How to Mow Your Grass to Look Like a Checker Board
Many baseball fields have that checkerboard look to their grass. You may wonder how you can do that with the grass in your own yard. It is possible, but you must start with grass that is fairly thick and healthy. Spotty grass will not work. The bending of the blades of grass creates the checkerboard look. When you mow the grass in different directions, the grass automatically bends in different directions, allowing the light to hit it differently. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Set the height of your mower so it will cut your grass at about 4 or 5 inches high. Do not try to cut the grass too short because this will not give you the checkerboard effect you want.
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Start by mowing around the outer edges of your lawn where you can turn your lawn mower around without messing up your initial stripes.
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Pick a directional, such as north and south or east and west to mow your stripes. Mow back and forth in the opposite directions until you cover the entire yard. Mow your lines as straight as you possibly can for best results of your finished mowing.
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Start at one corner of your yard and mow in the opposite direction you mowed your stripes. For example, if you started with the north/south direction you need to now mow in the east/west direction.
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Mow the entire yard again going in the new direction to create you checkerboard pattern. Go over your outer edges again to clean them up and hide any turns that are visible in your grass pattern.
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Tips & Warnings
Some types of grasses do not bend as easily as other grasses. If this is the case with your yard, attach a roller (a striper) to the back of your mower to help get their checkerboard look. Many of the baseball stadiums use the rollers to give a more defined look. If you do not want to spend the money on a specific lawn roller you can improvise by adding weight to the back of your lawn mower strip.
If you want your yard to be a perfect checkerboard pattern, mark out your grass first by using stakes around the edges of your lawn. Use the stakes as a guide to help keep your lines as straight as possible.
You can make a diagonal checkerboard by following the same directions, but instead of going in a perfectly straight north motion, walk in a northeast pattern.
