Cut the Grass: When Can You Stop Mowing When You Live in Montana?

The season is upon us. The leaves are falling and it is time to hurry and get the yard cleaned up before the snow starts to fly. Soon the yard will be blanketed in snow and you won't get another chance to make sure it is in good shape until spring rolls around.

I personally like to have the yard cleaned up before hunting season begins here in Montana. It is the last thing on my "honey-do list" before my focus turns to spending all my free time in the field chasing game. Unfortunately, the giant tree in my yard has decided that it is going to be the last tree in the neighborhood to drop all of its leaves. Meaning that I may be doing yard work on one of these prime hunting days.

Thankfully, the job of mowing the yard may be over for the year. Or is it?

According to the experts, you might be able to pack up the mower for the season. Now that the cooler temperatures have slowed the growth of your lawn.

Minus the possibility of a freak snowstorm, like we had last year, you can still mow your yard in this climate until at least Thanksgiving. But, the growth of your lawn has slowed so much, that you don't have to mow every week like you have been accustomed to all summer.

According to Mowers Direct

For cool-season grasses, the soil temperature needs to sink to about 45 degrees Fahrenheit before dormancy sets in.

In general, once the air temperature consistently stays below 60 degrees around warm-season grasses and 50 degrees around cool-season grasses, then it's good to consider putting away that mower.

This means that you might keep cutting all the way into late November, even if there happens to be one strange day when the temperature briefly dips before rising.

We are seeing cooler temperatures in the forecast—even the possibility of some early-season snow showers. We would recommend you get things buttoned up sooner rather than later when it comes to winterizing your lawn.