Grass height

[Nubian 3]

How low is too low? What is a good average height to cut and maintain grass? I live in upstate NY. Also what is the average number of cuts per month?

[Boney 0]

There are many factors, and I am an amature at lawn cutting but this is what I have heard and practice - Depends on time of year, early on cut often, but dont cut it lower than 2" this will promote growth. - After early spring cut at 3 1/2 to 4", this will help shade out weeds, promote roots to go deeper and help conserve water. - Also depends on the type of grass you have, but regardless of type of grass sharpen your blade, this will help prevent desease. - Never cut off more than 1/3 of the grass blade at a time.

[SteveP 0]

For many years I have set my mowers at the HIGHEST setting available. Healthier grass...Less weeds. 'nuf said

[Willy 2]

That is very good advice, after the second cutting I set mine at about 3 to 3.5in and mow when it looks like it needs it. Some times when the rains are right I've had to mow twice a week.

[shanhamm 0]

Guess my opinion will be different... I personally like short grass I usaually set my height at 2.5".

[Scott Salmons 7]

I agree with Shanon, I like the looks of a short cut lawn, however I think the lawn is healthier if it is cut a 3" to 3 1/2". One thing that cannot be over stressed is sharp blades!!

[Taddy 0]

I pretty much agree with all of the above opinions. But I acquired a 95 Sovereign a couple years ago with a 48" deck. It will absolutely not adjust higher than 2 1/2". Right to the top of the slots and that's all she rote. Being used to the old B10 or 3416H, I found it a little disappointing. Todd

[acken 208]

Todd, you may want to check the diameter of your rollers against a new one. They do wear down over time, and will affect the height.

[Nubian 3]

As usual thanks EVERYONE for the help and recommendations;)

[mmischni 0]

I had always heard higher is better, too and not wanting to spread lots of weed killer I figured I would go for 4". But my little Broadmoor wouldn't go taller than 2.5" either! Since I had access to a lathe at work and felt kind of ambitious, I went ahead and shortened the spindles by an inch. It was kind of a fun project. I removed the bearings and spindle, cut the welds on the spindle housing collars (some creative setup may make this unnecessary), and shortened the housings by 1 inch. I then bored the cut-off end for the bearing. I didn't want to re-thread the pulley ends of the shafts, so I drilled out the welds on the blade flanges, took an inch off the blade end of the shafts, then welded the blade flanges back on, welded the collars back on the spindle housings, and put it all back together. (did have one problem with a bearing being too tight after I took it out of the lathe, but some time with a scraper set that to rights :). Now I can cut to 3.5 inches. Now with Ken's advice, maybe I should have just checked out my rollers. They are original and I am sure quite worn. Should have talked to you guys first! Ha! Matt

[acken 208]

I have also cut off the adjusting arms on roller shaft, then added another inch of flat stock to get more height. I did this on a 916 to mow rough areas with(pasture).

[comet66 0]

The roller bar will wear flat on the bottom as well. I just had to turn one over on a 60" deck. You might go to a larger tire diameter to pick up some hight also.

[Tacey 0]

My Broadmoor II's 42" deck is raised up to the tallest setting. Even so, it's a good 1" shorter than my next-door neighbor's height. I actually like it when the rollers start to accumulate grass-cuttings, to increase the roller diameter, and raise the deck. A lot of the grass cutting regime is dictated by local conditions. I enrolled at the Scott's (the fertilizer people) website. They send auto-email to me year 'round, to keep me on track. These emails are custom-made for our local western PA conditions. And for blades, I bought these "Meg-Mo" kind 2 years ago. Four blades per spindle. Awesome quality & speed. Around here, in the Spring, I could mow every other day. And I usually do. Tacey

[TimJr 206]

For that Sovereign deck that uses the stepped or gullwing style blades, swap them out to the 1690502 style flat blades - instant .5" higher cut. You need new blades, the proper spline washers for the flat blades, and bolt them on. Check your cup washers while they are off for cracks or damage. Not to mention the flat blades are a lot cheaper than the stepped ones... Tim