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PostPosted: Wed Dec 03, 2003 3:47 pm 
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I have been reading some of the threads and they say to mow Bermuda low. I thought all grasses should be mowed high.

I have bermuda and have been following the organic program and mowing once a week with the mower set on the highest setting. I water only when dry (max 2x/week during the hottest part of the summer). I do get some crab grass, occasional other grasses, dandilions and some other small weeds (very easy to pull). I try to pull all the weeds early in the spring and do a few other attempts during the year.

Why should bermuda be mowed low? Does this mean that I need to mow more than once a week? I do have a muching mower.


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PostPosted: Thu Dec 04, 2003 9:23 am 
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When bermuda (and bent and centipede) is mowed at 1/2 to 1 inch high, it will take on a prostrate growth habit. The low growing grass is very soft on bare feet and forms a dense "canopy." Tall bermuda is thin and straggly which invites weeds to sprout and grow on the unshaded bare soil between stalks of grass. Tall bermuda is also spiky to the feet especially after mowing.

When you look straight down onto tall bermuda you can see the ground. When you look straight down on prostrate bermuda, you see grass.

During the rapid growing season, you may have to mow more than once per week to maintain short bermuda. The best mowers for short grasses are reel mowers. They cost a little more to buy but they are really worth it if you are mowing grass short. People who have converted say things like, "I can't believe I wasted so much of my life with a rotary mower."

My next door neighbor (80 years old and extremely limited income) bought a push reel mower simply because that was all she could afford. Her St Augustine looks better than mine cut with a rotary. Next season I think I'll borrow hers and see how hard it is to mow with. Now that my grass is tall, there's not much getting cut each week for most of the season.

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 Post subject: Bermuda Mowing Height
PostPosted: Tue Dec 09, 2003 4:06 pm 
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I cannot emphasize enough the improvement I saw in my bermuda after only one season of mowing low with a reel mower and following the directions I learned here for soil amendments. It was simply amazing.

I buzzed it off low with the rotary mower around May/June. It was so brown and ugly, I was afraid I'd killed the entire lawn. But I followed with a top-dressing of compost, a heavy application of CGM, applied some lava sand, greensand, and continued with a bi-weekly application of molasses and liquid seaweed. I also found that using a soaker hose to water instead of the sprinkler system worked much better for me. I was able to really saturate the ground much more effectively this way and with minimal runoff.

Wow! Did it come back with a vengeance!! :shock:

I was lucky enough to find a great deal on a used John Deere 220 greens mower on Ebay and it really does a great job. No more half moons all over the place like a rotary mower gives you. :evil: Keep in mind that I often had to mow the lawn 3 times a week, but the end result was so satisfying that it was worth it to me. (I'm actually one of those sickos that enjoys mowing the lawn hehe)

I recently had some tree work done and was complimented many times by the arborist about how good the lawn looked. :D

Give it a shot next season. I bet you'll be amazed with the results as well.


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PostPosted: Thu Dec 11, 2003 8:54 am 
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Another testimonial for reel mowers, folks!

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