The Best and Worst Time of Day to Mow Your Yard Revealed

Cutting grass. It's the most "dad" of all "dad jobs" there are. Maybe that's because we dads view our yardwork as our outside signature. You know, we're making a statement of the kind of castle we keep and maintain, at least from the outside. Still, in our quest for lawn supremacy over our neighbors, there are questions that need to be answered.

Okay, I don't know if they "need" to be asked but I am going to ask them anyway. Has anyone ever told you when the best time of day to cut your grass? Or, has anyone offered the transverse of that question, "when is the worst time" to take on that chore?

In researching the answer to these questions, I do believe I have come across what would be two correct answers. Of course, those answers are determined by how you define "best time of day". There is one "best time of day" that benefits the human using the mowing machine. There is another "best time of day" that applies to how your lawn actually handles the act of being cut.

Those of you who profess to be followers of common sense have probably figured out that the "best time of day" for humans to cut grass is going to be in the mid-morning hours. Most experts would say that between 8 am and 10 am is the best-case scenario for man and machine to cut grass on a hot summer day.

The sun will have been shining enough to dry up any overnight dew or irrigation moisture left on your grass. Also, the daytime temperature has not reached the unbearable stage too. That means more efficiency for your mowing machine and actually more efficiency for you, its human pilot.

Now for "best time of day" Part 2

Speaking strictly on behalf of your lawn the best time of day for you to cut your grass is much later in the evening. Some experts say 4 pm, while many others agree that a 6 pm cut time is actually the best.

The reason has to do with the growing cycle of grass. By waiting until the end of the day you can rest assured that your lawn has had time to completely dry. This means you won't have wet grass lying in clumps in your yard. Those wet clumps are unsightly and they allow for mold and disease to spread through your grass.

The later cutting time also allows time for your yard to "heal" during the overnight hours. What appears to be basic lawn maintenance to us is actually a pretty traumatic event for your lawn. So, like the human body needs recovery time at night, so do the blades of grass.

Speaking of cut grass, do you know someone who loves the smell of freshly cut grass? Well, that smell is actually part of the plant's defense mechanism. Now, don't you feel bad?

Alright, if there is a "best time" to cut grass then there has to be a worse time and I could not agree more with the findings.

The worst time to cut your grass is in the early morning hours, say between 6 am and 8 am. The grass is usually too wet from the morning dew. It will clump inside your mower and that could lead to mechanical issues, and even the most lightweight mower will leave tracks in wet grass and there is never a good look for anyone's HOA to review.

The second worse time of the day to cut your grass is between 2 pm and 4 pm. We know it's bad for the human because of the heat but that heat isn't an exclusive detriment to human beings. Your lawn mower's engine runs a lot hotter during the heat of the day. Your actual lawn has trouble with heat stress at that time of the day too. So, unless you've just got to get it cut, the experts say to wait until later that afternoon or tomorrow morning.

If you're wondering, these suggestions apply to any kind of mower you happen to have. Whether it's a push mower with whirling blades and no engine or a zero-turn ride-on monster, know when to cut the grass is almost as important as knowing how to cut the grass.

Regardless, after the grass cutting, I always take a dip in the pool. And, if you don't have a pool nearby, you might consider moving to be closer to one of these.