April Showers Bring May Flowers

This spring nothing rings truer than the famous saying, penned by Thomas Tusser, “April Showers Bring May Flowers”. This Spring we have received 143ml of rain!!! This is not a normal spring, if you think about it, we normally receive about 70-80ml, we received double this year.

Benefits and Drawbacks of Wet Grass

While rain is great for vegetation growth, it causes grass to grow faster while not giving it time to dry. While there are great benefits for fast growing grass, including blocking weed growth, there is also an important draw back.

You want to have lush grass that you can walk and play on, but you cant have that if its too tall and messy, so what do you do? You cut it. Normally people do not wait for the grass to dry, especially when it doesnt look like it is going to happen anytime soon. Unfortunately if you do not let your grass dry before you cut you do more damage than good.

Hazards of Mowing Wet Grass

Aside from the personal safety hazard, i.e the risk of slipping and falling, the grass will not be in its optimum mowing state. This usually results in an untidy finished cut and it leaves clumped clippings that could leave your lawn looking patchy and unattractive.

Wet grass also damages the mower, it sticks to the underside of the mower which might clog the motor. If you are able to go slowly and are willing to clean up a bit as you move along, you could get around it. Make sure that the mower blades are SHARP as dull blades will shred and tear apart your lawn rather than cut.

And talk about those stains! The chlorophyll in the grass makes it easier to stain when wet causing you to notice stains on your clothes, body and even driveway.

When better to Mow

If you do choose to proceed with mowing during wet conditions, ensure that the ground is not too soggy by checking if it sinks in when you walk. If it does, it is too wet and you should wait until it dries. Otherwise, April Showers Bring May Flowers saying will come true.