How often should you mow your lawn?
Use the height of your grass to decide when to mow, and adjust your schedule as growth speeds up or slows down.
If you’re choosing between mowing weekly and every other week, start by checking the height of your grass a week after a cut. During a growth spurt, it may need cutting even sooner. When growth slows, you may be able to go two weeks between visits. Purdue University Extension
Pick a height, then watch how fast the grass reaches it
Health Canada recommends a cutting height of 6 to 8 cm for a typical home lawn. B.C.’s provincial guide advises taking off at most one-third of the blade height at a time. If you keep your lawn at 8 cm, aim to cut before it gets taller than about 12 cm. Taking 4 cm off 12 cm removes a third. Measure from the soil to the tips of the grass, and use a few representative spots to account for uneven growth. Health Canada · B.C. Ministry of Agriculture
Compare weekly and every-other-week mowing
- Start with weekly checks during a growth spurt. If the grass is already near your cutting threshold a week after mowing, an extra week between cuts is likely to leave too much to take off comfortably.
- Try a longer gap when growth slows. If the lawn is still comfortably below the threshold at seven days, check again a few days later. That second measurement will tell you whether there is room for an every-other-week schedule.
- Recheck after the weather changes. Growing conditions, including soil moisture and sunlight, affect how fast grass puts on height. When drought-stressed grass has stopped growing, wait for growth to resume before mowing again. University of Maryland Extension
Say you cut to 8 cm. If the grass reaches 11 cm in seven days, check it again before committing to a longer gap. If it’s still only 9 cm at day seven and 10 cm at day fourteen, every other week has worked for that stretch. Repeat the check if conditions change.
Check the areas customers see first
On a commercial property, check the lawn near entrances and signs as well as quieter areas. A quick photo from the same spot each week will help you judge whether the frontage looks the way you want between visits. If the grass is already well past the height you usually keep, plan a first cut for overgrown grass before settling on a regular schedule.
Looking for lawn mowing in Fort St. John? Request a mowing quote and tell us which areas you want cut, how quickly they usually grow, and whether you prefer a regular schedule or a single visit.