Tuesday, May 31, 2011

We took the Mow-Hi Pledge!

Our 3" Lawn

This year, the city of Maplewood challenged citizens to take the Mow-Hi Pledge. According to the pledge, raising your lawnmower to 3 inches has a number of benefits for your yard, the environment, and yourself.


In addition to raising lawnmower height, we agreed to leave clippings on the lawn. Some benefits of these 2 simple steps include:

  • Research shows that the shorter you mow, the faster the lawn grows. This seems counter intuitive, but it's true. Therefore, you'll need to mow less frequently. The City of Maplewood recommends timing your cuts so you remove no more than 1/3 of the blade height. 
  • You'll save on water because longer blades shade the roots and therefore water loss is reduced.
  • Root depth equals the height of the grass blades, so roots reach down further for water. 
  • Leaving clippings on the lawn substitutes for 1/3 the fertilizer a lawn needs per year. 
  • Less mowing equals less gasoline used (or, if you use a battery powered mower like us, less electricity used). 
For more information about leaving your lawn long, visit the University of Minnesota's Sustainable Urban Landscape Information Series

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