NJ Lawns Community

I'm in Demarest and I literally asked 5 of my neighbors this week when they stop mowing for the season. FIVE DIFFERENT ANSWERS. One guy told me he stops right after Thanksgiving. Another said she mows until Christmas if it's above 40 degrees. My neighbor Steve says you NEED to get the last cut in by October 15th or your grass dies. Then I talked to someone on the next street who said she doesn't even START her fall dormant mowing routine until November! I'm so confused. We all have similar lawns (tall fescue mostly)...what gives??? Is it just that nobody actually knows what they're talking about or is there some real science here? Someone help me before I just give up and let it turn into a meadow.

Here's the thing - there's no magic date because it depends on what kind of grass you've got and whether you're doing organic or not. I'm in Ridgewood and I go strictly by soil temp, not calendar. Once soil drops below 50°F consistently, grass goes mostly dormant and mowing does more harm than good. For tall fescue in this area, that's usually late October into early November. But here's where it gets tricky - if you've got KBG (Kentucky bluegrass) like a lot of folks in Demarest, that stuff keeps growing longer and needs a final cut before winter hits hard. I cut my last time around November 10th last year and it came back beautiful in spring. People who tell you to stop in mid-October are probably overwatering or have compacted soil - that slows growth down.

Wow okay I'm a first-time homeowner in Tenafly and I literally JUST put my mower away last weekend after reading somewhere that you should stop mowing when it stops growing. Did I mess up?? I have no idea what kind of grass I have, the previous owner never said. Should I be worried?? Also can someone explain why it's different for different grass types? My dad (he's in Morris County) just laughed at me and said “you stop when your arms get tired” which was NOT helpful.

@WeedWarrior Okay wait, soil temperature? How am I supposed to know that?? Do I need a thermometer or something? And I DO have KBG in parts of my yard - the front lawn is mixed tall fescue and KBG. So you're saying I should keep mowing the front part later than the back? That seems complicated. @NewbieNate You're probably fine honestly, it's not like your lawn is going to die if you put the mower away a week early. I think we're all just stressed because everyone acts like there's ONE right answer and then gives you five different ones.

@Lawovor Yes, you literally can get a soil thermometer at any garden center - I got mine at the Farm Bureau in Englewood for like $12. Worth it if you want to stop guessing. And yeah honestly for a mixed lawn I'd recommend targeting the later date (early November-ish) because KBG is tougher and can handle it, fescue will go dormant on its own. The bigger issue honestly is height - people get too paranoid about the “last cut.” What matters MORE is making sure you're cutting at the RIGHT HEIGHT going into winter. You want like 2.5-3 inches for fescue, maybe a bit shorter for KBG but NOT scalped. I've seen more lawns damage fromCutting too short in October than from cutting too late. Also please don't listen to anyone who says you need to fertilize synthetics now - that's a whole other argument lol.

Quick update - apparently my lawn is mostly Kentucky Bluegrass with some perennial rye mixed in (the previous owner left notes in the garage, lol). So based on what @WeedWarrior said I might have cut mine too early? It's fine, right?? I'm new to this whole lawn care thing and everyone in my neighborhood seems to have such strong opinions about everything. I went to Home Depot in Paramus looking for advice and the guy there gave me completely different advice than what I found online. Very confusing.

Final update for everyone - after reading all your replies I think I'm just going to watch my lawn and keep mowing if it's above 40°F and still growing, then do one last cut around Veterans Day (November 11th) and call it a season. Going to pick up that soil thermometer too @WeedWarrior mentioned. Thanks for the reality check everyone. Still think it's crazy that 5 neighbors gave me 5 different answers though 😂