Last Mow of the Season: Height, Timing, and Whether to Bag or Mulch
The last mow of the season should come when the grass stops growing, at your grass type's normal height or a notch lower. Here's how to time it, set the deck, and handle clippings and leaves.
Leaves on Lawn Over Winter: Should You Rake, Mulch or Leave Them?
Leaving leaves on the lawn over winter is fine only when they're mulched small and you can still see half the grass. Here's the research, a simple 50% rule and a fall-to-spring timing plan.
How to Thin Out Grass That Is Too Thick (and Why It Happens)
Grass too thick? Usually it is overgrown, thatchy, over-fed or a creeping grass. A diagnosis table, staged mowing, dethatching thresholds and nitrogen rates.
Power Raking a Lawn: Pros, Cons and How It Differs From Dethatching
Power rake only if thatch is over 1/2 in or winter debris is matted. Spring tines comb, a dethatcher slices. Timing by grass type, settings, aftercare.
Dethatching Your Lawn: Pros, Cons and When It Actually Helps
Dethatching only helps when thatch is over 1/2 inch. Measure it with the wedge test, see which grasses build it, and learn when aeration is the better fix.
Mulching Grass Clippings: Pros, Cons and When You Should Bag Instead
Clippings return up to 25% of a lawn's nitrogen and do not cause thatch. The real downsides: clumping, disease, weed seed, herbicide carryover. When to bag.
