Mulching mowers work by reducing the grass and swirling the clippings a number of instances inside the deck. These finely chopped clippings then drop onto the garden to nourish the grass and soil.
On this article, we’ll delve into the main points of how mulching mowers work, the mechanics behind them, and supply some helpful tips about how one can use them effectively.
What’s a Mulching Mower?
Mulching mowers are a kind of mower that cuts the grass and shreds the clippings into very small fragments which might be then launched onto the grass and soil. These finely minimize grass clippings then decompose shortly and return natural matter into your soil, performing as a mulch and fertilizer in your garden.
Mulching garden mowers are an amazing funding for individuals who are into grasscycling, whether or not for environmental causes, to save cash, or just to scale back effort and time.
When you’d love the advantages of getting grass clippings returned to your garden however don’t have the time to mow, rent a neighborhood garden care professional to mulch-mow your garden this rising season.
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How a Mulching Mower Works
Mulching mowers use a specifically designed deck and blade(s) to mulch the grass in three steps:
1. Reduce the grass: First, the mower cuts the grass blades on the peak you’ve chosen.
2. Recirculate the grass: Then, due to the angled edges of the blade(s) and the specifically designed deck, the grass clippings swirl a number of instances inside the deck and are minimize repeatedly into tiny items.
3. Deposit mulched clippings: Then, as you push (or trip) the mower, it deposits the mulched clippings over the garden, forming an evenly distributed mulch layer.
Professional Tip: When you’re contemplating buying a mulching mower, try our checklist of the Finest Mulching Garden Mowers.
The Science Behind Mulching Mowers
How (and why) is a mulching mower capable of shred the grass clippings the way in which it does? Briefly, attributable to its blade and deck. These are the mechanics behind mulching mowers:
1. Blade design: Mulching blades are specifically designed to shred your grass clippings a number of instances. They’re completely different from common blades — mulching blades often have three reducing edges, greater than an everyday mower blade. However these blades additionally assist direct airflow, pushing the minimize grass up into the deck as a substitute of again to the grass catcher bag.
2. Chopping chamber aerodynamics: A closed and specifically engineered deck design, together with the form of the blade, creates a round airflow that causes the grass clippings to swirl up and down inside the deck.
3. Making a number of cuts: With this swirling movement and the three reducing edges, the grass clippings are minimize a number of instances earlier than being launched into the garden.
Mulching Mower vs. Common Mower
However how is a mulching mower completely different from an everyday mower? Effectively, the aim of a mulching mower is to mow your garden whereas shredding the grass clippings, whereas the aim of an everyday mower is solely to chop the grass on the desired peak.
The desk beneath reveals intimately the variations between mulching mowers and common mowers:
| Mulching mower | Common mower |
| Turns grass clippings into small, finely chopped items | Leaves grass clippings on the measurement they have been initially minimize |
| Has a closed deck that distributes grass clippings evenly as you mow | Releases grass via a discharge chute into the garden or right into a grass catcher bag |
| No have to unfold the clippings after mowing | You should bag the clippings or rake them to evenly distribute them over the garden |
Why is a mulching mower the best choice for grasscycling? When you can unfold the grass clippings produced by an everyday mower over your garden, as a result of they’re longer, they’ll entangle and kind irregular patches that “suffocate” your garden.
These patches of entangled grass will forestall your turf from getting solar and water, inflicting your grass to develop in clumps. Within the worst-case situation, they’ll additionally result in frequent garden ailments.
Professional Tip: Mulch mowing additionally works for the autumn leaves in your yard. Simply trip your mulch garden mower over them, and ta-da! Now, as a substitute of spending time and power raking and amassing these leaves, they’re able to nourish your garden and soil over the upcoming winter.
Right here’s a brief video comparability of how common mowers and mulching mowers differ:
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Ideas for Utilizing a Mulching Mower
Utilizing a mulching mower is even simpler than an everyday garden mower because you’ll skip the half the place you acquire or unfold the clippings. However listed below are just a few garden mowing tricks to optimize the time you spend money on mulch-mowing your garden:
- Observe the one-third rule. Intention to mow at the least as soon as per week in the course of the rising season, by no means reducing greater than one-third of the grass blade. Chopping greater than one-third of the leaves’ floor can overstress your turf, making it extra prone to dehydration and illness.
Additionally, mowing greater than one-third of the grass blade creates lengthy grass clippings {that a} mulching mower received’t be capable of break down as effectively.
- Mow when the grass is dry. Mowing damp grass will not be a good suggestion, and this rule additionally applies to mulching mowers. Moreover stopping grass from clumping, mowing when the grass is dry additionally ensures the grass clippings are minimize effectively.
- Don’t mulch diseased or weedy grass. In case your garden is diseased or has a weed downside, mulching the grass clippings could make it worse. To keep away from spreading fungi and weed seeds over the garden, bag and get rid of the grass clippings as a substitute.
- Hold the mower clear: Whether or not you utilize a deck wash port or increase/tip the mower to wash it, protecting a clear mower deck is essential for correct airflow and mulching efficiency.
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FAQ About Mulching Mowers
Sure, most garden mowers may be transformed to mulching mowers by upgrading them with a mulching plug (to shut off the bagging chute) or a mulching package. Mulching kits are bought at your native {hardware} or house enchancment retailer and on-line and include the mulching plug and mulching blades.
No, you don’t want particular blades for mulching (a mulching plug often does the job when you’re not prepared to purchase the package), however specialised mulching blades are assured to interrupt down your leaves or grass clippings into mulch way more effectively.
Utilizing your grass clippings as mulch might help you save round 25% on fertilizer prices yearly. Though it’s an costly buy upfront, a mulching mower might help you narrow down in your want for artificial fertilizer in the long term.
When to Name a Skilled
If mulch-mowing your garden seems like a good suggestion however you’d moderately have another person sort out this weekly chore, why not hand it over to a LawnStarter professional? Get in contact with a garden mowing professional close to you to recycle your grass clippings for a more healthy, extra sustainable garden.
Metropolis of Maywood, California: Grasscycling
Principal Picture Credit score: lara-sh / Adobe Inventory
Teresa Joaquim
Teresa is a plant fanatic and artistic author who has been writing for LawnStarter for years, utilizing her background in analysis to put in writing about garden care and all issues inexperienced. A proud mother of two rescued cats, she additionally has a particular love for animals.