Many lawnmowers struggle to mow wet grass. The grass plant leaves become heavier when they’re wet and clump together when cut. For most lawnmowers, especially those which collect, wet grass is too difficult.
A lot of ride-on lawnmowers rely on air flow to collect grass clippings, leaving them prone to clogging. Wet clippings block in the cutter and limit the effectiveness of the collector. Eventually, the cutter deck and discharge chute of the collector will jam up with ‘sticky’ grass clippings. Carry on and the mower may even be damaged. At the very least, rolls or clumps of wet grass may be left on the lawn as clippings are ejected from the deck without being collected.
In addition to the poor finish on your lawn, wet clippings stuck to your shoes make a mess when walked into the house.
In an ideal world mowing wet grass should be avoided. However, because many people can’t wait for good weather to mow their lawn – and the weekend is often the only opportunity – cutting the grass when it’s wet may be the only option.
The greatest grass growth
March and April, in the UK at least, see the greatest grass growth and it’s often wet. The wetter it gets, the longer the grass grows. So is it OK to mow wet grass? With the correct equipment… yes it can be.
A Westwood garden tractor cuts and collects in a totally different way. The Westwood system doesn’t rely on air flow to collect grass cuttings. Instead, a powered brush, driven by the tractor’s power take-off, sweeps the clippings from the lawn. The Powered Grass Collector is effective in wet or dry conditions and, because of its design, out-performs almost every other type of collector on the market. It’s why Westwood tractors are so popular in Britain.
The cutter blades in a Westwood XRD deck cut the grass and then throw the clippings to a discharge chute at the rear of the deck. Because the collection system does not rely on air flow, the cutting height can be set lower. The powered grass collector, towed behind the tractor, sweeps the cuttings into a collector net. Almost nothing is left behind.
Because a Westwood collector works on the ground, it has been fitted with a heavy lawn roller. This means that, unlike almost all other ‘ride-on lawnmowers’, a Westwood can stripe a lawn whilst it mows.