Defensive mowing

[Doc]

I'm not trying to mow to make the yard look nice anymore. I'm mowing it now just to keep the thing from turning into a jungle. The trick now is to look out ahead enough so I don't find myself floundering around in water/mud, kind of like "defensive mowing". The yard looks like crap because of the mud-streaks, and the churned up turf. I have never seen these kinds of conditions except for a very few extremely wet first cuttings. But I have no choice. I have to mow the stinking yard sopping wet because it hasn't been any other way all summer. Oh and looking at the sky, it looks like we're going to be blessed with a little more rain. Kind of reminds me of that Johnny Cash song, "How high's the water Mama. 5 feet high and rising".....lol. This looks like a pattern that is going to last all summer. Just think if it continues on into the winter ..... Yikes!

[thphm]

Doc it's a shame we are not 30 years younger, a weed wacker would knock it all down,I have been doing it between rain drops,tire tracks everywhere.

[fasteddie]

It has rained so much that I have "dollar spots" in the front lawn . It's a disease caused by so much dampness . The lawn guy told me not to cut my grass any shorted than 3" . Way out in the back part of the yard , it isn't mowable as the water doesn't drain off . It has been a weird year for wet lawns !

[Lawdwaz]

Those mud streaks go away pretty quick, IME.  We have a very wet back yard and sometimes, like Doc, I just have to wade through the depths and get 'er done.  Freaking water, grass & the odd floating dog turd flying all over the place.

 

It's a dirty job but somebody has to do it and not everybody is cut out for the chore.

 

Kudos to you Doc.........!!

[sits in trees]

Don't worry doc, we're about due for a 6 week summer drought...

[Doc]

Don't worry doc, we're about due for a 6 week summer drought...

That's what I keep saying. I figure that summer isn't really summer without a whole lot of unpleasant contrary weather .... lol. But now I am beginning to wonder if there is going to be any off-setting weird weather, or is this just going to keep on going on and on and on, into and through the winter. Isn't that a lovely thought?

 

You should see my tomato plants. the tops look fine, but the bottom leaves and stems for about 10 inches or so are brown and rotting. Never saw that before. They're getting pretty goofy looking.

 

[Doc]

I have a Gravely zero-turn, and every time I turn, things are so greasy that it spins a nice little divet out of the lawn. Also, if I happen to wind up in one of those real wet areas, the sucker will get stuck super-easy. Then I have to get he ATV and drag the mower out of the slime. That makes a nice mess of things. Nothing more attractive than two muddy drag-marks with the grass ripped out.

 

Zero turn mowers are great as long as conditions are half-ways reasonable. I cut a full hour out of my mowing when I retired the old John Deere and bought the zero-turn. But part of the theory is that one wheel stops (or slows) while the other keeps powering the mower around the turn. So they have been designed not to have great traction. And that will skid sod off the lawn in sharp turns, make the thing slide down steep slopes like a bobsled (skidding grass off the lawn all the way) and get helplessly stuck super easy. Normally it's dry enough not to be a problem, but not this year.

[sweet old bill]

same in the central areas of NY. to much rain, farmers having a hard time getting the hay in. also the corn corp is not doing well to wet....

[WNYBuckHunter]

I have a big area of lawn that is well over a foot high, with ruts all around it where Ive been trying to keep up with it. One small area has had 6" of standing water for almost the entire summer so far. Its a big low spot in the yard, and i have to fix the drainage there, but I cant do it without making a massive mess right now. Hopefully we get a nice long dry spell and my buddy can get his backhoe in there.

[Doc]

I have a big area of lawn that is well over a foot high, with ruts all around it where Ive been trying to keep up with it. One small area has had 6" of standing water for almost the entire summer so far. Its a big low spot in the yard, and i have to fix the drainage there, but I cant do it without making a massive mess right now. Hopefully we get a nice long dry spell and my buddy can get his backhoe in there.

Ah yes .... I'm always looking for that silver lining ... lol. You can look at it all as a good once-in-a-lifetime test of the drainage of your new place. It is a thorough look at a real stress test, and you will have an opportunity to fix drainage problems forever. That's about all the good news I can squeeze out of all this .... lol.

[Doc]

same in the central areas of NY. to much rain, farmers having a hard time getting the hay in. also the corn corp is not doing well to wet....

I have noticed the effect on the corn .... high and low stalks depending on where the water tends to not drain away quickly enough.

 

I saw a guy putting up some hay as silage. The field was full of muddy ruts criss-crossing it. There may be another hay shortage this year because of this slop.

[WNYBuckHunter]

Thats just one of the drainage issues here. This place was not built with proper drainage in mind, thats for sure.

[josephmrtn]

same in the central areas of NY. to much rain, farmers having a hard time getting the hay in. also the corn corp is not doing well to wet....

thats not just down in central!!! we are having a HARD time too!!!

[Five Seasons]

i'm lucky that my yard is pitched pretty good. but there are some spots i cant touch. learned it the hard way. My gripe really is how quick it grows. My yard looks like it has hay bails from the clippings and from how high it is by the time it's semi-dry enough to mow again.

[WNYBuckHunter]

belo, either take the dischage chute off or hold it up when you mow, the clippings wont be left in a long pile anymore, and will disappear into the lawn within a few cuttings. I was having the same problem.

[Five Seasons]

good idea. a little dangerous but i'll try it. thanks.

[WNYBuckHunter]

Yeah just make sure your yard is free of sticks and rocks and other potential hazards. I walk mine and pick stuff up before I mow, and I only do the back yard that way. The front is small enough to rake if need be.

 

I drilled a small hole right near the lip of the chute, and use a small bungee cord to keep it held up.

[jesse.james]

Ive been using a self propelled push mower and my hip waiters.

[fasteddie]

I saw the neighbor down the street get his mower stuck this afternoon . I was trimming some shrubs and thought , he had better stay out of that corner and no sooner than that thought and he got his mower stuck . He weighs about 300 pounds . He got his van and a rope and pulled the mower out . I stayed in my yard and minded my own business .

[covert]

We're on a big gravel hill so no problem with drainage.  I don't even really care how it looks so I don't mind all the rain.  If it goes too long between mowings I just throw the bush hog on the 574D and have at it!

[wdswtr]

Same deal here Doc, last two times I mowed it was in the rain.  Just was no way around it or let the grass get out of hand.  About 7 years ago I traded in a zero turn just for the same reason your having.  Make a turn in wet conditions and it tears the turf up and leaves a mess of wheel circles all over the place.  One thing zero turns are no good for is rainy weather.  I just about have given up mowing this year.  I cant decide if the mud or tall grass looks better. 

[Five Seasons]

I saw the neighbor down the street get his mower stuck this afternoon . I was trimming some shrubs and thought , he had better stay out of that corner and no sooner than that thought and he got his mower stuck . He weighs about 300 pounds . He got his van and a rope and pulled the mower out . I stayed in my yard and minded my own business .

 

wow. I bet the van did some nice damage to the yard too. sounds like ontario though