Summer is a time for swimming, backyard barbecues, and—what
else?—baseball! Ever looked down at the field and wondered how the
groundskeepers of pro teams get their grass looking so perfect, with those
patterns expertly cut in? It’s a technique called striping. Striping your lawn
is merely pushing grass in alternate directions and overlapping grass cuts to
give the look of intersecting dark and light green circles, stripes, and more.
(From Man of the House)
So How Do I Make Those Stripes?
Make a first pass of your lawn with consistent speed and
super-straight lines. Self-propelled lawn mowers and tractors like the Snapper SPX Push Mower or
the Ariens Classic
LM do this best. The rest of your striping’s gonna be relative to that, so
no swerving! The overlap is key to getting perfect stripes and you only want to
overlap each previous pass by six inches or less.
Do I Need Special Grass for Striping?
Longer grasses with thin leaf blades definitely lay best
(that’s flattest) for striping. Check out Briggs & Stratton’s guide
to grass to find the best one for your region.
What About Special Gear?
Both riding and walk behind mowers can be outfitted with
striping kits that are attached right behind the mowing deck. While many have
success with do-it-yourself solutions made of PVC, lumber, or even rubber
flaps, tons of companies offer specialty lawn mower attachments (check out Toro's striping system) and even striping mowers.
Proud of your lawn? Show me your best striping work!
