We all know that the best time to mow your lawn is when the grass is dry, but sometimes you just can’t avoid mowing wet grass. Whether continued rains mean you don’t have any dry days, or the only day you can maintain your lawn is right after a rain, you may need to cut wet grass at some point. Here are five tips that can make cutting grass in these conditions possible, providing for a good looking lawn regardless of the weather.
Raise Your Blade
A lot of cool-season grasses, which are the types often found in that rainier climates, are best kept 3-4 inches long, and we’re already cutting them a bit too short for their health. This is something that is further
Go Sideways, or Up and Down?
If you’ve got a slope on your property, you need to address it depending on the type of mower you’re using. If you’re using a push mower, you’ll want to move sideways across the slope. This way, if you slip, the mower won’t roll back on you. Likewise, if you’re using a riding mower on get grass, you’ll want to mow up and down the slope. Riding mowers are slightly dangerous on an incline even in dry conditions, and wet grass just exasperates this roll-over possibility. If you mow with the slope instead of across the slope, you’ll limit the likeliness of rolling the riding mower.
Don’t Bag, Discharge
If you try and bag wet clippings, it will make a complete mess of your bag and bagging system. Wet grass is best addressed by setting your mower to discharge out a side chute rather than bag or mulch. This will keep the blade turning, and won’t clog up the bagging system or mower deck as much as the other alternatives.
Stay Sharp
Dull blades cut poorly when the grass is dry – when it is wet, this is made even worse, as the moisture makes the glass slick. A dull blade will not catch the grass and cut it, so your lawn will end up looking patchy and sloppy. A sharp blade will take the grass and cut it nicely. Don’t even bother trying to cut wet grass with a dull blade, you’ll just have to do it again soon after.
Clean After Use
This is always a good idea, but even more necessary if you mow wet grass. When the wet grass clumps and sticks to the mower deck, the moisture stays with it and can cause rust and corrosion at a faster rate than dry grass. It will also build up, and can eventually cause issues with the turning of the blade. Use a putty knife to scrape grass from the deck, and give it a good power rinse. Let it dry out before putting it away as well.
