I was doing some reading on mowing grass and the topic came up that the old adage of "if you mow north to south this week, you must mow east to west next week" is actually outdated with modern mowers and it's not actually really needed anymore.

They made it sound like it was old mowers that were very heavy was where this came from and that with modern, more lightweight mowers it's not really a thing to be concerned about.

Does anyone know anything about this? For me mowing up and down the yard is great but it's a real PITA to go side to side with the way things are laid out and next year I am considering just sticking with up and down each time I mow.

I rotate patterns still.

I still do it. Why not?

I do lengthwise, side-to-side, and diagonal.

I change pattern each time.
Here’s why, take a look in the neighborhood and you can tell the yards that they mow the same way every time. The weight of the machine compacts the dirt where the machine rides. After a while you can see tracks where the machine has been. Even in a lightweight hand pushed mower.

I'll have to ask my wife.

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Originally posted by Sailor1911:
I'll have to ask my wife.

QFT! (ducks).

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Originally posted by ensigmatic:
I still do it. Why not?

I do lengthwise, side-to-side, and diagonal.

I explained why, for me.

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Originally posted by MikeinNC:
I change pattern each time.
Here’s why, take a look in the neighborhood and you can tell the yards that they mow the same way every time. The weight of the machine compacts the dirt where the machine rides. After a while you can see tracks where the machine has been. Even in a lightweight hand pushed mower.

Yep. I mow mine the same pattern every time and I can see where to go by the old tracks. Doesn't bother me.
Who it does bother is my neighbor across the street. He's asked me before why I don't do it a different way. But, this is the guy that gets a ruler out and measures his grass to see if it's uniform.
Not kidding.

I mow over 2 acres with a heavy zero-turn Kubota. I vary my pattern 4 ways - NS, EW and both diagonals. Not only does it make the lawn strip better, it adds some variety to a no brain task.

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Originally posted by mcrimm:
I vary my pattern 4 ways - NS, EW and both diagonals.

Same here.
If not, after awhile the grass doesn't cut or look as well.

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Not only does it make the lawn strip better, it adds some variety to a no brain task.

But... when I mow I want it to be "a no brain task". I don't want to have to think!

I do change it up sometimes mostly to avoid boredom but I usually just go with the most efficient pattern, longest paths, least turning around. I don't think it matters because even when going in the same pattern I never hit the exact same tracks due to some variation in overlap, plus my ZTR tires are 12 inches wide and distribute the weight pretty well.

I alternate for the same reasons already pointed out: cutting in a different direction makes the lawn look better.

I hired a commercial service this year for the first time, mowing has never been easier!

Back when I cut my own grass, I did vary patterns once in a while even though I knew it was nonsense.

When I was cutting grass for a living, it was all about time. Find the pattern that took the least time to complete, and don't vary from that. The grass didn't seem to care.

One habit I picked up, and continued through my post-professional cutting was to keep the outlet of the mower pointed in the same direction, push one swath, move over, and pull back the next one. This managed the clippings better, and made for an overall cleaner look. Some mowers don't cut so well on the pull stroke, we didn't buy those.

I use a 1955 Ford 640 with a 60” Woods mower on the back. Here in Michigan the ground doesn’t really dry out well until June or July. (This year I had a pond until August). If you don’t vary your pattern you will sink each time you cut until the wheels are deep in the dirt and the mower body is dragging. Later in the season, you can’t mow very fast either without standing “on the pegs” like a motorcyclist or you will bust up your back or kidneys. That a good enough reason to vary your pattern?

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Originally posted by architect:

I hired a commercial service this year

I fired the commercial service this year. I do not have enough blood pressure pills to deal with jerks who do not show when they say they will, who do not do what I ask them to do, and who damage the property, cable TV / internet coax cut, fence damaged and then say "it was like that when I got here."

82 year old guy reverts to cutting his own grass. Fine, as long as I take a break every half hour, sit in the air-conditioned house to cool off, and swill down a bunch of water and GatorAde (sugar-free).

I vary my mowing pattern.

My neighbor is in his 80's and always mows his yard North to South, and has done so for over 30 years. He has ruts in yard that will trip you. I started mowing it this year and I vary direction as much as I can.

I mow mine North to South, East to West and both diagonals.

I have 2+ acres to mow. Like architect, I found a pattern that gets the yard cut in the least amount of time and I have mown that way every time for 9 years. So far I do not have any ruts and after a week of growth it's impossible to tell where the mower ran.

I mow with a White 42" (basically rebranded MTD) or a John Deere 318 - depending on how I feel and which one doesn't need work at the time.

Mowing here is necessary usually once/week from
April to October - then mulching leaves. Some years (wet) I have to mow twice per week, other years (dry) maybe bi-weekly.

Edit to add:

The yard I have is about 50% weeds so, at the moment, there's no reason to do anything more (as regards mowing) than just keep things cut down. I keep meaning to get around to doing what Zsmichael and other knowledgeable lawn-care people recommend, but haven't yet. Sooner or later I will, though, and may change my procedure once I get a lawn that is more grass than weeds and bare spots.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: marksman41,

Yes you should. More importantly you should use a reel mower and sharpen blades regularly. Rotary mowers tear the grass blade rather than cutting cleanly. Of course if you want do not need your lawn to be manincured it does not matter. Heavier mowers also compact the soil and make it harder for nutrients to get to the roots.

As you can see that is a full time job, if you combine that with a regular pesticide and fertilizer program.