When Does Lawn Mowing Season End in South Dakota?

When do you permanently park your lawn mower for the season?

Now that fall is in full effect here in South Dakota, is it time to stop mowing your yard yet?

If it is, somebody better tell the people in my neighborhood. Because it sounded like the middle of July on my street on Thursday. Three people on my block alone had their Lawn Boys out of a workout the other day.

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Come to think of it, my yard is looking a little shaggy as well, given that it's supposed to be nearly 80 degrees today, and rather nice throughout the weekend, I might be inspired to do the same.

Here in Sioux Falls we still have a lot of leaves left on the trees, once they start falling, many people choose to mulch them into their lawns rather than raking them up.  So you're bound to hear the sound of mowers for at least a few more weeks.

When it comes to the topic of when you should stop mowing the lawn for the year, the folks with AccuWeather say a good rule of thumb is immediately after you receive the first frost in the fall.

As you know living here in South Dakota, that could happen at any minute. In the fall, it's not uncommon for the temp to be nearly 80 degrees one day, and a couple of days later, only 35 for the high!

Gotta love the South Dakota rollercoaster of temps.

When you do finally get around to mowing your lawn for the last time this year, another good rule of thumb is not to leave your grass too high. Doing so, you run the risk of your yard becoming susceptible to disease.

The experts at Grass Masters recommend you leave the lawn between 2 and 2.5 inches high before the snow starts to fly. That height is supposedly the perfect length to resist the spread of disease, while not being too short that your yard becomes overly stressed by the colder temps.

There you have it, you can begin the preparations to once again say goodbye to your Toro for another season, and hello to your Husqvarna snow blower that you'll probably need in about 3 weeks knowing this state.

Source: AccuWeather/Grass Masters