When to mow your lawn when it’s actually a robot doing the job? It’s mowing season, and many homeowners are dreading the thought of mowing their lawns every week. If this is you, then you may be considering purchasing a robotic lawn mower. These mowers are becoming increasingly popular because they automate the mowing process and can even mow your lawn while you’re away from home. For those of you who want to automate the process, a robotic lawn mower is a great option. In this article, we will discuss the best time patterns to set up for your automated lawn mower robot. We’ll also explain how to schedule mowing times and when to exchange the mowing blades. Plus, we’ll tell you about the special fertilizer that exists for a lawn that is mowed by a robot.
I got a Husqvarna Automower 315X robot when I moved into the house that I’m living in now and I had to figure everything out from scratch but I’m happy to share all my learnings with you. If you’re considering purchasing a robotic lawn mower, the first thing you need to do is figure out when you want it to mow your lawn. Most robotic mowers can be programmed to mow at specific times or on a schedule. You’ll also need to decide how often you want the mower to mow your lawn. For example, you may want the mower to mow your lawn every day or every other day. Once you’ve decided when and how often you want your robotic mower to mow your lawn, you can begin setting up the mowing schedule.
When setting up the schedule with the time patterns on your robot lawn mower on the unit or via an app, it’s important to keep in mind that these mowers mow very slowly. So, if you’re trying to mow a large lawn, it’s going to take the mower longer to mow the entire lawn than it would if you were mowing with a traditional push mower. Because of this, you’ll need to schedule the mowing times accordingly. For example, if you have a large lawn and you want the mower to mow it every day, you’ll need to set the mowing time for early in the morning or late at night. This way, the mower will have plenty of time to mow the entire lawn without disrupting your daily routine.
Tips for lawn mower robot operation time pattern and schedules
What are some good time patterns for a lawn mower robot? Pay attention to the sun exposure and weather conditions. Start early, give a break around noon when the sun exposure is very strong, and continue in the afternoon. Even if your automated lawn mower robot has headlights, don’t operate the lawn mower beyond dusk to avoid harming small nocturnal animals. Usually, the blades would retract when they hit something other than grass, but I wouldn’t bet a hedgehog’s health on it. Here’s the timing that worked for me best.
- Early session: 7 AM – 11 AM
- Late session: 3 PM – 7 PM
How about weekdays? Should you run the lawn mower robot every day? No, it would be wise to give your lawn days to rest and recover from the stress of the cuts. You can mow the lawn every other day but since the week is made up of an uneven number of days this doesn’t work out. So if you want to avoid micromanaging the schedule too much, I would recommend the following setup.
- Mondays: Schedule the times listed above
- Tuesdays: Break-day to recover
- Wednesdays: Schedule the times listed above
- Tuesdays: Break-day to recover
- Fridays: Schedule the times listed above
- Saturdays: Break-day, as you might be using the lawn
- Sundays: Break-day, as you might be using the lawn
Many lawn mower robots are not affected by rain and are made to simply continue their operations regardless of rainfall, but in case of heavy winds and storm you might want to make sure they head home and remain in their charging station until the weather if fine again.
How often should you change the blades of a lawn mower robot?
Another important factor to consider when setting up your mowing schedule is when to exchange the mowing blades. Most robotic mowers come with two or three mowing blades – a sharp blade for mowing and a dull blade for mulching. It’s important to exchange the mowing blades sometimes to ensure that your mower is cutting the grass effectively. You can usually find replacement mowing blades at your local hardware store or online.
- Change blade set every 2-3 months if there are no obstacles on your lawn
- Change blade set every 1-2 months if you have trees with fruits that might be lying on the ground as an obstacle (or stones, sticks, and other things the blade hits occasionally)
Of course, you can check the blade for yourself and if you feel like they are still fine at the end of this period then keep them a little longer. No need to throw something away that’s still good to use. The blades are doubled edged but you cannot just turn them around and expect the same blade to be fit for another period. A lawn mower robot always changes the directions of how the blades move throughout operations, so each edge of the blade will be used equally. The original blades from the manufacturer of your robot are usually overpriced for no good reason. A blade is a blade. A piece of metal with two sharp edges. It requires no high-tech and it’s okay if you buy a box from another company.
YouTube: How to change the blades on your Husqvarna Automower®
Just don’t buy rubbish quality blades or you’ll harm the lawn’s health if the grass isn’t properly cut but much rather torn, which is a lot more stress for the lawn. It’s also worth noting that many lawn mowing robots from different models and even makers can still use the same kind of blades, so you don’t need to pay a lot of attention to get the blades that are made only for a particular model. If you’re not sure, just grab the used one and compare it. As long as you can put a screw through, it will usually do fine even if the shape looks different. Buy a nice set of 30 blades and you’ll save over time.
Fertilizer that’s specific for a lawn that’s mawn by robots?
Finally, if you have a robotic mower, you can purchase special fertilizer for your lawn. This fertilizer is designed specifically for lawns that are mowed by robots. It helps the grass to recover quickly from being mowed and also provides nutrients that help the grass to stay green and healthy. It’s basically the remaining nutrients and support for your lawn health that are not already covered in the mulching process and recovers the resources that are used up by the mulching process. You can usually find this fertilizer at your local garden center or online.
If you follow these tips, you’ll be sure to have a mowing schedule that works well for your robotic lawn mower. And, with the help of special fertilizer, your lawn will stay healthy and green all season long. I hope this was a little useful for you.
YouTube: Automower 315X Tips – How to Schedule Your Mower | Husqvarna
YouTube: Automower® 115H Tips: How to Schedule Your Mower | Husqvarna
Photo credit: The feature image has been done by Piotr Wawrzyniuk and the photo in the body of the article has been shot by Anze Furlan.
