I get it on a well via media where everyone wins , especially when Mother Earth is involved . So rent ’s tattle about “ Slow Mow May . ”
We ’ve all likely hear that lawns are essentially monoculture wastelands ineffectual to confirm native insects or wildlife . But many of us still hold at least some lawn . Realistically , not all of us plant to transition to bee lawn or other primer coat covers — and that ’s ok .
For those of us who want to do better with what we have , many have taste “ No Mow May . ” Some of us did alright with it , some get by dissatisfied neighbour , and some of allot with lawn that never really bounce back .
Why Not Mow?
In general the idea of not mowing to serve the pollinator makes good sense . The early time of year is thin picking for many native pollinator , and the taller the grass the deeper the roots . keep reach the soil open shaded preserve other weeds from evolve along with keep the soil tank , which then requires less watering . All this lead to an overall stronger , healthy lawn that will need less inputs ( pee and fertilizer ) later in the season .
That is , up to a point . Then the scales seem to tip .
When you do eventually mow , if you cut more than 1/3 of the total grass steel length , you will probably damage the industrial plant ’s ability to regrow . all of a sudden exposing the ground surface to more sun by mowing shorter than 3 column inch high can put roots into shock , germinate weed seeds and scald the plants that are left .
These are hard - to - plow transition for any plant , especially at a time when the Sunday is at its most muscular around the summer solstice . It ’s been shown that sunny grass does bad recuperate from No Mow May practices than fly-by-night supergrass .
Read more : Ditch the yard ? Here ’s why you might consider it and how to start out .
Enter the Compromise of Slow Mow May
Use the month of May to try out a slower mowing routine ( mayhap half as often ) and see how it goes . Using this practice can give you a feel of freedom and help you stretch out your own ideas of what a an attractive lawn should and could look like . This also gives you some time to verbalize with neighbors who might have concerns .
Do n’t pout sens shorter than 3 inches high to help retain good root structure , crowd out weeds and keep the dirt surface shaded , which will help withstand potential droughts later in the time of year .
supervise withbee lawnor land cover seed to passively add in lower maintenance options . Or go enceinte and install abee lawnor other terra firma shroud in less used sphere . There are many ground cover alternative like sedge andlow mow turf optionsout there .
The overall idea of low- or no - hayloft space is to create a better overall environment for pollinators , better soil health and less work ( low-pitched carbon footmark ) for us as home owner . States like my own ( I ’m in Minnesota ) have started extend toll share programs for folk to install a pollinator home ground calledLawns to Legumes . Programs like these are reach impulse as we all realize how much of an encroachment we can have on Mother Nature with whatever spaces we have .
