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Daily gardening tip · Southern hemisphere · Monday 5 October 2026 · mid spring

Ready Your Mower for Fast Spring Growth

As mid-spring warmth triggers rapid lawn growth, using a dull mower blade will tear your grass instead of cutting it cleanly.

Ready Your Mower for Fast Spring Growth
15 minutesmoderatetools
  1. Disconnect the spark plug wire or remove the battery so the mower cannot start accidentally.
  2. Tilt the mower up, keeping the air filter and carburetor side facing upward to prevent oil from leaking.
  3. Inspect the underside blade for dullness, deep nicks, or jagged edges.
  4. Carefully unscrew the retaining bolt with a wrench to remove the blade if it feels rounded or blunt.
  5. Take the blade to a local garden center for professional sharpening, or replace it if it is heavily damaged.
A garden in mid spring

Why it works

Dull blades tear and shred grass rather than cutting it cleanly. These ragged, torn tips turn brown and leave your lawn highly vulnerable to fungal diseases. A sharp blade creates a clean cut that heals quickly, keeping your lawn green and disease-free during its active growth phase.

Sweet Osmanthus

Plant of the day

Sweet Osmanthus

Osmanthus fragrans

An evergreen shrub or small tree prized for its intensely fragrant small flowers that bloom in clusters. The glossy, dark green foliage provides year-round structure in temperate and subtropical landscapes

Read about it →

Gardening news

Gardening news

Variable apple harvest highlights varieties suited to changing climate

Inconsistent weather has revealed that some traditional apple types grown at a garden in southwest England are able to cope well with the country's changing climate.

The Dirt · 2026-10-03
New research

Sunflowers cannot repair water blockages after drought

New research shows that sunflowers do not fix air bubbles in their water-transporting stems once drought ends. Re-watering helps the plant look healthier, but damaged internal tissues remain blocked. Gardeners should protect plants from reaching severe drought stress rather than relying on recovery after wilting.

eurekalert.org
On this day

New Hanover County Arboretum opened to the public in 1989

On 5 October 1989, the New Hanover County Arboretum formally opened its doors in North Carolina. Volunteers spent four years transforming the site of a burned school building into a public garden space. The seven-acre park continues to serve as an educational center for local gardeners.

nhcgov.com

Written for the southern hemisphere. Gardening north of the equator? See the northern edition

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