Purdue Extension Service

Vanderburgh County, Indiana

Saving Gas While Caring for Your Lawn

By Larry Caplan, Extension Horticulture Educator, Vanderburgh County, IN

For the Evansville Courier and Press, April 25, 2008

It was finally dry enough last week for me to mow my lawn. So, I grabbed my fuel can and headed out to the gas station. Of course, I nearly had a fit when I realized how much it was going to cost me to mow my yard this summer. Since there's quite a few consumer guides already out there on how to reduce your fuel consumption in your car, I thought I'd give some tips for cutting back on your gasoline costs for your lawn.

* If you haven't already done so, bring your mower in for a tune-up. Regular tune-ups reduce fuel consumption and emission levels and help to increase mower life and reliability. Sharpen the blade while you're at it, so the mower has to use less power to cut through the grass.

* You can switch to an electric mower. This saves you money on gasoline, but you'll lose your benefits with our high summertime electric rates.

* Mow higher. Most people mow their lawns too short. By setting the mower blades higher, you can wait a few extra days between mowings. Purdue's advises not cutting off more than one-third of the grass blade at any one mowing for best appearance. If you want your lawn at a 2 inch height, you need to be out there when the grass gets 3 inches tall. If you raise your blades to a 3 inch height, though, you can wait until the grass gets 4 and a half inches tall before mowing. It takes longer for the grass to grow 1 and a half inches than it does to grow 1 inch, so you mow less over the course of the summer.

* Does the entire lawn need to be manicured? People with an acre or more of lawn can ignore the "mowing less than 1/3 of the blade" rule if they don't care about the appearance of the lawn, at least in the "back forty." I have a portion of a field that I allow to get to 6 to 8 inches tall before cutting it; basically, I skip a week or two before mowing it.

* Cut back on fertilizer, and use the right material. Some of the products I've seen in stores encourage people to put out 4 to 6 treatments a year. Purdue recommendations call for three fertilizations: two in the fall and one in late April/early May. Use slow-release fertilizer in May and September, so that the grass doesn't put on a huge burst of growth.

* Take out some of the grass, and replace it with groundcovers, wildflowers, and other ornamentals. Many of these plants need less total care year-round than grass does; they're also more attractive, and more likely to encourage birds, butterflies, and other wildlife.

For more information on lawn care and alternatives to turfgrass, contact the Purdue Extension Service at (812) 435-5287.