When is the Best Time of Day to Mow?

Mowing the lawn can be fun - or it can be an annoying challenge - depending on your personal point of view. Whether you love it or hate it - it is a necessary part of maintaining an attractive living area for you, your family, your pets and your neighbors. It is also an important part of maintaining the health of the grass plants themselves.

Some people prefer to mow during the early morning hours before the heat of the day sets in. Some people prefer to mow later to make sure the grass is dry and free of any signs of morning dew. Still other people don't care what time it is and they mow whenever it is convenient. The best tiem of day to mow is a common point of discussion for many people.

Mowing early in the morning increases the chance that you will be mowing wet grass. The grass is more likely to clump and lay in globs on the lawn (unless you like to rake a lot). The plants also lose more moisture that is needed for growth when mowed in the morning because it increases the evaporation rate. It is also a common theory that wet grass creates more wear on the mower engine and does more damage to the mower blade.

Mowing in the afternoon increases the chance your lawn will be dry - saving wear and tear on the mower and reducing the need to rake. It also unfortunately (unless you are a person who enjoys hot weather) leaves you mowing in the hottest part of the day. It also leaves your grass trying to recover from the stress and shock of being cut during the part of the day when it is already the most stressed from the heat of the sun.

Evening mowing offers the benefits of the grass being dry and of not being the hottest (normally anyway) part of the day. The mower takes on less damage and is easier to keep clean. The person operating the mower gets a little bit of relief from the heat, and the grass has the cool evening and nighttime hours to recover from the shock of having been cut.

Overall, mowing in the evening offers the most benefits for both the lawn and the person mowing it. It avoids extra clean-up work as far as raking and cleaning the mower blades. It lets the lawn have the most recovery time in the cool hours of the night. It lets the person operating the mower work during the cooler evening hours instead of during the heat of the day.

Sources

http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/lawns/msg0411200718721.html

http://www.lawncareguide.org/lawn-care-basics/lawn-mowing/best-time-to-mow-your-lawn

http://www.onlinetips.org/lawn-mow-when