When and how do I make the first lawn cut of the year?

The first cut is decided by the weather rather than the calendar, and it is the cut most often got wrong — usually by cutting too short, too early, or on ground still too wet to walk on.

Safety

Step by step

1. Wait for growth, not for a date.Grass starts growing when soil temperature is consistently above about 6°C. In a mild year that can be late February; in a cold one, mid-April. The lawn tells you rather than the calendar.
2. Check the ground is firm enough.If you leave footprints, it is too wet. Mowing waterlogged ground compacts it and tears the grass rather than cutting it, and the damage lasts months.
3. Clear the lawn first.Twigs, stones, leaves, wire, dog mess, anything blown in over winter. A mower throws small objects at speed and this is the most common way people are hurt.
4. Service the mower before the first cut.Sharpen or replace the blade, change the oil on a petrol machine, clean under the deck, check the cable on an electric one. A blunt blade tears the grass, which leaves a browned tip and invites disease.
5. Set the height to maximum.The first cut should only take the tips off. Grass has spent winter storing energy in the leaf, and removing most of it at once weakens the plant when it is least able to recover.
6. Never remove more than a third at once.This is the rule that governs every cut, not just the first. If the grass is very long, cut high, wait several days, then cut again slightly lower.
7. Lower the height gradually over several cuts.Take it down a notch at a time across three or four cuts until you reach the summer height — generally 25 to 40mm for a domestic lawn.
8. Cut when the grass is dry.Wet grass clogs the deck, cuts unevenly and clumps on the surface. Dry grass gives a cleaner cut and the clippings scatter properly.
9. Collect the clippings on the first cut.There is usually winter debris and matted growth mixed in. From the second or third cut, leaving short clippings returns nitrogen to the lawn.
10. Leave the edges and bulbs.Areas with naturalised bulbs need their foliage until it yellows — usually six weeks after flowering — or next year's flowers suffer.
11. Deal with moss and thatch afterwards, not now.Scarifying and aerating are jobs for when the grass is growing strongly, usually April or later. Doing them at the first cut damages a lawn that has not started recovering.
12. Feed once it is growing.A spring feed after two or three cuts, when growth is established. Feeding before growth starts largely washes through.

Tips

• Sharpen the blade before the first cut rather than after a month of tearing. It is the single biggest difference to how a lawn looks.
• The footprint test decides whether to mow. Visible prints mean the ground is too wet, whatever the grass looks like.
• If the lawn has got very long, cut high and cut again in a few days. One short cut does more damage than two high ones.

Common mistakes

• Cutting short on the first cut — Grass stores energy in the leaf over winter and removing most of it at once weakens the plant, encourages moss and slows recovery for the whole season.
• Mowing when the ground is still wet — It compacts the soil and tears rather than cuts. Use the footprint test — visible prints mean wait.

If it doesn't work

Questions people ask