There are a lot of things we can do to improve a lawn this fall, but one of the most important is something most of us do every single week.

Mow it.

Mowing seems simple. Start the mower, cut the grass, make it look nice, and move on.

But mowing is not merely cosmetic maintenance. Every time we mow, we are affecting the amount of leaf tissue the plant has available for photosynthesis, the development of its root system, its ability to tolerate environmental stress, and even the condition of the soil underneath it.

This becomes especially important as we move from summer into fall.

Our Bermuda lawns are beginning to prepare for dormancy. Instead of continuing to mow them short simply because that is what we have done all summer, this is a good time to gradually increase the mowing height.

For many of the residential Bermuda lawns we manage, that may mean allowing them to reach approximately 3 to 3.25 inches as we approach dormancy, depending on the variety, density, and condition of the lawn.

Why leave more grass?

Because those green leaves are solar panels.

The more healthy leaf surface the plant can maintain, the greater its photosynthetic capacity. That photosynthesis allows the plant to manufacture carbohydrates that can be stored within the crowns, stolons, and rhizomes as Bermuda prepares for winter.

Those stored carbohydrates matter because they help supply the plant with energy through dormancy and support recovery when growth resumes in the spring.

There is another benefit to allowing Bermuda to enter fall with a little more height.

It may also help reduce the risk of winter injury.

A little additional canopy provides some protection around the crown and surface portions of the plant while allowing the Bermuda more opportunity to build energy reserves before active growth shuts down. Raising the mowing height certainly cannot completely eliminate winterkill, especially during severe cold or difficult winter conditions, but it can help the plant enter dormancy much better prepared.

We are not trying to encourage excessive top growth. We are simply giving the plant additional healthy leaf tissue while it still has the opportunity to use it.

Our tall fescue benefits from height as well.

During this period, maintaining fescue around 3.5 to 4 inches provides additional leaf surface for photosynthesis while helping support a healthier and more substantial root system. Taller turf also shades the soil and can help the plant tolerate periods of moisture and temperature stress.

But mowing height is only part of the conversation.

How we move across the lawn matters too.

One of the things I frequently see is soil compaction caused by mowing.

We tend to think of compaction as something caused by trucks or construction equipment. Those certainly can create significant problems, but repeated mower traffic can also gradually change the soil environment.

A riding mower places substantial weight on relatively small areas where the tires contact the ground. Even a push mower applies repeated pressure when we travel across the same areas week after week.

The problem becomes considerably worse when the soil is wet.

Wet soil is much more vulnerable to compression. Soil particles can be pressed closer together, reducing the pore space that normally holds air and allows water to move through the soil.

Roots need those pore spaces.

When soils become compacted, water infiltration can decrease, oxygen movement becomes more difficult, and root development can become restricted.

Then summer arrives and we wonder why one particular strip of grass turns brown before everything else.

Sometimes the answer may be our mowing pattern.

Think about how you mow your own lawn.

Do you make the exact same turn beside the driveway every week?

Do your mower tires travel the same path along the sidewalk every time?

Do you follow exactly the same outline around the house?

Over the course of an entire mowing season, those repeated passes can begin creating traffic lanes within the lawn.

That is why changing mowing patterns is so important.

Mow north and south one week and east and west another. When the property allows it, occasionally mow diagonally. Change where you enter the lawn and where you make your turns.

The goal is to distribute traffic rather than repeatedly loading the same soil.

This is especially important along sidewalks and driveways.

These areas are already difficult growing environments because concrete absorbs and releases considerable heat. Add repeated mower traffic along exactly the same line and we can create an even more difficult root zone.

That thin brown strip beside the driveway may not simply need more water.

It may be telling us something about heat, compaction, irrigation coverage, soil conditions, and our mowing habits.

The areas surrounding our trees deserve the same consideration.

Repeatedly driving a mower close to the trunk does more than increase the risk of bark damage.

Much of a tree’s active root system occupies the soil surrounding the tree. Repeated mower traffic across that area can contribute to compaction, and tree roots need oxygen, moisture, and healthy soil pore space just like turf roots do.

Creating an appropriately sized mulch ring around trees can reduce turf competition, protect the trunk from mower and string trimmer damage, and eliminate the need to continually drive equipment immediately beside the tree.

That simple change alone can improve the growing environment around our trees.

There is also one very simple rule that can prevent a tremendous amount of unnecessary compaction.

If the lawn is wet, do not mow it.

Waiting another day is usually much less damaging than forcing a mower across saturated soil.

While we are changing habits, keep the mower blade sharp and avoid removing more than about one third of the leaf blade during a single mowing. If the lawn becomes too tall, gradually return it to the desired height rather than scalping it all at once.

Good lawn care is rarely the result of one product or one application.

It is the accumulation of good decisions.

As we move out of summer, raise the mowing height on Bermuda and buffalo grass as they prepare for dormancy. Keep your fescue tall enough to continue supporting photosynthesis and healthy root development. Stay off wet soil whenever possible. Change your mowing pattern. Avoid driving the same tire tracks along sidewalks and driveways every week. And give the soil around your trees a little breathing room.

When we mow the lawn, we are not simply cutting grass.

We are managing a living plant and the soil that supports it.

The lawn remembers how we treat both.

‘Well Rooted’ is written by Jeremy Elliott. Elliott owns a lawncare business and lives in the Great Bend area.