The First Cut of a New Lawn

[Grassman]

It can be beneficial to roll the area one more time before attempting to mow it.
This will simply push any small stones or worm casts on the surface back into the seedbed and firm in the roots of the seedlings.
It is imperative that the cutting machine used has clean sharp blades or blade to minimise the pulling effect on the seedlings roots.
For a fine lawn cut initially at 2 inches average height down to 1 inch. This can be reduced over the next 3 or 4 cuts to the required finished height. A cylinder mower is highly recommended for this type of lawn.
For a garden utility lawn initially cut at 3 inches average height down to 2 inches. This can be reduced over the next 3 or 4 cuts to the required finished height. Any mowing machine in good working order can be used for this type of lawn.

What happens next is the seedlings will grow more shoots from below the cut thus filling out the space between plants. More seed may be applied at this stage if there are gaps larger than a couple of inches.

Frequent mowings removing a little growth give a lawn its best appearance

[john]

Hi

how long should I leave a new lawn before I make the first cut



 

[Stewie]

There is no set time scale as such. Once 50% of the grass is 3 inches tall you can cut the entire area back down to 2 inches.
This prevents the faster emerging grasses from smothering the slower and/or finer species before they have a chance to establish.
It is often a good idea to roll the area a day or two before the first cut to push ant surface stones and loose roots back down into the seed bed