To mow or not to mow?

As clocks spring ahead and we have the benefit of warmer weather and more daylight, many of us are gearing up for the annual rites of spring: mowing and raking the lawn. And Jane Corrarino, one of the team of master gardeners at the Ketcham Inn and the Havens estate, has some thoughts to help us get started.

Among her suggestions: wait. 

“The reason to wait to do spring cleanup is that many beneficial pollinators lay eggs in debris—leaves, stems from flowers, etc.—in the autumn, and these eggs hatch in spring when it’s above 50 degrees at night,” she said. “So if you do cleanup now, you’re destroying beneficial bee, butterfly, moth larvae/eggs and working against Mother Nature.”

And these insects are pollinators, and play a crucial part of our food source.

“Fewer pollinators leads to less pollination of essential crops, as well as weaker biodiversity, an important part of a healthy environment. The goal is to do as little as possible until these beneficial pollinators have a chance to wake up and do their jobs!” she added.

“The volunteers at the historic Ketcham Inn and Havens properties are putting down compost, planting spring crops like kale and peas, pruning bushes and shrubs, applying layers of wood chips to bare garden beds to keep down weeds, and transplanting hardy perennial plants.  We’re taking advantage of the remaining winter and early spring to work together as a group to build our gardening skills so we’ll be more proactive in helping our community be a better place.”

Birds, also, as year-round inhabitants and returning migrators, rely on the emerging insects to replenish energy after often flying long distances returning from their winter habitats. They will need strength to rebuild nests and hatch their young. The dead plants and leaves provide shelter for some ground-favoring birds, as well as nest materials.

Advocates of No Mow May recommend that we allow the lawn, or at least a part of it, to grow without mowing, through the month of May to help support these birds and insects.  Another benefit they cite is that mowing less frequently, every two weeks instead of weekly, allows roots to grow deeper, reducing the amount of water a lawn needs to stay green. Permitting “weeds” like buttercups, clover, and dandelions to remain  in the lawn helps support pollinators and reduces reliance on so-called “weed killers” that are toxic to animals and people.

More information and advice on raising local plants is available through our local Co-operative Extension service.