Is It Too Wet for Mowing?
Reasons Why Mowing Wet Grass Is a Bad Idea
Why it’s best to let the soil dry a little first
Often after a long period of rain, the grass can become a bit too long for our liking. Although it can be tempting to give the lawn a mow as soon as the rain stops, it is best to wait until the lawn is dry. Not only will waiting an extra day or two make mowing easier, it will also be healthier for your lawn and give you a better result.
Still tempted? Let’s look at a few reasons why mowing when it is wet is such a bad idea.
Uneven surface and cut
When mowing on wet, soft soil, ruts can easily form, which causes deviations in the lawn levels and creates an uneven finish. Ruts can sometimes be so deep that topsoil is required to bring the levels back up again. If the soil is so soft that the mower gets stuck, the turf underneath may even get ripped up, leaving unsightly bare areas.
Compounding these problems is the fact that wet leaf blades tend to not stand as tall as they usually would, because they are weighed down by water droplets. The bent leaf blades mean that not all leaf blades will be cut evenly when mowing. When the lawn dries and the leaf blades stand tall again, you’ll be left with an uneven, patchy look to your lawn.
Clearly, it is best to wait until the lawn has dried out to preserve your lawn levels and ensure the cleanest, most even cut.
Unhealthy lawn
When the grass is wet, a mower will struggle to cleanly cut the lawn, and the leaves can often be torn or bruised. Cutting the blades cleanly is important for lawn health. When the blades are torn it can cause stress to the lawn, compromising its overall health. But this is not the only way mowing when wet can harm your lawn’s health.
Normally when the lawn is mowed, the dry grass clippings can be scattered across the whole lawn, where they quickly break down and provide the lost nutrients back to the lawn.
However, when the grass is wet, these clippings stick together into damp clumps that will not break down easily and can restrict airflow, sunlight, and fertiliser delivery to your lawn. Even worse, the damp conditions beneath the clippings provide the perfect conditions for fungal diseases such as brown spot.
Mower damage
Mowing when wet isn’t good for your mower, either. The damp clumps of grass and muddy soil can get stuck underneath your mower, creating a build-up of debris that can, over time, interfere with mower blade movement and cause the parts to deteriorate. So if you do choose to mow when there is moisture on the leaf, make sure to wipe out the lawn clippings from underneath the mower so that they do not build up over time.
Risk of slipping
Mowing the lawn when the grass is wet does, of course, mean you are more likely to slip, especially if you are mowing on a slope. Increasing this risk further is the fact that extra effort is usually required to push the mower through the wet grass. Slipping over when operating a mower with fast rotating blades is clearly a significant safety hazard.
What about morning dew?
The moisture of morning dew sits mostly on the leaf and, unlike rain, doesn’t cause excessive amounts of water to accumulate within the soil. This means that mowing while there is still dew present on the leaf isn’t as much of a concern as mowing after rain. Golf courses and some other facilities have no choice but to mow their grass nice and early when there is dew still on the surface, and they manage to keep their grass beautifully manicured. But if you do have the option to wait until dew has dissipated, that’s certainly preferable.