It's best to wait for wet grass to dry before mowing. Wet grass clippings can clog your mower, causing it to choke and spit out clumps of wet grass that could smother and kill your lawn if left unraked. It's best to wait for wet grass to dry before mowing.
Mowing wet lawns increases the risk of rut damage, since the soil is softer and more slippery for mowers, and the grass roots can more easily be torn out by the mower tires. That said, lighter weight Wright mowers with their large wheels enable you to mow over wetter ground with less risk of rut damage.
When grass is too dry. There's nothing wrong with mowing your turf in a drought, but there are some changes that need to be made to minimize the chance of damage. Raise your mower's deck height by a half of an inch when grass is drought stressed, as thirsty grass will grow at a slower rate.
'As long as your blades are sharpened, and the grass isn't not soaking wet, mowing in the early morning dew is totally fine,' says Douglas Dedrick.
How soon can you cut grass after rain? Wait until the grass is dry, which will usually take at least a few hours. Walk through the lawn before mowing, and if your shoes or feet come away wet, don't mow yet. If they're mostly dry, you should be good to go.
Cutting wet grass can dull the blade more quickly. Clean blades thoroughly before and after mowing a lawn when wet to keep the cut as sharp as possible. Stop and turn off the mower to check your blades as you go along, to clear any clogs that may form on the underside or at the side discharge.
Grass needs the benefit of the day to dry and heal before dusk settles. Since mowing your grass in the early morning can damage it and mowing it during the early afternoon can burn it because of all the high temperatures, the ideal time is mid-morning. That is of course if you're free during that time of day.
Cool-season grasses should typically be cut to about 3 to 4 inches high. Warm-season grasses should typically be cut to about 2 to 2 ½ inches high. The common cool-season grasses include fine and tall fescue grass, Kentucky bluegrass, and perennial ryegrass.
The short answer: No. Mowing wet grass can be problematic for your lawn, your lawn mower and you. If you do mow wet grass, you risk leaving clumps of clippings that could smother the grass beneath. Wet grass can clog the mower, causing it to overheat, and stick to the mower's underside, which is difficult to clean.
The resulting uneven look would be bad enough, but when you try to cut damp grass—the result is a tear rather than a clean cut. These tears open the door for fungus and moisture provides a medium for fungus to spread, so when you mow a lawn that's wet, you're creating a perfect storm for fungal infestations.
Mowing every two weeks — instead of weekly — and not dousing grass with chemical herbicides and fertilizers, helps the environment and supports the health of bees, which are among the world's most important pollinators.
Once grass starts to grow again, it's okay to mow with your mower set to 3 ½ inches. Do not scalp the lawn to try to remove brown blades of grass. Let new fresh grass grow around them. Leave grass clippings on the lawn to fertilize the lawn naturally.
So, an easy way to determine if your lawn is too dry is to take a screwdriver with a 6-inch shaft and push it into the ground. If you can drive it in easily your lawn in hydrated, if you cannot push it in easily or all the way, your lawn is dehydrated.
Mowing the lawn removes moisture from the grass. If you cut your grass amid a period of hot, sunny weather then your grass won't be able to regain that lost moisture - and dry, yellowing grass is the result. Mind you, dry weather may not be your only problem.
Clippings are a valuable source of nutrients and you can use less nitrogen fertilizer if you recycle clippings to the lawn. Adding organic matter from clippings may help improve your soil if it is sandy, heavy clay or low in organic matter. Regular mowing will greatly reduce the need to collect clippings.
The weather is one variable landscape professionals cannot control and can make things difficult. We often get the call from some of our customers wondering why we are mowing grass in the rain. The answer is pretty simple: “BECAUSE WE HAVE TO”, not necessarily because we want to.
It starts growing leaves faster so that it can replace the leaf you cut off or make up for being in the shade. This means the closer you mow the faster the grass grows! The grass plants future survival depends on it manufacturing food, which it can't do without an adequate amount of leaf.
What Length Should Grass Be Cut for Optimal Results? Ideally, during warm weather, grass should be kept as high as possible. For most circumstances, the blades should be kept somewhere around 2 to 2.5 inches in length.
A mowing height between 2.5 to 3 inches is best for most of the season, except during summer stresses when the lawn mowing height should be raised one-half inch to mow at 3 to 3.5 inches. Raising the mowing height provides more insulation from summer heat and reduces water loss from your soil.
Between irrigation and natural rainfall, your grass should receive between 1 and 1.5 inches of water each week during the summer. Water deeply every other day for the best results.
Once temperatures reach 77 degrees, it becomes too hot for root growth, and root growth ceases. When temperatures reach 90 degrees, it becomes too hot for shoot growth and the grasses stop growing and begin to fall dormant, with the surface grass turning a brown hue.
For most effective results, a lawn mower deck should have a pitch, or height difference of 1/8-inch to 1/2-inch between the front of the deck to the back of the deck. Naturally, this makes the sweet spot about 1/4-inch of pitch, depending on the mower model.
On average, a mower blade should be sharpened after every 20 to 25 hours of use time.
BLUNT BLADE WARNING SIGNS
You might see the tips of your grass turn white or brown a couple of days after you've mowed. If so, take a closer look. You'll probably see that the grass ends look shredded, a bit like torn cloth. This is the most common sign of dull blades and the easiest to recognize.