Sneak Peek

LAWN MOWING & TURF CARE

Lots of people mow lawns, but very few mow them really well.

This course teaches you to be a cut above everyone else – whether you are a home gardener, a tradesman gardener, a groundsman, mowing contractor or someone preparing to work in the horticulture industry.

It will teach you more about mowing grass than what most professional horticulturists ever learn; but beyond that you also learn to understand lawns, evaluate turf quality, maintain turf and manage the business of providing a turf care service.

WHAT THE COURSE COVERS

There are 5 lessons as follows:

Lesson 1   TURF QUALITY

• What varieties
• In unexpected drought conditions
• Evaluating turf quality and needs

Lesson 2   MOWING

• Mowing calculations
• Basic calculations
• Mowing
• Understanding how grass grows
• Understanding how lawn mowers cut grass
• Other considerations for mowers
• How to mow grass
• Before you mow
• Length of cut
• Direction of cut or pattern of cutting
• Other considerations
• Mowing newly established turf
• Raking before cutting?
• Collecting grass clippings
• Summary of points
• Cutting steep slopes
• Using growth regulators
• Problems that may occur by mowing
• Mowing safety
• Mowing and its impact on the environment

Lesson 3   MAINTAINING TURF QUALITY

• Maintaining turf
• Maintenance tasks
• Turf/lawn aeration
• Soil pH
• Other ways to improve soils
• Weeding
• Dealing with pest and diseases
• Environmental problems in turf
• Watering

Lesson 4   TURF EQUIPMENT AND TOOLS

• Types of mowing equipment
• Cylinder mowers
• Rotary mowers
• Tractor mounted
• Ride on mower
• Push type mowers
• Hover mowers
• Options for power
• Deciding what you need
• Mower maintenance
• Electric mowers
• Petrol mowers
• Changing mower blades
• Other turf maintenance equipment
• Edger
• Leaf rakes/vacuums
• Forks
• Rollers
• Wheelbarrows
• Strimmer/brush cutter/whipper snipper
• Spray equipment
• Should you buy, lease or hire?

Lesson 5    TURF BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

• Starting your business
• Before you start
• Be informed
• Developing a customer base
• Location
• Employees
• Equipment
• Finance
• Buying into a franchise
• Avoiding disputes
• Other services you might offer
• Legal requirements
• Professional advice
• Keeping business records
• Taxation
• Understanding contract law
• Developing your business
• Managing growth

Professional Lawn Mowing Can be a Little more Complex

Lawn mowing may seem a straightforward process, and often it is – a simple matter of pushing the mower up and down the lawn until all the grass is cut. But there’s more to it than that - here we look at the finer points of mowing, showing how good mowing techniques will improve the long-term health of the lawn. When mown correctly: at the right time, at the right height grass, in the right direction, a grassed area can retain its health, functionality and aesthetics. 

When running a mowing business you should aim for quality work – this applies to mowing any type of turfed areas. Knowing the right techniques and being able to apply them does set a professional mowing contractor apart from those just offering a quick mowing job. It may bring business opportunities that those without the background knowledge, may miss out on.

Mowing is the most basic and essential task in lawn care and management. In order to have a healthy lawn that looks good and is functional several points need to be considered when mowing: 

• Height (how high to cut) - influence density and root systems and how high or low you cut is dependent on the grass species (discussed in more detail later). Mowing regularly deters weed species. 
• Frequency (how often to cut) - this also influences density and root systems. Rather than just mowing once a week or once every two weeks month in month out there are other things that need to be considered: the growth rate of a lawn being most important and this is influenced by environmental factors such as temperature, rainfall (soil moisture), day length and the fertility of the soil. 
• Directional mowing/the cutting pattern - vary the direction of the mowing because this encourages upright shoot growth
• Getting a clean cut – clean cuts haven’t ‘torn’ the grass blades; sharp mowing blades ensure clean cuts.

To be a successful lawn mowing contractor or turf professional, you need to understand these points in depth though. This is just one aspect of what you can learn through this course.

WHO IS THIS COURSE FOR

• Gardeners – Tradesmen
• Horticulturists
• Turf Industry Employees (Mower shops, turf farms, etc)
• Parks Staff
• Sportsground Staff
• Mowing Contractors
• Home Gardeners
• Students
• Anyone planning to buy or establish a mowing business