To Mow, Or Not To Mow, That Is The Question
Much of our area is what is known as a Prairie Grassland. Think Prescott Valley, Chino Valley, and surrounding areas. Sorry to disappoint anyone, but this is NOT “high desert” as so many like to call it. None of this area is high desert, or any other kind of desert for that matter. The main reason is, we get too much rainfall to be considered desert. If you moved here from somewhere else, it would be easy to think of this as a desert because we are so dry. Coupled with soil composition, this helps explain the vegetation that grows in this area.
The grassland tends to be a soil type that is somewhat unstable so it only supports grasses and other plants that are adapted to soil that is still moving. Grasses generally have a tenacious root structure and most species are well adapted to fire, which was a regular event in the past. The native species are also very drought-tolerant. All these factors explain why the grassland areas here look like they do. So, if you live in one of these areas, what is the best way to maintain the native grassland?
Where I live, north of Prescott Valley, I have identified 25 species of native grasses and another 30 species of wildflowers and other forbs. I do not use any herbicides here and I only minimally disturb the native soil. To maintain the native vegetation, I only mow. And only twice each year. Why? Most of us can agree that the use of herbicides, especially one in particular that is linked to cancer, is not the best way to control undesirable vegetation. Research shows that glyphosate is in the blood of around 80% of the world’s population. I’m not going to be spraying.
Another option is to either pull the weeds or scrape the ground bare. Do we need to explain why this is a bad idea? Once you start scraping the ground, you will have even more weeds and you will probably continue scraping. If you pull the weeds, a similar thing happens. You see, weeds are opportunists and disturbing the ground in any way gives them the opportunity to sprout and grow. And, by pulling the roots out of the ground, you are removing valuable organic matter that builds the soil. So, what about timing?
There are two general categories of grasses based on when they grow and flower. Cool season grasses grow during the cooler part of the year and produce seed in the spring. Warm season grasses, on the other hand, grow during the warm part of the year and produce seed in the fall. Mowing to maintain these grass species involves being patient enough to wait until they have matured their seed. Yes, this means your yard or acreage may look a little shaggy and the neighbors will be wondering if your mowing machine is broken. They might even offer to mow it for you. Don’t let them!
By allowing the plants to go to seed, you will be adding that mature seed to the ground and growing more grass plants. That’s a good thing! The added bonus will be fewer weeds. Why? Because weeds cannot compete with grasses. Their root structure is weaker and they don’t grow well in the shade of grass plants. Good reasons to try to make more grass plants! We do this by mowing twice each year; once when the cool season grasses have gone to seed and once when the warm season grasses have gone to seed. Easy peasy! For this area, this usually means about May/June and again in September/October.
If you really want to elevate your game, try spreading some buffalograss seed around and see what happens. Incidentally, buffalograss can make a really nice, relatively weed free, extremely drought tolerant lawn. Now that’s something all of us should be able to get behind in these times of water scarcity. More on growing buffalograss later.
See You In The Grassland!
The Horticoach