SerpApi.Org
Key Points
- Sharp mower blades and clean cuts prevent fungal diseases and promote faster grass healing.
- Regular maintenance of mower engines and tires prevents uneven cuts and lawn scalping.
- Proper tool care reduces disease spread and keeps your lawn and garden healthier.
Lawn and garden tool maintenance can affect the overall health of your lawn. Improperly maintained lawn equipment leads to issues such as scalping and the introduction of fungal diseases to your lawn.
Learn how tool maintenance affects lawn health and how to maintain your equipment properly.
Meet the Expert
- Sara Bendrick Torres is a licensed landscape contractor, TV personality, and STIHL spokesperson.
- Wes Bollingmo is channel and product support manager at Toro.
Sharpen Your Lawn Mower Blade
How you mow your lawn affects grass health, and part of getting the job done right is keeping your lawn mower blades sharp. Before you begin mowing, take a look at the blade—you should be able to discern a sharp edge.
“Cutting the grass with dull blades tears the plant tissue instead of slicing it,” says plant pro Wes Bollingmo.
Not only will a sharp blade result in a neater appearance, but it also reduces the likelihood of damage from fungal diseases. Each cut is essentially a wound; the quicker that wound heals, the less chance fungi have to get inside the grass blade. Clean cuts heal quickly, tears do not.
It’s good practice to sharpen the blade twice each mowing season. If the blade appears still in good shape upon inspection, remove it and sharpen it (this can be done with a metal file). Keep it steady while sharpening it by putting it in a vise. Replace blades that are bent or have cracks.
Warning
Always disengage the power source for safety before sharpening. For gas mowers, disconnect the spark plug wire.
Clean the Mower’s Cutting Chamber
“Keep the underside of the mower deck clean so grass can circulate properly for an even cut and effective mulching,” says landscape contractor Sara Bendrick Torres.
The key to a mulching mower’s effectiveness is its ability to cut the grass into pieces so fine that they can easily pass down into the soil, furnishing free fertilizer. The grass is held for a longer period in the cutting chamber, allowing it to be cut multiple times.
The problem is that layers of compressed grass clippings build up on the cutting chamber over time, impeding proper operation of the machine.
You can scrape them off with a putty knife, or preemptively spray WD-40 on the cutting chamber as part of your regular mower maintenance. This helps the clippings slip off the chamber rather than building up; it also makes it easier to remove whatever clippings do build up over time.
Keep Your Engine Running Smoothly
When your engine isn’t properly maintained, it will start to cut out when you push the mower through taller grass. Even if the mower doesn’t fully stall, the engine’s not running smoothly will result in an uneven performance.
In some places, your lawn will be scalped. Scalping the lawn stresses it out, as the reduction in blade surface deprives your grass of the benefits of photosynthesis.
“Keeping your equipment in good working condition not only improves the appearance of your lawn but also promotes stronger, healthier growth throughout the season,” Torres says.
Perform regular maintenance checks to ensure that you’re not using dirty oil or a dirty filter. This will largely eliminate the problem.
Keep Your Tires Inflated
Uneven tires are another cause behind scalping. This is a potential problem especially for riding mowers. Check the tires regularly with a gauge to ensure that they are evenly inflated.
You usually don’t need to worry about this with push mowers, most of which have tires made of a solid plastic. But always check tire pressure on machines that have pneumatic tires.
If inspection reveals unevenness, consult the owner’s manual for the recommended PSI and pump up the tires to make them even.
Keep Pruners Clean
Just as proper maintenance of lawn equipment promotes grass health, so proper maintenance of garden tools can help you achieve a disease-free garden.
This is especially true of pruners, which should be kept disinfected. If you prune one diseased plant and move onto a healthy plant and prune it without disinfecting the pruners, you can spread the disease to the healthy plant.
One way to disinfect pruners is with bleach. Fill a bucket with 1 part chlorine bleach and 9 parts water. Rinse your pruners in this solution, then dry them before continuing with your pruning work.
Read the original article on The Spruce
