How I TRANSFORMED My Lawn // Tall Cut Grass to Short Cut Grass
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- Опубліковано 9 лют 2025
- One of the most common questions that I receive is how did transition from mowing your lawn taller to mowing it much shorter?
Today I want to explain the process that I've gone through to bring my lawn from a 3-4 inch mowing height down to a 1/2" golf course style and what is involved in ongoing maintenance etc. A reel mower is the key to the short cut as well as spoon feeding fertilizer and nutrients and dialing in your irrigation. For those of us in a humid climate it will also be important to stay on top of fungus issues during the mid summer. I still learn something new everyday with short cut turf but it truly is the lawn of my dreams!
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It helps when you have a mower that cost thousands of dollars. Also I have blue rye and Kentucky blue
@@loyalhearted6101 or the $50 manual reel i bought used and showed in the video as a way to get started.
What happens when you've overseeded a tall fescue lawn with an elite seed that can be mowed low? Can you still mow low ?
Hey Ryan I live in Michigan and used Scotts Midwest grass seed mix...and followed your spring overseeding from from April 2020 to a T. It will be 2 weeks 5/9....weeds started to slowly turn white maybe a week in. As of today they are more and more each day. Watering like I should couple times a day....and I've had 4 days of the time nice spring rain. Was starting to worry because hadn't seen signs of germination yet....plus my lawn is starting to look kinda crap(not being cut in 2 weeks).....looked out there today and NEW grass popping thru!! Was worried about my flowering tree dropping pedals everywhere and maybe too much peat moss in some spots.
Only concern I have now is I have alot of wild violet....tenacity says it kills wild violet.....but it doesn't look effected yet......any experience? Is it just a matter of cutting it and it doesn't come back deal? Or is it suppose to turn white?
We would like to see a video on how you transformed your hair from a long mullet cut to a short cut please. Rock on!
You’re looking at the wrong Side of things. Business is in the front and the party is in the back. Lol
@@chandlerhall3600 that was hilarious.
I’ve followed Ryan by step and my .5” lawn looks insanely good. The best compliment I got was when a lawn care company stopped while I was sitting out front and asked if it was real. Thank you for all the helpful videos and look forward to your continued success in your new journey.
haahh "dude, is that real grass?" love it
@@koolmaaan …. Real. I’ve been asked if it was artificial turf as well and people ask if the can pull on it.
Delighted for you brother!
How many mowers does this guy have!? And where do you keep em all?
I've learned so much from watching your channel over the last two years. I was able to transform my lawn and now it looks better than ever; definitely the best on the block. Thanks for putting out so much great information.
Well put. This answers many of the common questions that people frequently ask.
New Logo ? I like it :)
@@Striperman just switching things up every little bit.
I started from scratch, glyphosate everything, rip the old grass, level the ground and planted last fall of 2020. Leveled the ground again in early spring, replaced the rotary with an Allett reel mower and I am enjoying all the hard work. Getting ready for that growth regulator already.
This man has magic grass seeds. Transforms his lawn over night, me, still waiting for my dog piss spots to fill in from a winter...
Same here bro, lawn is destroyed by dog each spring
@@jspallanzani it was filling in nice then 2 nights of 25 turned it yellow. So it’s probably shot.
@@leemikle2242 yeah i Wait til soil is 50F+ before seeding and it still is a yearly struggle 🙈
@@jspallanzani hard to avoid the temptation of early lawn work when ya get that early “summer”. Normally I plant when the farmers start planting, just had a week of 55 and very cold nights. It’ll probably survive who knows.
@@leemikle2242 I hear ya. I haven't seeded the bare spots yet but to resist the temptation at least I already prepared the soil . That is I raked and removed dead grass and added a bit of new soil.. so all that is left to do when temps are up is to throw her down and cover it :)
Great refresher. I like to go back a couple years and see your old videos when you made the transformation on the full re-seed of the front yard and the first mow with the push reel. The beginning of greatness.
Thanks Ryan, have been on the low cut journey for a year now. Have a John Deere 220 E and enjoying the lawn at 3/4”. Just top dressed on the weekend, this video came at a perfect time. Think I’m all dialed in now thanks to you and the lawn nut family members. Cheers
Spoon-fed fertilizer applications. That solved the burning question in my mind that I've been struggling with lately. I've heard the term many times, but I'd forgotten. That's the solution I needed. I know what I'm doing this weekend! 👍
Ryan you are a true artist. Your lawn and those stripes don't just happen by accident. You have put a lot of hard work into your lawn and it looks amazing! Thank you for inspiring me to follow in your footsteps. I just got my Swardman and let me say that you make it look so easy, which is the mark of a true expert! With time I hope I can get mine close to yours!
I'm rarely thoughtful about lawns, but last summer, deep in covid, we got takeout from the best burger bar in the state last summer. Being Covid time, we couldn't eat inside, so we ended up on that lawn of a Catholic church across the street, in the middle of this small farming community. The church had luxurious 3", perfect lawn. While I appreciate Ryan's short lawn, I have to admit that I would love to have that perfect, thick lawn.
You sir are a mind reader!! I was literally just thinking about how I would get my lawn cut shorter
Just got my reel mower and have started cutting around 1”. And ordered your soluble powder to start spoon feeding!
I wacked my Bluegrass down to about 1” last fall for the last few mows. This spring I kept the cut height the same and the grass looks great. I’ll cut every
3rd day or so and the cut is quick and clean. Still beating the weeds back, but I’m winning.
Ryan, thanks for this super helpful video. I'm in northwest Switzerland and have a young (under 2 years) lawn. It was poor on nutrients (clover areas appearing) and I'm correcting that slowly to improve growth density. I was previously too timid with fertilizing and will be doing it much more often now I have seen what can be achieved. I have a cheap rotary mower and currently cut at 2 inches but will move to a cylinder (reel) mower at 1.25" probably next year. I verticut/scarify spring & autumn (fall) and notice how this frees the grass plants for growth. Topdressing is needed which will help with levelling and provide a medium for the overseeding that I plan for autumn (fall). Our soil is heavy clay so the topdressing will be primarily lawn humus and not sand on account of the poor nutrient situation. I find your experience and advice very helpful in planning actions on my lawn, even though the products and grass varieties don't translate directly. You have a new subscriber! All the best, Rob
I am the Envy of the neighborhood Dad's thanks to Ryan and his videos. It works! I need the mowing pattern for the stripes at the 9 minute mark.
Love seeing all your progress and hard work in the lawn. Also 200k subs looks good on you!
The lighting on your “monologue” (selfie? I don’t know what to calm it)is top notch man. Your production quality makes watching these videos a really great experience.
Thank you for your advice!! I started reel mowing, it's been only a few weeks. my lawn with mixed grass types is stressed at 1 1/4" every time I cut. I haven't had a gut to cut below 1". it will be a long journey for me to transition (lawn not level, changing grass type from mixed multiple types to KBG/PRG, or KBG only). I appreciate your video. very helpful.
Haha thanks to your videos, I’m knowing what I’m doing, and seeing great results with my lawn... which had some big bald spots but now is in recovery mode.
Good step by step, Ryan. One thing I would add is when taking the lawn low in one step, make sure to do it at the right time of year when the grass is growing the fastest to make recovery faster. I did my lawn last year and took it from 3.5" to 0.8" and it recovered in about a month's time since it was Zoysia in July when I scalped.
This is the info I was looking for! You summed up all of the research and things I have been doing and it gives me reassurance. My Swardman is on order and I am prepping for when it arrives. It's just good to know that following your videos has gotten me on my way.
You have one of the Best Lawn I have ever seen Thank you for sharing information
Your lawn looks soooooo nice. I am struggling with the lawn of my newly purchased house.
Damn, over 200k. Congrats.
This was a great video. I like to think I have a beautiful lawn but really want to transition into reel mowing my front yard. All of your videos are a great tool for this but I enjoy you took time to make a quick one on the process and what to expect.
Whats up, Ryan? I've decided to start reel mowing. I do have a question. Did you use growth regulator on your turf when you started out mowing lower? Another question is when are you going to come out with a manual reel mower kinda like the Hudson star for example that some of us middle class home owners would be able to afford lol? I've modified a scotts classic 20" that will go down to a little under an inch. That's what I'll be using. As always me and my family love your content. Best wishes as you continue moving forward.
This video just brings me another 'click' in my mind to make perfect turf. Thanks a lot
could you do a video covering fungicides for places its hot and humid during the summers?
Apply fungicide bioadvanced in june always work for me here in illinois and dont water at night/late evening
How much money do you have? That's always the first question haha
My God you do know your lawn....amazing
Always love the information my friend!
Pup got a treat at 0:17
Dude your lawn is perfect
Ryan, I’m good with enjoying your videos of your low cut turf and at the same time, getting great tips for maintaining my 2.5” HOC KBG. Mowing 2X a week works for me.
Good day Ryan, could you advise me … which you prefer if you have a lawn .. with soil nothing in it …. Seed or sod roll please
Okay, you convinced me. Ordered a swardman. Going to go with the "cut it down and suffer short term" strategy.
Let's see how it plays out.
Thin it out as well and you will be on your way. It will be painful but worth it in the end
@@ryanknorrlawncare I got the scarifier cartridge so I'm all set for that, whenever it gets here.
I suppose I've been watching and putting this off long enough.
Great video Ryan. I'm still attacking the "Great Depression" that sprung up (down) in our lawn overnight a couple of weeks ago. This is going to take a while if I want to keep the grass alive. No way I can low cut it now.
so ryan let me tap in to the free advice stage, my yard is 44,600sq ft, ive struggled with how can i improve things with sucha big amount of property to work withand just this year a light bulb poppes in my head my front yard is 2500 sqftso i thought im gonna treat the front yard as its a seperate entity the front is looking good
I have tall fescue and I'm experimenting with going longer this year, from 2.75" to 4", just to see if there is a difference in the grass health, over our hot North Texas summer.
I usually keep my grass about 2' but I recently cut it to 1' then I used the scarifier over it to get all the thatch out and moss 🤦♂️ Now I have a lot of bald spots lol 😆 But I'm switch over to 85% turf type Tall fescue & 15% kentucky blue. So now I have to keep my grass 3' or taller boy this gonna be a adventure.
Is there a way to determine how high you should cut your grass based on frequency of mowing? I don't see myself mowing every 2 - 3 days. Mowing once every 4 - 6 days is definitely more ideal.
It's based on your rate of growth. Never cut more than a third... So if you are cutting at 3/4 you need to cut again when it hits about an inch and an eighth. That may 1 to 3 days. If you are cutting at an inch and a half, you cut at 2.25" and might get away with 4 days.
Hi. I am a fan your chanel and i have a situation. I have overseeded my lawn and i did not cut the grass for 3 weeks because of a cold period that has slowed down the growing of the new grass.
After that, i have cut it to 6,5 cm (2,5 inches) and then i went lower, to 2 inches, but in some areas the grass looks like straws, with few leaves that are wide.
This is what you mean by taking a few weeks to acomodate tonthe new height? That thisbappearance will gradually improove? No more straws and wide leaf blades?
I like tall cuts with good directionality and striping from a commercial deck, but this is still interesting.
How I went to low mow, set rotary mower to the lowest setting then mowed. Thinned and went to the highest setting on my reel mower, which is 1.25 inches. Worked my way down to 3/4 inch but it didn't stripe well so I went back up to 1 inch. This is a KBG lawn in Wisconsin.
Great vid, thanks. Great work getting all that info into under 10 min!
What kind of grass do you have. Holy cow that’s green! Thank you for the video.
I bet the neighbor envy is strong in your neighborhood XD If I can ever get so I can walk again, I'm going to make my yard into what you have here! Thanks for all the great information!
Hey Ryan been watching your vids for the past few months ....great stuff and info you have put out ...
I live near Toronto CANADA and have been struggling with my front grass ...its has not been detached in over 10 years which I have just bought and electric one and have done the first dethatch..then I have put down seed and summer fertilizer......now 8 dont jnow what to do next and was hoping for some help 9r this from you of possible.
I would greatly appreciate it
Thanks man and keep up the great moving stuff
I would really like to know what you think about robotmowers?
Your lawn is insane. I’ve lived in my newly built house about 1 year. My lawn is pretty green, probably one of the better looking lawns in the neighborhood. I pick my weeds and mow pretty regularly. I’ve noticed a lot of low spots, probably up to 1-2 inch difference in some spots. What’s my best bet to level it out and further prevent weeds that regularly grow up against the sidewalk?
You rock Ryan!!!!❤🌷
What type of grass is that and where are you located, great video like always
Hey Ryan, love your videos very in depth an knowledgeable but I have a question about Tenacity. I live in Ontario and have some dandelions and crab grass in some
Spots growing in already for past few weeks. Would it be to late to order this product an put it down after weeds have already sprung like a early summer product or should I just wait until next spring at this point and just spot treat the weeds with a 2,4-D product? Thanks a ton keep up the wicked work!
Both herbicides are banned in Ontario, right?
I live in Texas and have a bermuda lawn. I've been getting my lawn cut pretty short and it's looking good. However, as far as dethatching, I've heard mixed ideas on dethatching bermuda. You mentioned you should do that for your lawn, but does that work for bermuda grass as well?
Would love to cut low but know I'm definitely not ready from a lawn standpoint. Irrigation system still needs work unfortunately and my lawn is very bumpy but I haven't been able to find a place with decent dirt that I could get delivered in order to level the lawn with the tool I got from you. One day I'll get there though.
I added a comment after your visit to Reel Rollers about doing a video about getting into reel mowing. Not sure if this is in response but this hugely helpful toward that end. Thanks for the great content. Now the search for a used reel mower. Any suggestions?
Using plant growth regulator really helps with the amount of mowing and the appearance of the turf. Without it I'd have to mow my couch/Bermuda every second day but with it I can go once a week if I have to. Cut at 6mm currently coming into winter, Cut once a fortnight
Yes it does for sure. I have had a battle with it since you have to really get the rate correct for cool season.
Wow your yard looks phenomenal! I wish my yard looked half that good. I find my front or back yard looks decent but its one or the other lol and it would be so much easier (i am assuming) if I did not live in Canada that has a ban on most of the products you talk about like Tenacity. Keep up the great work!
How do I know what kind of grass I have now? I think it’s a blend of kbg and tall fescue, and it’s been liking 3” but I want to go shorter.
Any chance there is a phos free soluble fertilizer in the future
yes
@@ryanknorrlawncare great to hear!!! Love the content, keep it coming mullet man.
Hey Ryan. Love the channel. I live in the Pacific Northwest and have a mediocre yard. I was wondering if you have a starter pack you could suggest with the brands that you use. Thanks
Great journey Ryan!! 💪🏻💪🏻💪🏻
Congratulations on 200k
everyday mowing - what if you have to go out for a week or two? what would you do?
Damn man, yard looks too nice! You get any calls from the Masters yet? lol
Hello Ryan, here Łukasz from Poland. I have question about mixing type of Grass on my lawn. Currently i got fescue ( Barenburg " dry & strong") but im not so happy with that doesnt look so good . So i thinking about overseeding with another Barenburg ( Rye Grass , RPR Bar power ) what you think about that ? Will be visible aby difference between this two after germination ? Thanks in advance
Awesome content. Do you still mow low during the summer months and with the grass so low will you be able to still stripe?
All year
So I have GCI Turf KB on my front lawn about 1500 sq ft. Have a half acre total. The rest is more of a play area for the kids. Want to use tall fescue but want a thinner blade. How is the millennial mix blade thickness compared to the elite tall fescue. Going to give your seed a try. Stoked about your line of products!
4th millennium has a smaller blade to it. I think you'll still know it's fescue but it's different than the older varieties for sure.
Love your channel...i’ve learned so much! 🙏
Quick question...i have empire zoysia...it seems it really only comes in rolls of sod or plugs...if i was wanting a more full lawn, can i use zenith zoysia to overseed? Thanks!
I would keep the same type if you can or it will probably end up looking like a weird mix
@@ryanknorrlawncare
That’s what i was afraid of...sigh...thanks for reply 👍
I wish you were in Florida so we could hire you 👌. Just found your channel. We just had a bunch of land cleared and trying to figure to seed or hydro seed with some sod…
I really enjoy the content Ryan. I just laid Tiffway sod in the front yard 4 days ago. I'm sure it's going to be slightly bumpy for the first couple of cuts. I use a California Trimmer 20 inch. How soon after my first few cuts would you recommend rolling the lawn?
Congratulations on the new property, and keep up the great videos!
Hey Ryan, let's just say you want a short turf lawn pretty level with the driveway/sidewalk but the soil/base is already like 2 inches above the cement. So with a 3" cut, the top of the lawn is 5" above. Obviously you can't just cut that down to an inch and start the transition, I'd have to move some serious dirt. Do you have any videos like that or know how I could start from scratch and get that level?
Any thoughts on the Sunday Lawn Care DIY service? Curious if it’s something you would consider.
When you say, "thin it out" what do you mean? are you dethatching?? Also, are you aeroating too? Thx
dethatching
In north Texas, with Bermuda…when would be the best time to top dress/level with sand?
Early summer
9:19 wanna know if you can draw a lawn picture or do corp circle art. I wanna see if people can lawn mona lisa and see from drone.
I’m sat waiting for seed to germinate when’s it going to warm up
I just planted new grass seed two weeks ago and it's coming up but patchy why.
It's bluegrass, chewingsfesca, creep red feaca,prianial rye grass. I'm in central Alberta Canada
I've been using a Fiskar's push reel mower for the past 9 years in Seattle and have mostly liked it. It's tough when we go on vacation and come back to an overgrown lawn. I'm curious how power reel mowers do in wet conditions. About 6 months out of the year it's wet or damp out. After watching some of your videos I've started cutting it shorter and noticed it cuts better because the blades of grass aren't as likely to lean or fall over.
My Fiskar's mower height adjustment lever just broke, can't be used now and I don't expect to hear from Fiskars warranty/customer service for nearly a month and who knows how long my mower will be out of commission. I started looking at Tru Cut homeowner reel mowers. They're definitely more expensive than my $250 reel mower. I'd think about it if I knew they were extremely reliable. Are there any other powered reel mowers you might recommend to homeowners that are a good value? I'm also curious with the lawn wet much of the year, how heavy the power reel mowers are as even my 50 lb mower has created some rutting on my lumpy lawn. I'm overdue for a lawn leveling.
I mow the lawn wet with a reel mower sometimes and it's fine but if the ground were soggy it might not be as good. TruCut is a little heavier and has tires so I would be worried a little about that and creating some ruts.
This would never work for me unless I leveled my whole yard and took out the existing trees (Maple in front yard and Honey Locust in back yard). I’ll have to settle for my striped 4 inch Tall Fescue mix 🤷🏻♂️. Yours looks amazing, though.
Great content as usual Ryan. I spy Westie treats (Ceasar's) in the background! Winston is a definite fan of that large bag 😎
What do you do if you have 3-4 days of consistent rain? Do you use the rotary once it’s just too high then use reel mower? This is where I’m at lol
I've been known to mow in the rain
Mowing my lawn every other day is just not possible. It's 3/4 of an acre. It's already a time commitment to mow it once a week with my walk behind mower.
Would you consider reviewing a robotic lawnmower and testing it out on your lawn for a month or so? I've heard they can be a good alternative way to keep your lawn short since they can constantly mow for you.
How do you address insect/pest issues? Mole crickets in my bermudagrass here in eastern NC has taken its toll on both my front and back yards
Oh my gosh Ryan, so much incredible info! Thank you so much for all your hard work on your yard, your videos, and your product. You are very much appreciated! I can’t WAIT until I earn my Swardman (I am currently still leveling and using a manual reel mower. Baby steps...). 🙌
Happy to help!
I live in Missouri what kind of grass should I use?
Ryan- for mowing low and using PGR, what's a reasonable estimate of how that would impact mowing frequency for cool season. Believe you said every other day most of the year w/ daily during peak growing. If you use PGR and keep up on that is it reasonable to think 2x a week most of the year and closer to every other day during peak growth? Thanks
Great advice. Thanks Ryan
Each reno I've seen from you starts with a pretty good surface but I'm trying to start a new lawn where an old driveway was removed and now I have tiny pieces ( less than 1/4") of asphalt in the dirt. Should I remove all remaining pieces, if so how? I've used a thatch rake to get most of the big pieces. Can I just add top soil over the pieces and level?
Hi Ryan, my name is Nilton I'm from Massachusetts, I really like your videos!
And I see that you have and used many different types of equipment and machines, could you make a video explaining the name and what they are for?!
Thanks!!!
Ryan what is that tallest you have ever top dressed. And how hard was it?
Hi Ryan. Been watching a lot of your videos lately to help improve my little slice of heaven. Living up in Ontario, Canada I face some of the challenges you yourself face with colder temperatures. Milogranite isn't available here, so after some reading and research I found a product called Acti-Soil which is a natural hen manure fertilizer (5-3-2) in pellet form. Going to apply every six weeks and I am hoping for great results. My question is, when would be a good time to start my weed control? Can I start applying it now? Or should I wait a bit after applying this new fertilizer? Any help would be appreciated.
Did you have good results removing fescue patches when you burnt the grass out with glyphosate and then scraped the patches with your wire trimmer?
Yes. That method worked well
@@ryanknorrlawncare Thank you! I’ve got a strategy to fix some ugly patches!
Wow! The haircut - finally! 😂
What's the key differences between the grandslam grass seed and your elite blend that you have on your website? And which would you recommend for a new lawn.
Just a few different cultivars. Either will work well for a new lawn.
I was thinking of your next t-shirt... You said not many people do this with their lawns. How about the 2%ers’? The 1%ers’ are an OMG so we don’t want that. Lol
Also, I would love to see a good fungicide program outside of the basic box store program and just spraying Propiconizole. 👍🏼
Really specific question for you...how do you find seed from NTEP trials to buy?
e.g. I found Bolster (C14‐OS3) from 2014 NTEP - but google is not being particularly helpful in trying to purchase. Are there resources you can ask?
Oh man, I want that JD hat.
When you're topdressing/levelling and using a push broom to help it settle what do you think is better stiff or soft bristles?
I use the softer kind
Does this work on only specific types of grass? I currently have Fescue and some growing bermuda patches. I imagine there's no choice but to keep my mainly fescue lawn tall huh?
Correct