I talk a lot about organic lawn care, but even more important than is cutting your lawn properly. I mean, let’s be honest here, your lawn could be the greenest, more organic thing on the block, but if you hack the living crap out of it, that beauty will soon turn to dead straw and dirt spots.
With that in mind, here are the most basic of lawn mowing tips that ALL homeowners should follow.
Lawn Cutting Tips: Proper Mowing Height
The first thing I want you to know is that mowing height is very important. In fact, it is the most important of all the mowing tips you will read here. This is why:
I want you to imagine cutting your fingernails. If you clip them lightly, you are good, but if you cut too deeply, what happens? yep, nasty! Same thing with your grass. I want you to only take a small amount with each cutting, meaning no more than 25% of the grass blade should be cut in a single trimming. So if your lawn is 4″ tall when you are ready to cut, you should take it no lower than 3″ when completed.
Now, this is the other part of mowing your lawn tall, and that is to keep it right around 3″ all year long. If you are unsure of how to really measure for lawn height like in the video below, then just set your mower wheels on the second to the highest setting and forget it. That is the safe way to go… mow tall, trust me!
Once you are set with the mowing height, now I need you to consider the rest of your lawn mowing practices.
Lawn Cutting Tips: Sharp Mower Blade
You may not realize it, but a dull mower blade will do wonders to make your lawn look brown. This is is because the dull blade rips and shreds the the grass blades instead of making a super clean cut. If you are mowing just your lawn as a homeowner, then you are 
usually safe getting your lawn mower blade sharpened at the beginning of each season. Just keep an eye out for the typical ripped tips to know whether you need to get a sharpen or not.
Of course, I recommend you keep two sets of mower blades on hand anyway, just in case. This way, if one set needs to get sharpened, you have a spare.
Lawn Cutting Tips: Lawn Mower Horse Power
This is one that most folks don’t think about , but it is very important. You must have a lawn mower that has enough power to cut a thick lawn properly. If your mower is under-powered, it will clog and heave and the grass blades will be damaged, but not cut and this is not a good situation. These days, I recommend a mower that is a minimum of 5 horsepower.
You also should consider the quality of the mower and the depth of the deck. A deeper deck will allow more freedom beneath and less grass buildup. This is usually more important if you have a mulching lawn mower.
Remember guys, cut it right and you’ll be all good!
