Lawn Service in MA (new house, vs., homeowner)

[Shizim]

Thinking about getting lawn service this year. I know alot of providers push for weekly mowing (more money and easier to schedule) but is it necessary? Our lawn gets a ton of shade so i don't want to pay to get it mowed when it doesn't need it. How often do you get your yards mowed/mow yourself. is two weeks too long?

[timberline742]

Some weeks its necessary, yes (depending on shade), others it isn't. It's really variable. I think most of the spring/summer/fall weekly is needed for us. If you don't have a sprinkler system, it might not be during the heat of July and August.

[Beachcomber4]

It really does depend. Maybe find a small local company who will mow based on need rather than contract? Parts of our property get mowed 2x a week while other, shadier areas can easily go a week to ten days. Two weeks may be realistic for your yard.

[Parsec]

I get weekly mowings in the spring and early summer and switch over to biweekly mowings in August when it's hot and the grass doesn't grow much. I get charged $45 for a weekly mowing and $65 for biweekly mowings, so it doesn't save as much money as you'd think. I think most landscapers charge more for the biweekly mowing because they're not at your house as often. Same reasoning for cleaning ladies who charge more for biweekly cleanings vs. weekly.

[mmyk72]

Our lawn guy charges the same fee whether weekly or biweekly. I talked to him yesterday to get him to start late May and only do biweekly. It sounded like he wants to come out much more than what we (homeowners) want... I'm sure there is a conflict of interest here since he benefits more financially the more times he comes to mow. I felt like he is not listening and wanted to reach into the phone and grab him by the neck and say... "Look, we are the ones paying so just do as we say."

Last yr, the 1st mowing started before the grass was even long and he came weekly until we asked him to skip a week. Weekly is just excessive (our grass don't grow that fast), waste of money, and bad to the environment with all those polluting emissions and noise. We have a neighbor right across the street that does zero lawn care. So even if we spent minimally on our lawn, it still looks great in comparison. I'm thinking so what if the grass is a little long in between mows.

[Mordi]

you will not have a usable yard at the end of the 2 week window, and when you do cut, the clippings will be everywhere. you need to do it weekly for a good chunk of the year (may-june and maybe september). mid-summer months as well if there is a lot of rain.

[Parsec]

Originally Posted by mmyk72

Our lawn guy charges the same fee whether weekly or biweekly. I talked to him yesterday to get him to start late May and only do biweekly. It sounded like he wants to come out much more than what we (homeowners) want... I'm sure there is a conflict of interest here since he benefits more financially the more times he comes to mow. I felt like he is not listening and wanted to reach into the phone and grab him by the neck and say... "Look, we are the ones paying so just do as we say."

Last yr, the 1st mowing started before the grass was even long and he came weekly until we asked him to skip a week. Weekly is just excessive (our grass don't grow that fast), waste of money, and bad to the environment with all those polluting emissions and noise. We have a neighbor right across the street that does zero lawn care. So even if we spent minimally on our lawn, it still looks great in comparison. I'm thinking so what if the grass is a little long in between mows.

If the lawn guy is also doing fertilization and spring/fall cleanup, then you can argue he also wants to keep the lawn as nice as possible for his own reputation. Going too long in between mowings also weakens the root system of the lawn, causing it to become yellow in the summer, because you will be cutting too much of the grass at once. You should never cut more than 1/3 of the grass when you mow. Let's say you let the grass grow to 5" which is what's going to happen if you let it go 2 weeks, then you can only mow it back down to between 3" to 3.5". If you let it grow another 2 weeks after that, it will grow taller than 5". In MA it's recommended to mow when the grass hits 4" and you should mow it down to between 2.5" to 3". The only way to do that in the spring and early summer is to cut weekly. If you have an irrigation system then it may be necessary to mow every 4-5 days.

[mmyk72]

Originally Posted by Parsec

If the lawn guy is also doing fertilization and spring/fall cleanup, then you can argue he also wants to keep the lawn as nice as possible for his own reputation. Going too long in between mowings also weakens the root system of the lawn, causing it to become yellow in the summer, because you will be cutting too much of the grass at once. You should never cut more than 1/3 of the grass when you mow. Let's say you let the grass grow to 5" which is what's going to happen if you let it go 2 weeks, then you can only mow it back down to between 3" to 3.5". If you let it grow another 2 weeks after that, it will grow taller than 5". In MA it's recommended to mow when the grass hits 4" and you should mow it down to between 2.5" to 3". The only way to do that in the spring and early summer is to cut weekly. If you have an irrigation system then it may be necessary to mow every 4-5 days.

Out of our whole lawn, really only 1/3 grows healthy and the rest hardly grows much between mowings. Our grass suffers from bad quality soil to begin with, so there are a lot of bare spots and crab grass takes over later on. I added lawn soil and seeded these bad looking areas last fall.... will see if the new grass comes back to life. They sprouted but didn't grow much bigger than needle-width before snow began. I'm just saying we have more problems than just mowing can solve, yet this lawn guy just mows and mows.... My neighbor told me a funny story when she hired him to trim her bushes.... the next thing she saw was him wacking off all her plants with a chainsaw. Just clueless. I think we just have a guy with a truck and a bunch or power equipment but half a brain.

[Parsec]

Originally Posted by mmyk72

Out of our whole lawn, really only 1/3 grows healthy and the rest hardly grows much between mowings. Our grass suffers from bad quality soil to begin with, so there are a lot of bare spots and crab grass takes over later on. I added lawn soil and seeded these bad looking areas last fall.... will see if the new grass comes back to life. They sprouted but didn't grow much bigger than needle-width before snow began. I'm just saying we have more problems than just mowing can solve, yet this lawn guy just mows and mows.... My neighbor told me a funny story when she hired him to trim her bushes.... the next thing she saw was him wacking off all her plants with a chainsaw. Just clueless. I think we just have a guy with a truck and a bunch or power equipment but half a brain.

LOL, time to look for a new lawn guy! The OP can learn from this: be sure to get references if you are dealing with a "guy with a truck".

[gf2020]

Do you have lawn sprinklers at the new house? If you plan on using them I think you'll find that during some weeks in May, June and September, the grass needs mowing more than once per week. My teenage sons cut lawns if you want me to send them over.