Several have been heard to say over the past few weeks: “I just mowed my lawn for the last time this year!”. Before you put that lawn mower into early retirement, keep this in mind. Fescue, ryegrass and bluegrass lawns are still green and growing. True, their rate of growth has slowed down a bit with the cooler late fall temperatures, so mowing every 5-7 days is not necessarily needed. However, letting your lawn grow long and leaving it unmowed this early in the season can lead to some health and most certainly cosmetic issues.

It is not the calendar that dictates when to stop mowing. It is the temperatures. A hard freeze or two will knock out the vegetable gardens, but not cool season turf grasses. Continue to mow when the lawn needs it. Mowing will also help keep the leaves in check, as a buildup of leaves in any proportion can smother the turf.