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Lawn mowing is one of the ways to keep your lawn tidy, healthy and attractive. Properly mowed lawns have less weed populations, better moisture stress tolerance and better quality than those that have been incorrectly mowed.  Lawn mowing is a partial defoliation of turf grass plant. Just like other plants when grass is clipped, it becomes branched and denser making the grass grow into a tightly woven lawn. Well, mowing without maintaining frequency or height does not make the lawn good. As a matter of fact what determines how attractive and healthy your lawn appears is the mowing height and frequency. Most grasses have a recommended mowing height, during hot weather or drought you should mow your grass at a higher height than during the cooler weather.

The most commonly used machine for lawn mowing is the rotary mower. This type of mower uses an engine that can either be powered by gasoline or electricity to horizontally rotate a blade. The blade is designed in a manner that it creates a vacuum causing the grass to be lifted, and the sharp edges trim the leaf blades. These mowers are designed to trim close and they are effective in mowing at higher heights. Mowing height is dependent on the type of grass and the mowing frequency on the rate at which the grass is growing. For Kentucky bluegrass species, rye grass and fine fescue the mowing height should be at 2.5-3.5 inches, zoysia at 1.0 inch. Mowing below the optimum heights inhibits root growth and it increases the vulnerability of grass to damage from disease, insects and drought. Low mowing also encourages weed infestations. When lawn mowing, you should ensure that the blades are sharp to enable you to have a cleaner and healthier cut that will result in a good looking lawn. If the lawn is mowed frequently, there is no need to remove clippings from it. Lawn mowing is relatively easy but that does not mean that it is foolproof, therefore to be successful mow high and regularly and keep the lawn mower blades sharp.

As pop up sprinklers get older they tend to get stuck in the up position increasing their susceptibility to lawnmowers. In case the sprinkler head becomes broken the result is a water wasting geyser, high water bills and rotten grass. You can either call a professional like Harlingen Lawn Care, or repair the sprinkler by yourself. If you opt to do it yourself, pop up sprinkler repair is relatively easy. The first step is to cut through the lawn around the sprinkler head at a circumference of about 6”. You can do this with a serrated knife or a dirt shovel, but be careful to avoid puncturing the water line. From there pry out the section of the lawn with a hand trowel or shovel and place it aside for later replacement. Having done that, you should carefully dig away the dirt around the sprinkler head until you reach the water supply pipe. After that unscrew the broken sprinkler and plug it with a piece of cloth. Once you have removed the short vertical pipe attached to the water supply pipe called a riser, take it to a store and buy one that is the same size as the old one. Screw in the new sprinkler until it is hand tight. You could use a thin coat of Teflon tape to ensure that it is firmly secured.

Turn on the sprinkler to blow away any dirt that might have fallen on the line. After a while turn the sprinkler off and pull up the riser with a flush plug ring, unscrew the flush plug, put in the plastic filter screen and screw on the nozzle. Replace the dirt and turf back and push it down around the sprinkler head, turn on the sprinklers to confirm the working condition of the sprinkler. The turf grows back nicely and after a couple of days you will hardly notice the sprinkler repair.