Sorry if this is a stupid question (mowing lawn)...

CompletelyLost

Yeah, I apologise in advance if this is stupid, but basically I have never mowed a lawn in my life. My garden hasn't been mowed for 9 weeks so you can imagine what it looks like, it's so long it's up to my knees.

Anyway I'm just wondering, people say not to the mow the grass if it's wet... well for the past week I've felt it and there's always been some water on it, so I don't know if it's safe to mow or not? What will happen if it's too wet and I mow it?

Barneysmom

It will look bad if you cut it when it's wet as it won't be the same length, you'll get some long and some sort parts.
Also I think it encourages some sort of funal growth.

Wait till it's dry, then walk over it to check there are no stones or other hazards then do it on the highest cut first.

If it gets out of control and too high for the mower, strim it first to a more managable length, then cut it with the mower.

CompletelyLost

Thanks Barneysmom.

I think we have a strimmer (somewhere) so will try that first as it really is long. I guess I should avoid strimming when it's wet too? I feel bad for letting it get this bad... my mother would kill me if she saw it!

So I should wait until it's bone dry. Just I can't tell whether it's water or just dewy..? There's not a lot of water on it, when I walk through it with sandals on it's only a small bit of water.

Will leave it for today and check again tomorrow. Hopefully it won't rain overnight!

NeverInDebt

I never cut it when its wet you end up also with soagy grass cuttings which stick to blades on lawnmower

If grass is long either use a strimmer or cut with law mower with highest setting off the groudn and recut with a lower setting I never cut grass to short I have 3 settings on mins and its always on medium setting that way grass doesnt get too dry during summer months and thsue goes brown quicker

alanwjones

CompletelyLost wrote: »

Thanks Barneysmom.

I think we have a strimmer (somewhere) so will try that first as it really is long. I guess I should avoid strimming when it's wet too? I feel bad for letting it get this bad... my mother would kill me if she saw it!

So I should wait until it's bone dry. Just I can't tell whether it's water or just dewy..? There's not a lot of water on it, when I walk through it with sandals on it's only a small bit of water.

Will leave it for today and check again tomorrow. Hopefully it won't rain overnight!

If you strim it to a manageable length now and rake the cuttings, The grass will dry quicker and you could then give it a mow in a day or two

s4lvatore

Have to agree with above that unless you strim some off now it will take forever to dry.

Strim it down as much as you can now, rake it and wait for one or two days with no rain. that should be dry enough to cut. Cut it using the highest setting on mower first time around.

Ken68

Bowling green staff brush the turf before mowing, helps to dissipate the moisture.

knithryn

It also depends what sort of mower you have.

If you have a flymo, then cutting it now will be OK, though the grass will get stuck around the mower blades. You might need to pause to clear the soggy mess off it.
If you have a mower with wheels, then they will sink into wet ground, but let's face it, if you haven't cut it in 9 weeks, you aren't going to be over particular about that.

Because of the 'wet grass clumping into soggy mess' issue, I'd remove the grass collecting box off the mower for the first cut. If you can change the height settings, then give it a cut, but set on a high setting. Rake the cut grass off. Try to do this when the blades of grass aren't wet.
In about 4 or 5 days, get out there again and cut the grass on a lower setting. If the grass is reasonably dry you might be able to leave the grass collection box on the mower. I'd also mow at right angles to the first cut direction.

Don't forget that the edges will needs a good tidy-up too. On the day of the first cut, do the edges first, that way any grass from the edge can be collected at the same time as you cut/rake the grass. Smart edges instantly tidy up the lawn. You can use garden shears, a strimmer or even large kitchen scissors if you have nothing else.

If any parts of the lawn are a difficult shape to cut - ie the mower can't make a tight enough turn etc, then you can review the shape of the lawn and start planning to reshape it next spring.

Let us know how it goes when you have first cut it. You might find bald patches, lots of soggy moss, weeds etc that you to know how to sort out.

I_luv_cats

I'd say I agree with strimming it first and raking off the strimmings.

Allow it to dry and use a rotary mower, set height in stages. Either use grassbox if you have one or rake off.

If the grass is really wet it'll create a real mess with clods of grass everywhere, badly uneven cut, it probably won't help your mower either, potential dangers if using electrical mower.

Kittendreich

I'm no expert and certainly couldn't bowl on my grass (not a lawn by any stretch of my imagination!) so this is practical rather than expert help. As long as the grass isn't wet (i.e. no rain for 24 hours or so) and you have time to cut/strim it then go for it (even if it is slightly damp). I find it really difficult to keep on top of the grass as when I have time to cut it...it always seems to rain. I even got half of it cut on Saturday before a massive downpour meant I had to leave it half done till Sunday!

It might be a bit wonky, but as it is so long at the moment it isn't going to look great initially anyway. If you can do it regularly then it will look better in time and you'll feel better as even if it is not perfect it will be obvious that you are making an effort to keep it tidy!

ITRUK

I'm a grass cutting noob myself and made the mistake of cutting mine when it was only slightly wet.. You'll regret it once you put it into your green recycling bin! The smell of the sour rain water that sits at the bottom is terrible :eek: I've learnt my lesson from that to let it dry out completly.