Scalping means dust.
The worst of the best for me happens every year at late winter or early spring. While I absolutely love mowing my yard, I dread scalping it. So what’s the problem? The same equipment is used. You get the same exercise, and it looks great when completed. After being inside all winter why am I not all revved up to get out and mow. One word - dust.
It seems like it takes me a week to get over all that dust. However, if you want your warm season grass to look good early and all season, you need to scalp it as low as you can and remove all the cut grass.
I recently attended a webinar given by Dr. Keith Karnok, Ph.D., University of Georgia. Dr. Karnok spent the hour talking about one thing, mowing. He made the point that mowing your grass is the number one thing you can do to have a healthy, good looking yard. For more information from UGA on mowing, scroll down to the maintenance section of this UGA blog for more.
A standard for mowing is to never cut more than a third of the grass. I like to say that if your bermuda yard looks like it needs to be mowed, you waited too long. Too much is cut off bermuda when you see the brown stems. During peak growing times, June through August, you have to mow more than one time a week or you are going to see brown scalped areas.
I mow every other day starting about mid-June through early September. This is much easier than weekly. I don’t catch the grass nor is the mower bogged down by tall grass. I watch my neighbors get out on Saturday morning to mow. The grass is so tall they end up cutting more than a third of the plant; it takes longer; and it’s a mess because they either bag the grass or it sits on top of the lawn.
Mowing every other day or every three days during the peak growing season allows me to get needed exercise, makes mowing easy, and I don’t spend all Saturday morning struggling in the yard.
One tip to keep your bermuda yard looking good all season is to raise the mower height as the season progresses. I will keep the mower at the scalping height until late May then raise it one notch. If I stay on my mowing schedule, I can expect to raise the mower height one notch about every four weeks. By the end of the growing season, my goal is to be at about one inch mower height. Also, don’t forget to keep your mower maintained and the blade or reel sharp.
If you just don't have time to mow frequently enough, check out the new Automower. I've said for years that I won't turn my yard over to a landscaper. The reason is the cost and results. If all I can afford is once a week mowing, which is what most landscapers offer, my yard will look terrible because it ends up four inches tall and scalped brown. With the Automower, I get a constantly mowed yard but am free to travel during the heat of summer. Take a look at how an Automower makes a difference.
Give it a try this growing season. Your goal may not be one inch by the end of the season but if you mow just a bit more frequently and start low then slowly raise the mower deck, you will have a better looking healthy lawn and be less frustrated.
Now that I have my yard scalped down to the proper starting level, it usually takes about four weeks from the last pre-emergent herbicide application. This is a good time to do a follow-up application. Go to this link for a reminder.