Semi-related: Worked as a landscaper during my youth, one of my first jobs

I used to think that the line patterns mowed into grass were a purely aesthetic thing.

It turns out, the lines are mowed in a rotation to prevent wearing out the grass and causing damage. First you mow length-wise, then width-wise, then diagonally, finally diagonally in the opposite direction, before cycling through again.

Useless information for you today.

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deweywsu 2 hours ago | parent | next [-]

Absolutely correct. If you always mow in the same direction, the grass always gets pushed in the same way by the lawnmowers blades and it will eventually morph to that direction and lose strength, which appears as grass that doesn't stand straight up, and it looks worse.

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SoftTalker an hour ago | parent | prev | next [-]

I don't usually do the diagonal paths but I do try to go at right angles to the previous mowing each time I mow the lawn (excepting when I can't remember which way I did it last time, but it's usually still visible) or a few narrow areas which really only make sense to mow in one direction.

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Brian_K_White 2 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

You worked for someone better than average, or I worked for someone worse than average, because this sounds like a thoughtful touch and they never told us anything like that.

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b40d-48b2-979e 2 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

wat. Causing damage to the grass you're hitting with a (relatively) blunt object in the first place? All you did was waste three times the gas.

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sunrunner 2 hours ago | parent | next [-]

> hitting with a (relatively) blunt object in the first place

Well there's your problem right there.

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gdhkgdhkvff an hour ago | parent [-]

Lawn mower blades are meant to be somewhat blunt. Like a butter knife. Too sharp and the blade will chip away on the harder materials.

	▲	SoftTalker an hour ago \| parent \| next [-]
		I have a battery electric lawnmower. I found I got noticably better battery life after sharpening the blade to a near razor edge. Yes the edge is more fragile but it cuts the grass with much less resistance.
	▲	sunrunner an hour ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		That I did not know. I still wouldn't stick a finger near one of course.

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collingreen 2 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

I believe the point is the wheel lines and to vary where the wheels go by changing the pattern each time you mow so you don't, for example, always drive exactly down the fence and cause a rut or mulch buildup or missed area.

I dont think it was "don't hurt the grass while you cut it" or "mow it four times in one sitting".

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b40d-48b2-979e 2 hours ago | parent [-]

How often are you people mowing your lawn that that's even a concern? It's like this is "surburbs: the problem: the comment section"

	▲	topspin an hour ago \| parent \| next [-]
		We people vary frequency with weather. Lawn tractors are heavy and, due to moisture, ground isn't always hard. On large properties some of the ground stays moist longer due to drainage issues. So yes, after years of indifferent mowing, one can detect where wheels have been moving topsoil.
	▲	Carp an hour ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		"Worked as a landscaper during my youth"

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stackghost 2 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

>All you did was waste three times the gas.

They don't mean do all those cuts each time you mow. You mow the grass in one direction one day, and then a few days later when it needs cut again, you mow a different pattern.

	▲	wildzzz an hour ago \| parent \| next [-]
		When I used to mow neighbor's yards as a kid, I'd do a crosshatch pattern that I'd rotate 45deg each week, orthagonal vs diagonal. Just doing one direction looks fine but a crosshatch looks even better, especially if they have thick, healthy grass. I wouldn't be as meticulous on the side and backyards, those would just get a single, slightly overlapping pass in whatever direction was convenient unless they had a really nice backyard, then I'd do extra there. People like that golf course look and I'd get nice tips for doing it.
	▲	dylan604 an hour ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		I do this very thing in the fall when all of my neighbor's trees drop their leaves which blow into my yard. I don't bag leaves. I mulch them. To get them down to a respectable looking yard, it can easily take this many passes. I do it all over again in the early spring towards the end of February when the Live Oak trees in my yard finally drop their leaves for the year. According to my watch, I can cover more than 2 miles just taking my mower for a walk on those days.