Print Article for : Calories Burned Mowing Lawn

Your Online Guide » Gardening Guide » Lawn Care Tips

[C45]Calories Burned Mowing Lawn

by Ben Needles, Ben

Now that we are well into the 2008 lawn growing season, Im sure youve got your turfgrass properly fertilized properly and looking super thick and pretty. Youve toiled to foil the onslaught of invading dandelions, clover and other weeds; and you are on a regular watering and irrigation schedule to keep your investment alive and growing.
The final basic element involved is the cutting. This is my favorite part of the maintenance process.
The positives are not only for the turf grass, but for the homeowner as well.
Mowing benefits to the homeowner include:
First off, cutting the lawn involves a power tool, namely, your mower.
Secondly, it involves some form of exercise (for which my wife is appreciative).
Finally, it affords the operator a chance to get some real thinking done.

Lets explore each of these benefits.
(1) The power mower: I use a variable speed, self-propelled 21 Lawn Boy sense-a-speed mower, rear wheel drive. (Oh that sounds hot just to say out-loud!)
My lawn is only 8,000 square feet, so I am not in need of anything larger; besides, I run that puppy wide open!
(2) The exercise: It takes about an hour to mow my lawn including edging, weed-whacking and cleanup. Thats not bad really. I suppose if I wanted to increase the aerobic benefits in this process, I could lose the self-propelled mower option and push the thing, but Im not really that fat! Ha!
However, one thing I am in favor of to increase the benefit in exercise is mow the lawn 2 or 3 times per week! This helps #3 come more into focus as well as benefits the turf itself: its a venerable cornucopia of benefaction!
(3) The thinking time: (this is a great one!) Ponder this: you are out for 1-hour doing a job that only requires one person to do, that no one else in your household really wants to do anyway (especially if you have teenagers like I do). This means its all yours; you own it ... completely!
On top of that, your wife cant bark or nag at you during this time because the mower engine noise drowns her out completely and she knows it! Its just plain quiet time for you inside your head! Thats better than a hammock under a tree and a cold lemonade as far as Im concerned.

Now lets get down to the tips that benefit the lawn itself.
(1) Mowing height
(2) Mowing frequency
(3) Mowing direction
(4) Mulch or Catch

Mowing benefits for the lawn, by the numbers:
(1) The height: This one varies according to the type of grass you have. But who *really* knows their grass type? Chances are you have a mix of Kentucky BlueGrass and some sort of fescue or rye. With that in mind, I tell folks to set their mower on the highest or second-highest setting. You just dont want to remove much more than 25% of the grass blade in any single cutting.
Its like this: If I lose a finger-nail, Im going to be just fine, but if I lose my entire arm, Im in a world of hurt, ...got it?
And on a side note, ya gotta have a sharp blade. A dull blade rips the grass blades instead of cutting them. Rips turn brown and rob the lawn of its color.

(2) Assuming proper irrigation year-round, the lawn needs cutting weekly. Ive had people call me to complain that after cutting their lawns, they turned yellow. Upon further investigation, I found that they had not cut the lawn prior for a month! Now were back to the finger-nail vs the arm analogy. Please folks, be responsible and keep your turf trimmed regularly.
As mentioned above, I actually try and get people to mow twice per week, but thats over-the-top for most.

(3) The mowing direction isnt the biggest deal here, but you certainly dont want to mow the exact same way all the time or you take a chance on developing ruts in the lawn. You also will literally push lines of turf down, and train them to lay down all the time ... like people train their hair to lay a certain direction...this is not a good situation for turf-grass.

(4) Mulch or catch? Ford or Chevy?
Yeah, its like that. I do both depending on my mood. Catching has benefits in the end because you dont have as many clippings to blow off the driveway. If you do mulch, make sure you have a quality mulching blade installed to grind up the cuttings into super-fine bits!

So next time you head outside to cut that lawn, be sure to review the benefits to you, as well as your nice patch of green grass.

Cutting your lawn properly can lead to a healthy growing lawn. Although it seems like a chore, lawn mowing can give you a great workout and be relaxing. The smell of fresh-cut grass gives you a wonderful sense of accomplishment. Before you mow, here are a few things about mowing that you should take note first.

1. Never mow a wet lawn

You should avoid mowing when the lawn is wet. The grasses will settle in big globs and cause clumping of the lawn. It will help to spread lawn fungus quickly too. Schedule your mowing task to the evening as the weather is cooler and your lawn has ample time to dry from the morning watering.

2. Adapt your mowing schedule to the grass growth

Different type of grass flourish in different seasons. Warm-season grasses will grow quickly in summer and thus you may need to mow once every three to four days during the summer period. You can reduce the mowing to once a month during a drought period. Observe how your lawn grass is growing and adapt your mowing schedule accordingly.

3. Check your mowing height

A good practice is to cut off top one third of the grasses at any one time. If your lawn grasses have grown to six inches and you like to bring it back to two inches, do not cut off four inches in one mowing session. Cut off the first two inches and let the lawn rest for a couple of days. This will allow your lawn to recover and adapt to the new height before mowing the next two inches.

4. Change Your Mowing Patterns

If you often mow your lawn in the same pattern and direction, streaks or stripped lines can develop and make your lawn look horrible. Try to alternate the mowing direction each time you mow. Mow side to mow during the first pass and then top to bottom for the next pass. This ensures your lawn will not be matted or trampled in the same place each time you mow.

5. Mulch your lawn

You should try to get a mulching mower that can cut and re-cut the grasses to drop back into your lawn. Clippings are actually a form of natural, slow-release fertilizer and they can help you reduce your fertilizer requirement by half. You have to keep the mower blades sharp so that the mowing action will cut the grass blades and not tear them. Tearing the grass blades can lead to development of thatches, which are harmful to your lawn.

Mulching your lawn is good practice during a drought season and after fertilization. It can provide cover to help the soil retain the water it received. In addition, the clippings contain water and small amount of nitrogen (plus a host of other nutrients in small quantities) which will provide the fertilization that your lawn need. In the long run, the cost saving from a reduction of fertilizer purchases can really add up.

Proper mowing is one of the most important practices in your keeping your lawn healthy. Keeping these five points in mind and integrating them into your mowing session will ensure your lawn stays green and healthy for many years to come.

Article Source : Pg. 3

About Author

Both Ben Needles & Jack Greenwood are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.

Ben Needles has sinced written about articles on various topics from Business Credit Cards, Anger Control and Business Credit Cards. About the Author (text)Al Haneson blogs about Illinois issues and life at and. Ben Needles's top article generates over 550000 views. to your Favourites.

Jack Greenwood has sinced written about articles on various topics from Lawn Care, Landscaping and Gardening. . Jack Greenwood's top article generates over 2900 views. to your Favourites.