You have to mow the grass like that because the soil conditions got worse. Dandelions, for example, thrive in calcium-poor soil conditions. Their deep taproots

You have to mow the grass like that because the soil conditions got worse. Dandelions, for example, thrive in calcium-poor soil conditions. Their deep taproots mine the calcium from below the grass’s root zones and surfaces it up to the leaves. If you don’t harvest the dandelion yourself and “chop and drop them” over the course of several seasons, the soil will have sufficient calcium for other plants to outcompete the dandelion. In other words, dandelions are pioneer plants, and has a role within ecological succession. They are great for soil building. You could, of course, just add oyster shells into areas of large numbers of dandelions. But you would not get the benefit of a dandelion breaking up compacted soil. I too use a reel lawnmower. But I’m slowly turning my front yard into a perennial garden, which is a great hedge against inflation.