Mulch mowing
Mulch mowing refers to the mowing of the lawn without removing the grass clippings from the lawn. In agriculture, mulching is used, among other things, to ensure or improve the nutrient supply of the soil. With classic lawn mowing, the clippings are usually either collected directly in the lawnmower's collecting container or raked up after mowing and disposed of on a compost heap, for example . If you leave the clippings on the lawn after mowing, this is known as “mulching”. Usually, special mulching mowers are used for this , which usually use a second cutting unit to shred the clippings more finely than conventional lawnmowers.
Extensive mulching is used when green areas such as meadows with fruit trees are only mulched two to three times a year. Flail mowers are mostly used here.
advantages
The rotting of the clippings itself closes the nutrient cycle, as the nutrients necessary for growth are brought in again and the soil leaches far less; in the ideal case, almost the entire nutrient requirement can be covered in this way. By mulching the lawn, fertilization can be reduced and the clippings do not have to be disposed of.
procedure
Mulching is done with a special lawnmower, a mulching or recycling mower. Some of these mowers have a second cutting unit, specially shaped cutting blades or mulching knives with several cutting edges on different levels in order to shred the clippings. When mowing with a mulching bell, an air stream swirls the clippings so that they can be cut several times. The grass, which has been cut into the finest particles, is brushed into the lawn, disappears between the stalks that have remained, which speeds up composting and simplifies the utilization of nutrients. As a rule, rotary mowers are used, but they are also available as flail mowers .
Slowly running robotic lawnmowers in particular work as mulching mowers, in which the blades of grass are mowed at short intervals, which leads to small clippings even without re-shredding.
When mulching, make sure the lawn is dry , because wet clippings tend to clump together. The even distribution of the clippings is made more difficult. In order to achieve a good result, the clippings should be worked into the lawn. With a broom or a rake, the distribution in the lawn can be supported here; Mixing it with lawn sand can also improve the result. Frequent mowing (twice a week) is necessary to promote good composting with short clippings . Mulch mowing is particularly recommended in spring to provide the lawn with nutrients for the upcoming growing season.
Possible problems
Both wet, poorly distributed and very long clippings can lead to the formation of an area with clippings lying on top. The lawn underneath can begin to rot and is additionally damaged by a lack of sunlight and a lack of oxygen. Infrequent mulch mowing can also lead to the formation of a greasy coating on the blades of grass, which also prevents rotting. However, a conventional mowing process is not a problem with most mulching mowers, as these are supplied with a collecting basket.
Under the mulch, snails live “like in paradise” (dead plant remains as food, shade, moisture, unrecognizable by birds, animals and egg clutches, protected from other predators, no sucking up with killing by slowly running robotic lawnmowers).
Individual evidence
- ↑ Mulch mowing saves time and money , My beautiful garden
- ↑ Mowing the lawn: mulching or catching? Archived from the original on July 9, 2014 ; accessed on May 27, 2016 .
- ^ T-Online guide
- ↑ Mulching / mulching the lawn - this is how it works! , accessed May 12, 2013.