You guys know I talk a lot about lawn mowing. In fact, it has got to be one of my favorite lawn care subjects; and today I am going to talk to you about the importance of the lawn mower blade itself.

First off, the blade has got to be sharp during each and every cutting. A dull lawn mower blade will rip and shred the grass tips when you cut. These tears will do a couple things to the turf:

1) Rips and tears in grass plants allows moisture to escape, turning the lawn brown in color.

2) Shredded grass blades allow the introduction of disease pathogens that can take hold.

For most homeowners, I recommend you sharpen your blade at the beginning of the season, and again in late June or July. This should ensure you are in line. However, if you mow lawns for others in your area, you may want to step up this schedule.

Next, I want you to make sure your blade is seated properly under the mower deck. If the blade is loose in any way, it will not cut evenly. Uneven cutting looks bad of course, but also creates the ripping and shredding we talked about above. Make sure you have double washers around the nuts to hold the blade firm when spinning.

Finally, look at the blade compared to your owners manual. Do you have a mulching blade on a mower that is only a bagger? Is your blade designed right for your particular mower? It’s great that you replace the mower blade when needed, but you have to make sure you have the right blade for your mower. The best way to make sure you are good is to buy blades from actual dealers, and not big box home improvement stores.

You see, the blade is a big deal when cutting your lawn! I recommend you check yours today, before you cut!

We’ve been talking about common lawn care myths that I have heard over the years, and today’s is one of the funniest in my opinion. Don’t get me wrong. The beer and grub worms myth is a good one, but this one takes the cake hands down: If I wear golf shoes when I mow, that’s the same as core aeration.

Core aerating the lawn (I am big on this as you know) is the process whereby a machine is taken across the lawn. This machine has 4-5 inch long hollow tines that pull cores of soil from the lawn…holes are punched, cores removed, aeration complete!

Core aeration manages the lawn’s thatch layer and also keeps soil compaction under control.

Many times over the years, customer have told me they don’t aerate their lawns in this way due to the fact that they wear golf shoes while they mow the grass. I think that’s funny and here’s why:

1. Golf shoes have spikes that are less than 1/4 inch long.
2. Golf spikes make dents in soil–if they can get through the thatch layer.
3. Golf spikes are almost always plastic nowadays.

The truth is that golf courses professionally aerate their greens and fairways every year–and they have more golf shoes stomping on them than anyone’s home lawn!

So in the end guys, don’t skimp on aeration. Rent the machine and do it–every spring and every fall–if you can. Leave the golf shoes for the 8th tee box!