Maybe you've heard that you shouldn't mow your lawn in May and are now wondering what that means. Is it doing more harm than good to the lawn during this period or is there something else behind it? In principle, this is a campaign that is primarily intended to benefit the environment. We will explain more to you so that you can decide for yourself whether you will not mow the lawn in May.
The “No Mow May” and its advantages
Why shouldn't you mow your lawn in May?
You realize that when you mow the lawn, you also mow down all the wild flowers and weeds. In principle, that is one of the purposes of lawn care. But the campaign from Great Britain wants to prevent exactly that. If these plants are missing, the insects also lack food, which ultimately leads to increased insect mortality, which also affects beneficial insects. Especially in spring, when the choice of food sources is still too high, you would be doing the insects a big favor by not taking what little they have (that is also one of the reasons why many nowReplace lawn with a flower meadow).
Don't mow the lawn in May to allow flowers to multiply
That's why the campaign encourages people to leave their lawn mowers in the shed for a month. You can instead yesdedicate to other gardening work, which in turn is good for insect diversity (planting new flowers, for example). During this month without mowing, you not only provide insects with temporary food sources, but you also give plants a chance to reproduce. And propagation doesn't just happen there in your lawn, but can spread over several kilometers (with dandelions, for example, or when seeds get stuck on insects and birds and are carried on), so new plants can continue to grow after May, even though you mow – namely in the immediate vicinity.
The benefits have been confirmed by research and it is primarily the daisy thatGundermann in the lawn, speedwell, clover, dandelions, daisies and cowslips, which spread and are useful to insects.
By the way:Some of the wild plants that are so unwanted in your lawn are actually herbs that are actually edible and can even be useful to you. Maybe you should cut back on mowing more often so you can take advantage of some of these herbs.
Does it necessarily have to be the entire lawn?
If a completely unmowed lawn is too much for you because it would simply look too unkempt, you can alternatively only let a certain area or one or two corners grow. This way the unmown lawn won't seem too intrusive and you'll still be doing your part.
So what else can you do if you...Grass in Maynot mow? What other tasks are beneficial to your lawn?
If you don't mow the lawn in May, do the following instead
Just because you don't mow the lawn in May doesn't mean you can neglect it completely. Otherwise, you can continue to maintain it as usual. For example, you shouldFertilize lawn in May, if it's been a while since the last time. Fertilization is usually carried out every six to eight weeks during the growing season. So if you last fertilized before mid-April, a new fertilizer could be in order.
Also make sure there is enough moisture, because young lawns in particular can dry out quickly because their roots have not yet grown too deep into the soil. If it doesn't rain, the lawn needs to be watered several times a week.
The time you save from not mowing can instead be used to plant insect-friendly flowers and plants. And they don’t necessarily have to be (only) ornamental flowers. You can also choose edible plants that you will have some of as well.Find out here, which plants are useless for bees.
Start mowing insect-friendly lawns now
So you now know why you shouldn't mow the lawn in May. But that's not the only thing you can doMaking life easier for insects. The whole thing is called “insect-friendly mowing” and is very easy to implement:
- Don't cut the lawn too short. A length of 5 cm is optimal.
- Give the animals the opportunity to escape. To do this, make sure your escape route is as short as possible and the best way to do this is to start mowing in the middle of the lawn and then work your way outwards. The insects get to the beds, hedges or other bushes where they find shelter.
- If possible, avoid the classic lawn mower. You can also improve your fitness by using a sickle or scythe instead. If this is not possible for time or other reasons, you can alternatively use a bar mower or the brush cutter, which is often used for the edge areas of the lawn.
- Some hobby gardeners leave their lawn clippings lying around. This isn't a bad idea in itself, as it allows nutrients to return to the soil as it decomposes. However, if you want to mow in an insect-friendly way, you should no longer do this from now on. The reason is that the flowers favored by insects prefer nutrient-poor, poor soil.
