lawn striping

[brian'slawncare]

ya i have high lift blades but the strips just fade away the next day I had that same problem when I started. I learned that by mowing in the same direction for two services in a row will eventually make them nice. I do that each of my direction I am going to mow that season and after 8 weeks (4 ways, 2 for each) the stripes will stay after you have mowed. Also, make sure your wheel is not going over the same track as the path next to you. Another words, take advantage of the blade extension past the wheels....but not too much or you will leave uncut grass behind ( I made that mistake once, never again)

[miked9372]

Lawn care business tips

mine doesn't strip well that's why i asked if i should get a roller or broom head not the kind of blades...

[MAKLawnCutter]

I changed my cutting direction today on a yard and decided to go in a circle. I got done and it looked like the yard was moving... no picture, fail.

St.Augustine Grass is a PAIN to get to stripe.

Bahia Doesnt stripe, it lays down and clumps

Striping in FL is AWESOME!

matt

[Rodriguez11]

In my time mowing i have never come across a yard as green as some of these pictures to do any striping. Not that there arent any around here. I just havent been able to cut any. Cant wait to do one. Cant seem to upload any of my pictures

[mark123]

Originally Posted by Rodriguez11

In my time mowing i have never come across a yard as green as some of these pictures to do any striping. Not that there arent any around here. I just havent been able to cut any. Cant wait to do one. Cant seem to upload any of my pictures

Well, of course I only take pics of the lawns I both fertilize and cut. I stripe up the stinkers, too. They just don't look so good.

A few more tips for lawn pictures are:

1. the stripes will look better from one side that it will from the other depending on the position of the sun at the time.
2. if you know you're going to take pics of a lawn cut it in the same direction as the last time you did it. This will deepen the stripe.
3. don't compress the images too hard when you optimize them for the web as this can sometimes wash out the colors. jpg compression makes pictures smaller by throwing out information and sometimes that includes color information.

[Steve]

Do you feel it is important to change the direction of the stripes after a certain period of time, or is it always better to keep with the same cutting direction?

What do you feel is better for the lawn and what is better for the stripes?

[mark123]

Originally Posted by Steve

Do you feel it is important to change the direction of the stripes after a certain period of time, or is it always better to keep with the same cutting direction?

What do you feel is better for the lawn and what is better for the stripes?

I try to do a different pattern each week. Usually I'll alternate between horizontal and vertical. Then every once in a while I'll do a diagonal stripe if I decide to take the extra time.

If you make the same pattern every week you'll rut the lawn. The tire tracks will get slightly lower each week, especially if it has rained, and this will cause the area in the middle of the deck to get scalped. If you see a lawn with brown lines except where there are tire tracks you'll know they never change pattern.

[Steve]

Very interesting!

How long after your last fertilization do you feel is the optimal time to take a great picture of the lawn?

[mark123]

Originally Posted by Steve

Very interesting!

How long after your last fertilization do you feel is the optimal time to take a great picture of the lawn?

A couple of days to a couple of weeks. If you use fertilizer with Iron you get that deep green color rather quickly. Of course if your pH is off fertilizing may not have a significant color effect. It also depends on your grass type. You're not going to get that deep, dark green on tall fescue or zoysia, et al.