Question
Hello Jim.  I live in the California desert (29 Palms) and my lawn is a hodge podge of different grasses.  It was mostly bermuda at one time, but now it looks like something close to St. Augustine is growing in (broader blades, very thick, etc).  I don't mind this, but it seems as if my lawn is turning into a thick mat.  It seems to get thicker every week.  I've having a heck of a time pushing my mower through it.  Should I be mowing more often (I mow once a week)?  Should I raise my deck height?  I'm sure that I'm probably not giving you all of the info that you need to answer this, but I'm sure that I'm doing something wrong.  At this rate, my lawn will be a foot thick by the end of the summer.  Thanks for your time.

John Pierce

Answer
Hi John Pierce,

>>"...thick matt...?"

Most turf-grasses are mowed at a height of 1-3 inches.  St. Aug and Bermuda are usually kept at the higher measure. Fine textured hybrids may sometimes be kept as low as one-half an inch.   With heat and drought conditions, it can help to keep the grass height higher to conserve top-soil moisture.

I am not sure exactly what you mean by the term 'thick' in reference to a lawn and mowing of the lawn.  Generally grasses will cover the soil only with so much optimized 'lushness' according to soil quality, fertilizing and watering.  If you have been mowing at the rate of once per week with a very lush and therefore DENSE lawn, then you may water and feed less to have this density factor reduced in the work effort.  Mowing  should be more swift with a less dense lawn and with dryer conditions unless there are certain heavy stemmed weeds involved.

Also, people who do not collect their grass clippings and have the grass-clippings fall to the top-soil can have what eventually amounts to a THICK layer of dead-grass build-up and this is called  THATCH.  Excessively thick thatch however should not impede mowing since it is a basal layer of dead-stuff which does not contact the mower blade. The mower rolls over the thatch as it would the top-soil itself; there is a differnce but this should not be a problem.  Thatch can become overly compacted and this can cause certain problems.  You can usually use a rake tool to discern if or not there is excessive thatch on the lawn.  A thick thatch can be 'de-thatched' (stripped-away commercially or by the home-owner), and/or an aeration procedure can be done to make it and the soil less compacted.
----With a good fertile-loamy well draining top-soil, best quality hybrid grass type(s), 1-3 inches of water per week, plenty of sun-light, ...almost anyone can have an excellent lawn with a minimum maintenance effort.
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I Hope this has answered your question(s)!

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___ Jim Gibbs,
    Microbiologist/Botanist