Mulching is, simply, the process of placing a chopped-up combination of grass clippings, wood chips, bark, and compost back into your garden. There are various reasons to do this.
- Maintain the desired soil temperature
- Reduce soil compaction
- Keep soil moisture to a certain density, especially in summer
- Reduce weed growth
How Do I Make Mulch?
Now, you can go buy mulch at the local nursery, which can set you back a pretty penny or you can make up your own mulch, and what better way to do this than with the aid of the best mulching lawnmower.
Nowadays, lawnmowers do come with a variety of functions, including a mulching option. You may have breezed over it, wondering fleetingly what that meant, but now you need to know.
In a nutshell, the blades in the lawnmower are designed to finely cut and recut the grass so that they become conducive for mulching. The blades are very specific and actually are often referred to as 3-in-1 blades because they cut, mulch, and discharge the grass clippings. And most times, you can buy these super blades as separate additions to your lawnmower. However, most lawnmowers come with this function, so be sure to check out the functionalities before investing. Sometimes, buying the lawnmower with the most functions is a good investment as opposed to adding on the functional parts after the fact.
And, you may find that the lawnmower you bought doesn’t have those additional parts either. This means you will need to go out and buy a separate lawnmower for this need. So, you have been warned. Research those babies to death and decide what functionalities are important to you and your garden. But be sure to add mulching to your list. The benefits are truly rewarding.
Rules of Mulching
Before we get into those benefits, let’s have a look at the do’s and don’t’s of mulching. Yes, there are rules. But they are there to assist you in your quest to grow the best damn garden out there and be the envy of all your neighbors.
Yes, we know why you are doing this. We have you all worked out. No, really, we know that the environment is important to you. We know this is your ultimate reason. (clear throat – wipe the tear away – moving on!)
The 101 rules on mulching are:
- Do add in wood chips, bark, and a little fertilizer (or poop, as we like to call it) – you can place these down on the lawn and let the mower do its thing on them – either let the mower spew it forth back onto the said grass turf or catch all this lovely into its catchment bucket
- The addition of wood chips and bark makes the end result in mulch better for the soil and foliage you are trying to aid
- Don’t mulch when the grass is too long or too wet
- Do keep your blades sharp
- Don’t mulch too many weeds – yes, you may need to weed your grass before mulching – damn!
- Change the mow direction by 90 degrees each time you mow – this way, you will get a different cut of grass and not cut the grass to thinly
Tidy-up Friendly
Mulching lawnmowers basically regurgitate the grass cuttings back onto the lawn. This way you do not have to go emptying the grass catcher of the lawnmower or go picking up bits and pieces over your garden. Backbreaking work!
You will not even notice that the grass is back on your lawn. In fact, the addition of grass mulch will benefit your lawn immensely. However, if you are wanting to distribute the grass mulching on different parts of your garden, read on.
Catchment
As mentioned, if you do want to use the grass mulch on another area in your garden, say the vegetable patch or that sorry looking excuse for a herb garden area, that you started up last year, then you can set the lawnmower to catch the mulch in its catcher with the help of ac infinity. This way you can deposit the fresh mix straight onto the desired area.
Environment Friendly
As the lawnmower is effectively recycling the grass, you are protecting the environment by not disposing of the grass cuttings on some rubbish heap somewhere.
Look at it this way! You are sending it back into the earth to do good. Superhero grass mulching stuff. Um … or whatever! No, seriously, you are sticking all that healthy potassium, phosphorus, and nitrogen back into the land. And that’s a good thing.
Healthy Lawn – Healthy Bank Balance
By sending the goodness back into the earth, you are aiding the growth of your grass, plants, flowers, and other foliage. You will, in no time, see a marked difference in the richness of your grass or surrounding plants. And you won’t need to go buying all sorts of expensive plant or grass growing herbicides that will cripple your pocket in the end. And, of course, they are super unnatural for the plants and the environment. You are creating your own fertilizer, and we all know how expensive fertilizers can be at the local nursery.
Time Saver
As the mulching action of a lawnmower is cutting the grass quite finely, you are essentially lowering the need to mow more often, thereby creating a timesaving tool. You will find you will only need to mow the lawn every other week rather than every week. Bonus! More time for watching the footy!
So, take a moment and go look at your garden. Now, whip out that Smartphone and take a picture of it as it stands right now. Do the mulch thang and wait a few days. Go walk outside and have a look. You will be flashing photos all day long once you see the beauty that mulching can produce. Be sure to post us a before and after pic – and why not put all shame to one side and do a garden selfie – go on! – we know you want to! We will most definitely post your pics to our Best Mulching Lawnmower Tips article!
