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May is almost upon us. It will be here Wednesday. Which means No Mow May will be getting underway, and already I’m looking shaggy around the edges. And in parts of the middle, too. More importantly, so is my lawn.
I have tried No Mow May in the past. Other than making me feel better because I didn’t have to march up and down the lawn, mowing the grass, I’m not sure it accomplishes much. And that not coming from just me.
I was musing about mowing the lawn not long ago, and someone mentioned that there might still be pollinators hiding in there. I see and hear lots of the buzzing around, so are some of them still asleep?
I asked Google that question. I did not get much of an answer. I suppose I could have asked that Facebook AI thing, but just having it there staring at me is creepy enough. I don’t want to start talking to it. But Google was not overly helpful. Although most of the pollinators that might live in the lawn are probably awake and doing their thing by now. There could be a few under the soil, but if they are under the soil, they’re not going to get mowed. And judging from the holes in the lawn, the raccoons and crows have already eaten them.
So then I started looking into No Mow May. The real reason for not mowing the lawn would be to allow any flowers to grow so the pollinators have something to eat this time of year. And there are many sources saying we would be far better off planting local plants. Most of what grows on lawns are dandelions, and dandelions are not native and, apparently, not very nutritious. Although I do know people who eat the greens and I have heard tell of making wine out of them. While the greens are good for us, pollinators don’t eat the greens. And it seems like the flowers are great for the local pollinators.
And it is also not good for the grass to get too long. If you cut too much of the grass plant at one time, you could hurt the grass. The grass might like to get long and wavy, but when you cut over half of it’s length off at one time, it could hurt the plant.
So I seem to be running out of excuses not to mow. No Mow May could end up being Occasionally Mow May. You don’t want to get too carried away.
