A few times every season, a storm drops two, three or even five inches of rain overnight, and we hold off mowing for a day or more. Here's why.
Clay soil and heavy mowers
Most yards around Leavenworth, Lansing and western Kansas City, Kansas sit on heavy clay. Clay holds water for a long time after a big rain. A commercial mower weighs hundreds of pounds, and on saturated clay, the tires sink in and leave ruts. Those ruts don't go away on their own. They make the lawn bumpy for the rest of the season and compact the soil so roots can't breathe.
Wet grass doesn't cut cleanly
Wet blades bend instead of standing up to the mower, so the cut comes out uneven. Wet clippings clump in rows on top of the lawn, smother the grass underneath and clog the deck. Mowing wet grass also spreads fungus like brown patch from one part of the lawn to another.
Safety
Wet slopes are slick. Stand-on and riding mowers can slide on a wet bank. We don't put the crew or your property at risk to save a day.
How we catch up
Once the ground firms up, we work through the route in the order it was scheduled, and we put in long days and weekends to catch up. Extreme heat can shift the schedule a day too, for the crew's safety. Either way, we post updates on our Facebook page so you know where things stand.