Lawn Mowing in The rain

Lawn Mowing in the rain

With the drenching Brisbane received yesterday and then again today with the rain from ex tropical cyclone Marcia, and with Brisbane's summers in general usually lots of storms, wet weather and the grass growing madly.

I thought it timely to talk about lawn mowing in the rain.

Is it possible to mow the lawn while its raining?

If you can avoid it and postpone until its dried that would be the best outcome.



Mowing in the rain is not a fun exercise, the mower clogs up with wet grass as it sticks to the deck it can not make its way to the catcher and ends up as a green sludge all over the lawn.



As the soil is wet and soft especially with the clay soils in some Brisbane suburbs the mower creates ruts in the lawn as its pushed along.

Its hard going on the mower as it bogs down on thick wet grass and is a miserable task for the poor operator pushing the mower.

You can always make a start by using your brush cutter to trim the perimeter of your property and do the edges then mow when its cleared up making it not such a big job, but if its unavoidable and you have to mow here a few tips to make it a little easier.

Clean under deck and make sure blades are sharp

1. Ensure the deck of your mower is clean, having a clean deck will help stop the grass from sticking to the deck.

2. Ensure that you have a new set of blades or that your existing blades are sharp, Sharp blades will cut the wet grass more efficiently.

3. Also very important is to make sure the catcher is clean.

If it is a cloth catcher you can hose it out making sure the fabric is clean.



With a plastic catcher also hose it out but make sure you also clean the mesh you may have to use a stiff Bristle brush to get it clear and clean.

A nice clean catcher will help improve the airflow helping the heavy wet grass make its way to the catcher.

4. Mow half the width, that is mow a strip and then overlap the mown strip by half on your your return pass. This way the mower wont bog down as much allowing the mower to work more efficiently.

5. Use your brush cutter on boggy or soft parts of the garden this will help prevent ruts by not pushing the mower through these areas.

6. Stop to empty the catcher more frequently than you would normally also give it a clean while you are stopped to help keep good airflow.

Stop frequently to clean underside of deck.

7. Also stop frequently and clean the underside of the deck this is a messy job but important to help the wet grass make its way to the catcher.

When tipping your mower to clean underneath always remove the spark plug cover and follow your manufacturers recommendations on which way to tip,

With my Honda four stroke mower I have always tipped on it side oil side down as per the recommendation in the handbook.

Speaking to a mechanic about my Briggs and Stratton powered mower he recommended always tipping mowers backwards so the spark place is facing the sky.

Choose a discreet place to stop mower

8. Choose a discreet part of the garden to stop the lawn mower when you stop the mower after mowing in the rain it will sometimes throw out a unsightly green wet sludge of grass.Also avoid any concrete or paved areas as the grass is likely to leave a stain

9. Do not use a mulching plug, Mulching grass can work really well when its dry by throwing the grass trough the blades a second time mulching it into tiny bits, this will not work as well with wet grass.





10. Make a coffee put your feet up and enjoy the rain and leave the mowing until the sun comes out.

Good luck