What is No Mow May?
No Mow May is an effort to increase pollinator food source in the early spring. Participating homeowners are encouraged to not mow their lawn during the month of May. This allows plants/weeds in the lawn to flower. Plants/weeds in the lawn are some of the first flowers of the season and bloom well before many native plants. This provides an early season food source for pollinators.
What does participating mean for my lawn?
By not mowing your lawn for a month, there are a couple of likely outcomes.
- Lawn Density – Longer grass competes for more nutrients and water thus outcompeting weaker lawn grass and reducing lawn density.
- Weeds – Weeds will flower and go to seed, leading to more weeds in the lawn.
- Mowing – When you begin mowing again in June, you cannot mow back to normal heights in one mowing. We recommend taking 0.5 inches off at each mowing and mowing 2-3 times per week until the grass is at the desired height.
- Watering – Your lawn will need less water while it is growing long. Excess water can increase disease incidence and lead to further reductions in density.
What other options exist to increase pollinator habitat?
- Allowing Clover, Dandelions, and Creeping Charlie in the Lawn – whether you are participating in No Mow May or Not, these plants in the lawn will produce flowers and a pollinator food source. bioLawn offers a Fertilizer Only Program to allow these plants to flourish.
- Planting a Pollinator Garden – Pollinator gardens can be filled with a wide diversity of plants to provide pollinators with a multitude of food sources.