Mowing during the rainy season is a headache for many farm owners and operators. The grass grows fast – you can’t leave it alone. But the ground is slippery, the grass is wet, and you end up dealing with clogging, slipping, and a lawn that looks chewed up. The good news is, with a few simple tricks, you can still get the job done smoothly. Here are six practical tips from experienced users. Hope they help.
- Choose the right time – let the grass blades “stand up”
A lot of people head out as soon as the rain stops. At that moment, water droplets are still on the leaves, and the grass is flattened. A mower can’t make a clean cut – it tends to tear the stems instead. Plus, wet grass is sticky and quickly clogs the discharge chute and deck.
Suggestion: Wait 1‑2 hours after the rain so the sun can dry the surface a bit. Or use a long pole to gently sweep the lawn and knock off the big droplets. Start mowing only when the grass blades are mostly upright and feel damp rather than soaking wet. If it’s cloudy and the rain won’t let up, at least wait until there’s no standing water on the lawn.
- Raise the cutting height – don’t try to take off too much at once
During the rainy season, grass grows tall and tender. If you cut at your usual low height and remove a large section in one pass, you’ll get a deck full of wet clippings, heavy blade load, a stalled engine, and a lawn covered with yellow‑brown stubble that recovers very slowly.
Correct approach: Raise the deck 1‑2 notches higher than normal. For example, if you normally cut to 5 cm, set it to 7‑8 cm during the rainy season. A few days later when the grass is drier, you can lower it again for a second pass. Two lighter cuts are far easier on both the mower and the lawn than one deep cut.
- Control your ground speed – slower often means faster
Wet grass means less traction. If you drive too fast, you’ll slide when turning, leaving deep ruts or even hitting obstacles. And when you go too fast, the blades don’t have enough time to throw the cut grass out, so clogging becomes much more likely.
Tip: Reduce your speed by one‑third to one‑half. Go especially slow when entering turns and reversing. You’ll notice the finish is much cleaner – few missed spots or torn blades. It might feel slower, but you save time because you aren’t constantly stopping to clear clogs or re‑cut missed patches.
- Clean more often – don’t wait until you’re fully plugged
Clogging is hard to avoid in rainy‑season mowing. Even with a higher deck and slower speed, wet grass will slowly build up at the discharge opening and inside the deck. If you wait until it’s completely blocked, you’ll spend ten minutes removing covers and digging out packed grass.
Smarter method: Every 10‑15 minutes, stop and quickly inspect – but always wait for the blades to stop completely. Use a wooden stick or plastic scraper you carry with you to clear wet grass from the discharge chute and deck edges. This takes less than a minute and prevents major clogs. Some operators keep a long putty knife on the machine – very handy.
- Optimise your mowing pattern – avoid running over the same area repeatedly
In the rainy season, soil moisture is high and the root zone becomes soft. If you go back and forth like you normally do, the same patch of lawn might be run over three or four times. The result: grass roots get pushed into mud, soil compacts, and you see obvious tyre tracks that take a long time to disappear.
Pattern suggestion: Use a “one‑way pass” or “large circle to small circle” route to minimise repeated tracks. When turning, try to turn on already‑cut bare ground rather than spinning on wet, unmown grass. Also consider fitting wider, low‑profile “wet‑condition” tyres on the rear wheels to reduce ground pressure.
- Clean the machine right after mowing – don’t leave wet clippings overnight
After mowing in the rainy season, there will always be wet grass debris stuck in the deck and discharge channel. If you park the machine straight away, that wet material ferments and heats up in the enclosed space, speeding up paint loss and rust. The next day you’ll often find rust spots and hard, dried‑on clippings that are even tougher to remove.
Best practice: After finishing the last pass, don’t shut down immediately. Drive the mower onto a hard surface like concrete or pavement. Let it run for 1‑2 minutes so the centrifugal force throws out most of the wet grass. Then stop, use a pressure washer (set to a wide fan spray – don’t blast directly at bearings) to rinse the deck, and wipe down the blades and key parts with a rag. Finally, start it up again and let it run for ten seconds to dry any remaining moisture. That five‑minute routine can add years to your deck’s life.
Final thoughts
Mowing in the rainy season is indeed more troublesome than in dry weather. But if you follow these six tips – pick the right time, raise the deck, control your speed, clean often, optimise your pattern, and always clean up afterwards – you can avoid most of the slipping, clogging, and lawn damage. The key is to make them habits, not chores. After all, what we really want is a healthy lawn and a mower that stays in good shape.
Next time the sun comes out after a rain, give these methods a try. You’ll likely find they work better than you expected.
