You can save money by doing nothing. Or at least by doing less. When you commit to having a yard that looks like a putting green, you’re undoubtedly spending far more money and energy than you need to. I am not a lawn expert, but I do know that outside of preparation for sporting events, there is no call for short grass. Instead, try setting your lawnmower to cut grass at the highest level and bask in the ease of maintaining a healthy lawn in the cheapest way that still satisfies your sense of aesthetics, persnickety neighbors, and HOAs.
Advantages of Taller Grass
- Short grass is the acoustic guitar of grass. If there are imperfections, they’re more noticeable. Tall grass hides the imperfections like an electric guitar hides bad fingering. Bare patches and weed clusters are easily seen in short grass, but you need a drone to see them in taller grass.
- Tall grass is a better defense against weeds; weeds proliferate more in shorter lawns.
- Tall grass promotes deeper roots.
- Weeds are a gateway to chemical treatments, all of which bring substantial cost. Then of course, you have to have longer hoses or spreaders to administer the treatments.
- Maintaining a shorter lawn means cutting more frequently and this means spending more on gas. Of course, the more you use your mower, the quicker the mower ages and then maintenance costs become a greater factor.
- Short grass grows faster than tall grass. Guess you’ll have to do another cut.
- Getting grass short is usually more damaging to the grass because it typically involves removing more than a third of the blade.
- Tall grass survives extreme heat longer.
- Saving shorter grass during a hot, dry summer means using a lot of extra water.
- Shorter lawns are more easily worn out by activities such as whiffle ball games or cornhole.
- Tall grass resists the frequent onslaught of your canines.
- Cutting at a higher level preserves your mower’s blades, protecting them from hitting roots or God-forbid, rocks.
- Setting a mower to cut at the highest level might just save a hose you don’t see, your kid’s toy, or a frog who is just trying to live his best life.
- Letting your grass grow taller and cutting less frequently frees up time to do something else. How tall? How often? Check out this mowing height chart. In fact, you can still spend that time in your yard. Why not pick up some of your crap in the yard? How about hand removal of weeds or using a trimmer to better define your sidewalk and driveway? These activities will do more for the overall look of your yard than simply cutting it short.
Disadvantages of Taller Grass
- Putting is brutal.