Why Less Mow May?
Pollinators are keystone elements in growing human food crops and their numbers have dropped by half in the last 50 years.
Mowing less and higher and holding back on pesticide and fertilizer use, especially in spring, helps pollinators get a foothold on the year when pollen and nectar can be scarce.
Pollinators thrive on clover, violets and other low-growing lawn plants of early spring.
Less Mow May–A Home-Grown Solution to Pollinator Habitat Loss, Storm Water Runoff
Without leaving home, participants in Less Mow May can be a part of bringing back native pollinators by:
- Mowing less and applying fewer pesticides, especially in the early spring. By doing so, LMM participants pro-vide early-season foraging and nesting sites.
As a bonus, native garden beds require less watering than traditional turfgrass and annual flower beds and are better at absorbing water during thunderstorms and winter snow melt, helping to prevent flooding.
Note on Turfgrass Height and Less Mow May:
The City of Des Moines and suburbs have not suspended maximum turfgrass height limits during Less Mow May. For Des Moines, that means a turfgrass limit of 10 inches, which the City may enforce among participants. (Flowers, shrubs and native grasses in a kempt garden bed can be higher.) Since enforcement is primarily complaint driven, let your neighbors know what you are up to with Less Mow May and why it is important and consider mowing at the highest setting if your grass has grown to your city’s height limit.
Less Mow May 2024 Sign-up Info
Use the sign-up form below or call Joann Muldoon (515 771-9160) or Carolyn Uhlenhake-Walker (515 779-1680) or email the Less Mow May team here: NMMDesMoines2023@gmail.com