Winter 2021 - Too wet to be good!
Cutting Wet Grass
Due to the mild weather grass is still growing which means it may need cutting. It's difficult to mow wet grass at the best of times but if you leave it it'll be even longer and therefore harder.
The choice is yours but if you follow these instructions you will do more good than harm and prevent a bigger problem later on.......
Put the mower on the top setting
This is the opposite of what you'd logically do but do it anyway. Raising the setting to maximum on a cylinder mower can be a problem as these machines don’t like mowing long grass! Anyway the benefits are:
- Longer grass grows more slowly
- The grass will use less energy growing and use it instead for roots and health
- The extra leaf will aid in photosynthesis in these cloudy conditions improving health and disease resistance
- When you mow you'll mow higher up the leaf where it is drier
- The mower will ride on a cushion of grass with fewer muddy tracks
- You'll have fewer weeds and less moss because of the grass density
A few tips for mowing wet grass
- Squeegee the lawn before mowing. Grab a length of hose and drag it across the lawn to knock any water down into the soil
- Mow in the afternoon or evening on a dry day which gives the grass leaves a chance to dry
- A windy day is even better
- Keep the mower clean - any dry grass left underneath from a previous cut attracts wet grass like a magnet
- A sharp mower is even better
- A cylinder mower is useless so try and borrow a rotary
If your lawn is drowning
Some lawns, particularly those with clay soil, poor drainage and/or shady may begin to thin quite alarmingly. Basically the roots are so saturated the grass is drowning. So, what to do?
If this is a one off for you and your lawn, don't panic and start digging it up or installing drainage. We could just as easily have a long hot summer next year and drainage will be the opposite of what you want! So, just leave it alone and try not to look at it if it upsets you!
If it has thinned or is not in good condition you should follow the procedure for raking or scarifying the lawn followed by over seeding and fertiliser. This will repair the lawn and may even improve it. Some aeration woudn't go amiss either. The seed you use should be a close match to your original if this is a one off wet lawn event. If however, your lawn suffers bouts of wet and dry then use our Staygreen Grass Seed.
You can find more help on our Spring Lawn Repair page.