Start cutting early. By cutting the lawn before it turns green and begins growing you clip off the old dead tips and give the lawn its cue to start growing. The sooner you get the lawn growing the better you can crowd out the weeds before they start.

Cut on a consistent basis. Normally weekly mowing is the rule, but some lawns need cutting more often. Other lawns will grow more slowly and might need cutting only once every ten days or two weeks.

Generally, don't cut off more than one third of a blade of grass. Any more than that may harm the grass. So, if you like your lawn at 2 inches, make sure that you cut it when it get's to about 3 inches. Let the length of the lawn be the judge, NOT when the last mowing was.

Always have sharp blades. Dull mower blades tend to rip the blades of grass as opposed to cutting them. Every torn blade is an opening for disease and causes stress to the lawn. Mowing a lawn when it is wet tends to cause the same problem, so try to avoid it if possible.

Never mow in the same direction for more than three weeks straight (preferably no more than two). If you do, you'll end up with ruts, and the grass will begin to lean over (making it difficult to get a good cut). Try cutting perpendicularly or diagonally occasionally.

Let it grow!! The longer you let your lawn grow (speaking in terms of length, not necessarily time) the longer your lawn's root system will grow. The longer the root system, the healthier and more stress resistant your lawn will be. AND, the more stress and drought resistant your lawn, the less watering that has to be done.

In addition, tests have shown that letting the lawn grow to lengths of 2" or better reduce the number of weeds in the lawn by reducing the amount of sunlight that reaches weed seeds. This is especially true of crabgrass. Longer blades also have more surface area available for photosynthesis which produces life- giving food and energy for the lawn.

As long as you have a healthy lawn already and no problems with thatch, feel free to leave the clippings when you mow. Mulching is good, but it is not a necessity. As long as the clippings are not excessive, they will not harm your lawn.

If your soil is well balanced and has plenty of earthworms and micro-organisms, the clippings will break down within a short period of time and will provide nitrogen to your lawn.

NOTE: If you are currently using chemicals or have within the not so distant past, it is likely that your soil is very acidic and has few of the aerobes and earthworms that are necessary for the break down of dead roots and clippings.

For the last cut of the season, make it a short one. Cut it to about 1". Also, make certain to collect the clippings on the last mowing. These clippings most likely would not be broken down before cold weather moves in.

Long grass and old clippings in the lawn can be the perfect breeding ground for disease and fungus at the start of the next season--especially snow mold.

To save some time and effort you may want to consider planting groundcover or putting in some mulched beds around trees and in areas that would otherwise have to be weed whipped.