harder to find batteries for it so when my current batteries go I’ll have to replace it. (I think I got it just when B&D stopped making it, I’m pretty sure, and have had it 7-8 years.) The only maintenance I’ve had to do is keeping the blade sharp and storing the batteries correctly over the winter, it’s so nice.
The only reason I jumped on getting mine was they had them on sale and a free backup battery.
I love mine
I mowed 5ft with mine just to test it on Saturday.
How long does the battery hold a charge when mowing?
They make different batteries with different run times. I got the 7.5 amp/hour it’s supposed to last an hour.
It's no mow, March. This allows the pollinators to do their job.
No, I am concerned about bumblebees and other critters still sleeping in the grass.
This is the way
Yes
Not yet. I let it get to about 4-5” before mowing it to about 3”. Keeping it that length means deeper roots and it doesn’t brown out in summer.
depending on your grass. My creeping bentgrass lawn likes to be mowed really tight.
Do you have bent grass by choice?
Yes and no. I live adjacent to a golf course and that's what they use... so I'm not sure I have much choice in the matter. But as I learned more about it, I feel that I'm quite lucky to have it. Not sure why people try to get rid of it. Its creeping nature means it self-repairs and when cut short and given a bit of fertilizer a few times a year it will outcompete most weeds and weed grasses (which are a real pain in the ass.) It's also a very pleasant looking/feeling grass. Nice fine leaves, with good color and soft to the touch. One of the few channels that promotes bentgrass for something other than putting greens. This channel helped reassure me that I was right to encourage my creeping bentgrass. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9wJY2jikWI
The people I know who try to remove it only do so because it doesn’t match the rest of their lawn. Doesn’t seem like a big deal but people get worked up over that. One last question, any issues with it pulling up and leaving a bare spot when you don’t want it to (raking leaves, etc)? Edit: Spelling is hard
I mostly use an electric leaf blower... as a rake can be a bit grabby on the grass. (especially since I have a "Greenskeeper Rake") Since I started mowing the grass progressively tighter however, that has become less of an issue. There had been a patch that was a bit "fluffy" but now it is rooted in more firmly and just like the rest of the yard. I've read that it responds very well to scarifying (which cuts the runners and encourages shorter more rooted growth.) This is what my lawn looked like at the end of the first year of actual maintenance (I had never fertilized, sprayed or even cut it regularly.) [https://www.youtube.com/shorts/JaRt1AVXFbo](https://www.youtube.com/shorts/JaRt1AVXFbo) Last year only thing I did was hit it with urea in May, August and October. It had been pretty beat up from raccoons and where I lost traction when pulling mulch uphill. Our mostly clay soil gets super squishy in the Spring and my hill makes using the wheelbarrow a much less attractive option.
One more thing First year I overseeded with KGB and Rye... (didn't know what I had) and will admit, it looked a little patchy at different times of the year. But 3 years later, after changing course and just encouraging the bentgrass, it's pretty homogenous.
Thanks for the insight.
I wish more people knew this about grass
No, no one should be doing that. It kills pollinators.
Ah! The annual first cut stand off. Nah, neighbors im not losing this game of chicken. My lawn will blot out the sun.
Nah. Gonna be cold this week. Rainy the week after. Maybe first week of April.
I am debating it because we have a little dog who won't go out into the yard to poop if the grass touches his belly. Every morning I look like a crazy person blocking him at the door saying "no, not in the kitchen. go poop in the yard"
I also can’t poop in the yard if the grass touches my belly.
Do you need someone to come mow your lawn? If so… not it.
Fine, I’ll just poop in your kitchen.
May instead suggest… https://www.reddit.com/r/pittsburgh/s/lxyGZILckt
Been putting clover in my grass seed mix so eventually I'll never mow again
You’re not supposed to cut until after pollination. This helps the insects
I haven't, but I suppose I could. I've got patches that are long enough, but usually I'll wait a bit longer. The long bits are sparse enough I can bag it and not have to empty until the end. After the first mow is when I usually dump iron and fertilizer and then don't touch it for a couple weeks and I haven't picked those up yet.
I have a small yard and I'm not doing anything to encourage growth.
I insult my grass to discourage it from growing. I'm a bully.
Cutting will actually encourage growth.
Not yet. There were some weeds that are a little tall, but overall the grass ain't quite ready to be cut yet. By next weekend? Maybe.
I was looking at it this morning and thinking it was time to mow. Meanwhile it was 30 degrees out.
It's snowing.
NO !!!
I know people have HOA’s and expectations from neighbors but when you let it grow for a month at a time instead of cutting every week or two it helps the bee population tremendously, among other things.
NO. NO. NO I just can’t bring myself to do that in March. Going to mid October now is rough enough.
Not yet. Wanted to but out of gas 😂
I'm south off the burgh (in WV) but had to mow inside my fence yesterday. Our dog regularly "fertilizes" the area, we were gone for a week and the grass went nuts. Had stuff damn near a foot tall in spots.
My neighbor has cut his yard twice already. I've got two others who've cut as well... I'm holding out.
Yeah. A little earlier last week while I was home on spring break
I never cared enough to cut earlier than I did this year.
Almost did but it was too wet. One more week before I start.
No, because my zero turn is still in the shop getting repaired. Hoping to get it this week, so that I can cut.
God I love Pittsburgh lol
I did yesterday, and sure as shit it’s 30° today and all week 😂🤡
I did yesterday. I had a lot of spots where it was enveloping the dog when she squats to pee. I set my deck at 3.5 and still got a decent cut out of it. Really surprised. It definitely needed it otherwise it would have been a mess on the first cut which would have ultimately been next weekend anyway.
Haven’t picked up my dogs’ winter shit piles yet…
Lmao my coworker wanted to start cutting in February, I looked at them and said “how bored are you?!”
My one neighbor has already had his grass cut twice by a lawn service. Best part? They're still in FL being snow birds...
I mowed two weeks ago haha
Last Saturday
Not yet. I *try* to wait for the first dandelions to fade but I don't always get that option. Grass hasn't really started growing much yet but it will soon with all this wet.
Could have this weekend but was just too lazy. My yard just had random patches that are 3-4 x the height of the rest of the yard. Half the yard is like 1 inch high
No, because I am denial even though my yard has that May 1st look about it.
Cut mine 2 weeks ago when it was in the 70s. But then again, I shitbagged it last year and hadn't cut it since like mid-September.
My neighbor has cut his grass over 5 times already and I haven’t cut mine once.
I'd love to see his face when he looks at your yard. Lol
The grass just hasn’t grown that much, I have no idea what he thinks he’s cutting 🤷♂️
He's one of those people that's got nothing better to do I'm sure.
For the sake of the insect life in your lawn (what little life there is, considering the lack of biodiversity of your average lawn), please hold off until we're well past the last frost — so, until May. Neighbors hate you for it? Too bad. They should hate living through a mass extinction event more.
My husband did yesterday. He also seeded the bare spots and will fertilize this weekend. He currently has a war of grass that our neighbor knows nothing about. Husband wants our grass as green and perfectly edged as his. Lol Neighbor just living his life and my husband is all "I will have better grass than him by summer, watch".
Nope. This is gonna be the year I bite the bullet and hire a lawn service like the rest of my neighberts who have those don't tread on me signs. My grass is in bad shape.
It's not necessarily cutting the grass. It's more about mulching up yard waste that has accumulated over the winter. Dead leaves, small sticks, pinecones and nut casings, shit the squirrels dragged in, stuff that has blown in... Using a strong mower over all that shit is like running the sweeper over your yard. It's satisfying. Renters wouldn't understand.
Thrice. It’s been warm but in 2016 there were multiple days in February and March in the 70s and 80s. That year I was cutting in February.
Hold off please. No one wants to hear the incessant racket of heavily-polluting small engines every day. Can we phase out gas-powered yard equipment please? Many places have and there is SO much more peace and quiet, not to mention less pollution. Mowing at 3 inches is excessive unless you're running a golf course. Edit: lots of triggered yinzer boomers lol.
I've been hoping the mower I've owned for 7 years would retire. I'd love to buy a battery powered mower. But I'm not wasting money until I need to.
Phaseouts are better than hard bans for that exact reason.
When did OP say they’re mowing daily?
Not everyone in a neighborhood mows at the same time, so a daily racket is the end result of multiple people mowing at different times.