How To Mow a Lawn Professionally? (Step-by-Step Guide For Beginners)

Mowing a lawn full of weeds is a tiring process but there are always ways to ease the process with smart tips and tricks. Besides cutting the grass and watering plants, there are many other things you have to take care of to maintain such lawns.

If this is something you can relate to, this article breaks down all the steps to turn your weed-filled lawn into a lush, green, and healthy lawn in no time.

From tips, suggestions, solutions, and treatments to mowing ins and outs, we have tried to cover everything that can help mow a lawn full of weeds in the long run.  

7-Steps To Mow A Lawn Full Of Weeds

1. Decide When To Wow

Only mowing at the right time can guarantee excellent mowing results that not only look beautiful but also save extra effort.

Although mowing early is a good answer, it’s important to decide a specific time of the month to cut the lawn.

However, mowing every month on the same day improves nutrient absorption and ensures the prevention of weeds from the lawn.

To decide when to mow a lawn, look at the time you last mowed your lawn and choose the next time with a difference of at least 7-10 days depending on the grass growth.

Consider these factors when deciding when to mow a lawn.

•  Fertilization Frequency  

• Current Season  

• Frequency of Watering  

• Grass Length 

For example, lawns that are fertilized every 2 to 3 months and watered 3 times per week grow a grass length of approximately 2 ½ inches in summers and can be mowed once a week.

However, the conditions here are the ideal conditions for a lawn to grow at its best and get rid of a lawn full of weeds

2. Select The Right Grass Length

If your yard is full of weeds, selecting the right grass length is as important as anything else to chop off the affected area of grass easily. Depending on the type of grass, choose a cutting height that kills the weed and improves the absorption of nutrients, resulting in a healthy lawn.

For example, Cool-seasonal grass works well with a cutting height of 2 1/2 inches, while summer-season grass is often cut 3-3.5 inches high.

In summer, the light directly reaches the root, which can be avoided by keeping the mowing height, increasing insulation, and reducing water loss.

If you’re unsure about the type of grass you have, remember the good rule of thumb which is mowing when your grass grows 3 2/3 inches high. A good rule of thumb is to select a grass length of around 3 inches and professionally cut the grass till 1/3 rd.

Following these grass length rules, the grass will not grow too high or low but will grow at a height where it can get maximum light, water, and fertilizers.

It also ensures a deeper root system to allow maximum water to seep through the roots and avoid the capture of weeds, pests, and other deadly insects into your lawn. Remember, the fittest grass survives longer.    

3. Take Your Time

Once you’ve learned the basics of mowing, it’s time to proceed to the next step in the manual of how to mow a lawn professionally.

Make sure not to rush in the process, as a small mishap can waste all your effort, money, and money spent on your mowing.

Next, buy the best lawnmowers that perfectly meet all your lawn needs. If you’re looking for cheap lawnmowers under $100 that don’t compromise on quality, look for this BLACK+DECKER Mower or CRAFTSMAN Mower as the best options.

While some popular Greenworks lawnmowers like Sun Joe Electric Lawn Mower, MJ403E, or the Great States Push Reel Mower work best in this case.

Now that you’ve decided on your ideal lawnmower to buy, it’s time to pay attention to other necessary details. Some of these include choosing a specific mowing area, a good mowing outline, and adjusting the necessary settings on your lawnmower.

When adjusting the speed of your lawnmower, try to go for low speeds when starting so that you don’t encounter mowing accidents.

Initially, lower speed helps a lot in turning the lawnmower into corners for close, fine, and perfect grass cuts.   

How To Mow A Lawn Professionally With A Lawnmower

Things to Check On Before Starting Your Lawnmower

1. Before starting the lawnmower, check the oil levels of the engine by dipping a dipstick in the engine. Upon checking, make sure the engine is not hot, and the spark plug is disconnected so that the mower doesn’t start unexpectedly.

2. Before you mow the lawn professionally, always remember to clean it from all the objects, toys, and heavy stones so that you can feel the pleasure of mowing a clean lawn smoothly.  

3. If you’re there to mow the lawn for the first time, it’s safe to wear protective gear like pants, gloves, helmets, and protective eyewear, especially if you’re using a big lawnmower.

While for others, you may have the option to at least maintain a distance from your mower and mow with someone.

4. To ensure precise cutting, check the sharpness of the blade by testing on a small portion of your lawn to see how it cuts the grass. Sharper the blade will be, less will be the risk for lawn pests and bugs.

Unfortunately, if the blade is not sharpened well, use a blade sharpener to sharpen it (take help from our guide).

5. No one wants to see a mess after mowing, especially if your lawnmower doesn’t have a bagger fitted in it. In such cases, the best practice is to take a spacious bag and attach it to the backside of your mower.

After one mowing round, remove the bag from the mower, empty it in the bin and again attach it to the backside of the mower. This is one of the easiest ways to save yourself from the aftermath of cleaning grass clippings spread all over the lawn.

Mowing In Different Scenarios

• To mow an irregular-shaped lawn, lower the speed of the lawn and push it to the corners of the lawn by choosing the best lawn mowing pattern.  
• To mow a lawn with stripes, choose a straight line and move the mower in back-and-forth directions with slightly overlapping each grass area. 
• To mow around the corner, use a trimmer that will allow you to mow the grass from an approximately 3 foot diameter around the corner.  

By following all these steps, you’ll make the chore of mowing the lawn a heck of fun without calling out a professional lawnmower service. For creativity, you can also search for interesting lawn mowing patterns on the web and design your lawn the same way.

Whichever pattern you choose, make sure you get healthy mowing results after you mow the lawn professionally.   

What Are Some Common Lawn Mowing Patterns?  

It wouldn’t be wrong to say that staring at beautiful lawn mowing patterns is surely a treat for the eye.

At 10bestlawnmowers, we often meet lawn owners obsessed with finding and practicing new lawn mowing patterns to enhance the beauty of their lawn.

From creating a beautiful striped effect on lawns to selecting different grass patterns, you are free to experiment with anything on your lawn unless it ruins your lawn health.   

Trying different lawn mowing patterns can not only make your neighbor envious of the beauty of your lawn but also helps the grass grow in a regular pattern.

When you mow a lawn in a regular pattern, the grass adapts a certain style to grow while responding to the light and airflow available. Therefore, choosing the right lawn mowing pattern ensures a better life on grass.   

Examples Of Lawnmowing Cutting Patterns

Among the numerous excellent lawnmowing techniques, 10Bestlawnmower experts suggest these five lawnmowing patterns that we’re sharing for the first time with our readers.  

• Checkerboard pattern  
• Straight diagonal lines  
• Crisscross diagonal patterns  
• Diamonds.  
• Striped lawnmower pattern  

Which One Is The Best Lawnmowing Pattern? 

Well, there’s no one answer for the best lawnmowing pattern that suits every lawn type as it depends on several factors.

Most of the time, how well your lawnmower can cover the area and cut precisely decides which mowing pattern would work best for you.

Without a doubt, the striped lawnmowing pattern is one of the most sought-after patterns for large-sized lawns and gives your lawn a new look. Like the above picture, the striped effect doesn’t require very precise cutting like other complex mowing patterns.

If this has intrigued you to mow a lawn in stripe, read the section mentioned below.  

How To Mow A Lawn Professionally With Stripes?

Whether you own a small garden or a large-sized lawn, striped lawn mowing patterns are your go-to option without investing hours of mowing under the scorching sun.

To add more creativity, you can also mix and match other patterns to create a masterpiece on your lawn. Here is a step-to-step guide to creating stripes on your lawn in the best way possible.

1. Brainstorm Your Ideas:  

Before experimenting with mowing patterns on your lawn, it’s very important to make a rough sketch according to your lawn size and the pattern you’ll have to create.

Don’t rush too early, or else you’ll end up ruining the overall beauty of your lawn.

The best part about striped patterns is that you don’t have to repeat mowing at the same place.  

The reason most lawn owners fail to create striped patterns of the experiments fail is that they don’t know everything about your lawn.

It’s an easy, simple, and quick process where you only have to focus on the direction the blade bends. For example, if the blade bends towards the front side, they give dark stripes on the lawn, while those bent on the opposite side give lighter stripes.

2. Understand The Process:  

To make a striped pattern, set the cutting height on your lawnmower and start mowing in stripes one by one. A best practice is to first mow in a similar way then proceed towards the straight at least 10 feet from the front side.

After moving from one side, then mow in the opposite direction to the side you mowed earlier. This works best for the checkerboard mowing pattern, which doesn’t take more than an hour on the lawn.

After mowing the first round, I now mow the same area for the second time at approximately 90 degrees and end the mowing by trimming the edges of the lawn. Once you’re fully done, clean the lawn from grass clippings and leave the lawn for a few hours.   

3. Enjoy the Results

After waiting for approximately 24 hours, brush off the extra grass from the lawn and pat your back for the efforts you’ve made on the lawn. The striped effect looks more beautiful when the light strikes it.

On average, the striped effect on the lawn lasts up to a month or even more, depending on your grass growth.   

To Mow A Lawn By Professionally Creating Stripes: 

• Clean the lawn and professionally cut the grass from the corners and edges. 

• Make one stripe on the lawn and take it as the landmark to mow other stripes on the lawn. 

• Keep equal and moderate cutting space for mowing the stripes; look professional and flawless. 

• After every stripe, draw a line so that you know where to make the next one.   

The best rule to remember while creating striped patterns is to repeat the pattern and keep track while moving the lawn back and forth in the same direction.

Believe me, the clean and beautiful stripes on the lawn will make all your efforts worthwhile once you get the praises.

For a more finished look, take the final round with the mower in the same direction, unclamping all the left grass in the yard.   

 Do You Trim Or Mow The Lawn First?  

A lot of lawn owners use words like ”trimming” and ”mowing” interchangeably, because of which lawnmowing often becomes a nightmare. Whenever you read “mow” or “trim” the lawn in our articles, we mean two different things, as mentioned below.

Mowing a Lawn:

 Lawnmowing is simply cutting longer grass short of shading the soil and allowing new grass to grow with a cleaner look, maintaining cleaning and beautifully grooming the lawn.

Trimming the Lawn:

 Lawn Trimming is an excellent way to improve the health and appearance of a lawn by professionally cutting the edge of the lawn to a very short length.

Usually, it’s done on the corners and boundary of your lawn which is comparatively easier, quick, and feasible than mowing the whole lawn by lawnmowers.

Usually, lawn owners prefer trimming the lawn first before mowing, as doing so later can make it hard to differentiate between freshly cut and uncut lawns.

When you trim first, it gets easier to mow, investing less effort and time on the lawn as you get a leveled lawn and can easily see the overgrown grass that’s supposed to be cut.

If you’ve not trimmed a lawn before, it’s done vertically on edges where using a lawn trimmer or edge is highly preferable to a lawnmower.

Conclusion 

Mowing a lawn professionally is not rocket science if you read between the lines and follow this guide carefully. Once you’ve mastered these effective lawnmowing techniques, don’t wait any longer to implement them on your lawn.

Be it a walk-behind mower, riding lawnmower, or push mower, there is no secret to mowing the lawn unless you practice yourself. From sharpening lawnmower blades to maintaining the lawnmower regularly, this article has everything you need to know.

To learn more about mowing a lawn like a pro, you should have the best lawn mower with all the features you want in your lawn like those mentioned in our articles.

Our top picks in lawnmowers include Best Robotic Lawnmowers Under $1000, 7 Best Lawnmowers Under $300, 6 Best Types of Lawnmowers 2021, and The Best Lawnmowers For Money 2021.