New turf first cut

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Soldato
Joined
27 Mar 2013
Posts
3,864
Location
Nottingham
We had new turf put down friday before last, i know normally you should wait 3 weeks before first cut but it is already very long. Im concerned if i wait too long ill take too much off even at the highest setting on my mower.

Its properly rooted and i cant pull it up anywhere, its probably about 11/12cm atm. Would you cut it early or just leave it another week?
 
If it is that long you should be fine.

Ideally you would not take more than third off, but not really possible with a mower at that length.

Wack mower on its highest setting and go for it. If you leave it to get longer, your mower might struggle!
 
Laid mine on same day as you.

Gave it first cut on highest setting about two days ago. Actually gonna cut it again tomorrow.

Want it shorter but I don't want to stress it.
 
Yeah I ended up giving it a cut on the highest setting last night, I'll drop the mower down a knotch every week until im happy with the length, already suffering with some dog burn spots though (as expected) so gonna get some seed and feed and hope I can fned off the worst of it.
 
Cut it regularly and leave the clippings behind (2 to 3 times a week) it's much quicker when it's not long.

A good 6-8 week spring/summer feed will do you well. Anything with high amounts of nitrogen will cause it to grow extremely quick.

Scarify it twice a year to remove thatch :)
 
In addition to what BennyC said...

If you want a healthy looking lawn with minimal effort, cut your grass on the highest setting your mower is able to and cut it once a week minimum. My mower has 7 settings, 7 being 70mm height IIRC. Once all grass has reached the same height it looks great and when you stand on it, it feels very nice and soft. I personally leave the clippings on the lawn every 2-3 weeks, providing the lawn has not grown excessively.

It will also help stop seeds getting to the soil so easily and when they do, the grass will create shade over them to restrict their growth. Regular mowing means you cut the weeds heads off before they can pollinate and spread more seeds on your lawn (Dandelions being the worst IMO).

Most people will cut the lawn too short and then it will ruin the lawn and take a long time to recover. I specifically told my brother to do the above with his new turf, yet he cut it short in the middle of summer last year because he 'didn't want to cut it weekly' and it looks terrible :) A brand new healthy lawn now looking like a neglected lawn.
 
I have new lawn being laid on the 15th, need to work out how to adjust the mower head for it.
 
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