It is always a blessing to start your day seeing the amazing shape of your lawn.
But when one does not take care of the lawn, then the blessing soon turns out to be a curse.
Nobody wants an ugly lawn in their house, I know you don’t either. That’s why you mow your lawn regularly. And you know effective grass cutting with a lawn mower depends on several facts. Measuring a lawn mower is the most crucial among them.
Now you might ask, “How to measure lawn mower cutting height of the lawn mower?” It is very important to measure the cutting height of your lawn mower each time you go to cut your lawn. And the process is not that complicated at all.
Let me tell you how easily you can measure your lawn mower cutting height.
So without further ado, let’s get started.
In this content you’ll learn:
How To Measure Lawn Mower Cutting Height
There are many types of lawn mower. Like, two-function, three-function mowers, there are also rear-wheel-drive, front-wheel drive, or all-wheel drive mowers.
Some lawn mowers have even settings as well as letters or numbers on the wheels. For example, one, two, three, or four, or letters A, B, or C. These numbers do not merely mean one inch two inches, or three inches.
You will have to see the Lawn mower’s manual to find out what those numbers mean and what height they are.
Now, come to the main fact. Measuring the lawnmower height is very easy. With these simple steps, you can easily measure and get your target cutting height.
Manually Measure The Cutting Height:
We can manually measure the height of a lawnmower. To do so follow these simple steps:
Step 1: Find a hard surface
We must first go to a hard surface such as a concrete road or sidewalk
Step 2: Open the deck
In every lawn mower there is a deck to protect you from the cutting blades. Open that deck.
Step 3: Measure with a Ruler or wood
Now comes the Major part. Measure the height manually from the ground to the edge of the cutting blades using a measuring tape or ruler. You can also take a piece of wood as it is tough to put your measuring tape inside the deck and measure the cutting height. Rather you can use a piece of wood to mark the height than measure the wood with your measuring tape or ruler.
Alternative Approach
If you are not very comfortable with opening the deck of your lawn mower and measuring the height of the cutting blades with a ruler, you can try a very different and safe approach.
In this process, measure the height of the grass of your lawn after you mow a small portion of your lawn. That’s your cutting blade height.
It might seem like an uncanny approach but look at the bright side!
It gets the job done.
Learn About Your Grass Types
The most important aspect of maintaining a healthy lawn is to set your mower to a reasonable height. One should always measure lawn mower cutting height according to their grass types.
As the height of the grass determines the depth of the roots, it’s a one-to-one relationship. It means that if your grass has 2 inches of roots, you should mow at 2 inches, 3 inches if your grass has 3 inches of roots, and so on.
Here are some common grass types and their cutting height:
| Grass Type | Mowing Height |
| Annual Ryegrass | 2.25” – 3” |
| Bahia Grass | 2” – 3” |
| Bent Grass | 0.25” – 0.75” |
| Bermuda Grass | 0.50” – 1.50” |
| Buffalo Grass | 2” – 3” |
| Centipede | 1.50” – 2.50” |
| Fine Fescue | 1.50” – 2.50” |
| Kentucky Bluegrass | 1.50” – 2.50” |
| Perennial Ryegrass | 2.25” – 3.75” |
| Ryegrass | 1.50” – 2.50” |
| St. Augustine | 2” – 4” |
| Tall Fescue | 2” – 3” |
| Zoysia | 0.50” – 1.50” |
It may be that you don’t know what type of grass you have, or if you have a lawn with a variety of grasses. In that case, you must make the long cut in the summer because the grass will shade the soil beneath and prevent it from drying out. It will also prevent weed growth.
As autumn approaches, the grass begins to grow faster as the temperatures begin to fall. Then you’ll have to lower the lawn mower’s setting.
In the spring, when the grass grows quickly, you have to keep the lawn mower on a low setting to keep up with the faster-growing grass, but never go through the short height of your cutting blade that it scalps along with the lawn. This way, you won’t have to cut it for too long.
Finally, before the winter season arrives, we must lower the bed as low as possible without touching the scalp and set the bed up for the winter.
If you want to measure your lawn mower cutting height, you have to make sure the cutting height follows the rule of thumb. Because determining the optimal grass height and allowing it to rise one third before cutting is a good approach for making your lawn look more elegant.
Benefits Of Measuring Lawn Mower Cutting Height
Setting your lawn mower to the proper height can significantly impact the quality of your lawn. Let’s figure out some of the common benefits.
- It will improve the drought resistance of your lawn.
- It will make your lawn disease-resistant.
- It will create much more resistance and will not allow weed growth.
Special Tips
Always check that your measurement is accurate and according to the rule of thumb. This rule states that, during one mowing session, you should never cut more than one-third of the grass blade length.
All the blades in the lawnmower are not completely flat. It starts a little higher and then slopes a little down to the edge of the blades. For this reason, you should start measuring at the lowest possible point, then go up to the centre, and finally to the real highest point.
When you measure, you must make sure that the height is not too low or too high. If you reduce the grass too low, the grass may be stressed and the grass growth will not be too healthy if you cut so far.
Safety Tips
We must maintain some safety and precautions when measuring the lawnmower to avoid any accidental injuries.
- When putting your hands inside the deck, you should set the parking brake by fully depressing the brake pedal.
- After that, set the attachment clutch to the Disengaged position.
- You can also take further precautions by turning the ignition key to the “stop” position and removing the key before measuring the cutting blades.
- Always check that the blades and all moving parts are completely stopped before measuring your cutting blades.
Final Thoughts
Measuring the lawn mower cutting height takes about thirty seconds only. You just need to know about your grass types and your lawn mower. However, before adjusting the lever and checking the height of the cutting blade from the surface, you should always take some precautions.
One way you should treat the grass in your garden is to make sure that every time you mow it, you cut it to the right height.
I hope this article was informative and helpful to you.
Now, all you have to do is measure your lawn mower and start mowing!