What Commercial Mulch Has That Your Yard Mulch Doesn't (And Why It's Important)
If you are like most homeowners, you have a lawnmower. If you paid a little extra, your probably have a mulching mower too. However, grass mulch is not quite the same as commercial mulch. In fact, there is much more to commercial mulch than your home-grade, homemade mulch. These differences are also important to the use of this commercial mulch.
What Commercial Mulch Has That Your Mower Mulch Does Not
Commercial mulch can be a mixture of specialty soils, fertilizers, growth chemicals for plants, and even bark. These additives provide the mulch with a variety of uses. For example, redwood mulch has bits of redwood bark in it, which deflects mosquitoes away from your home. Fertilizers and growth chemicals for plants help your bushes and flowers grow and bloom bigger and better than ever. Specialty soils, such as the additive of diatomaceous earth, kills invading insects that would otherwise harm your plants. Mulched lawn clippings cannot even come close to what commercial mulch can do.
Mulched Grass Clippings
That is not to say that mulched grass clippings are bad. They are not. They will eventually decay and restore nutrients and organic fertilizer to the soil. However, the grass clippings are only able to provide nutrients to the soil that were already present in the soil and the grass at the time the grass was cut. If other plants, bushes, and flowers need more than what mowed and mulched grass can give, you would have to buy additional fertilizers and feeds from the store anyway.
Why It Is Important
Stronger, healthier landscapes and ones which most people enjoy seeing need a lot more from the mulch that is used. Commercial mulch is able to provide what your landscaped areas need, along with some potentially attractive features that grass clippings do not. The cost of commercial mulch is on par with what you would pay to purchase additional growth chemicals, fertilizers, pesticides and insecticides to supplement the grass clippings anyway. Ergo, why not start with the commercial mulch, and the grass clippings mulch can just add something a little extra to the healthy mulch you are already using?
If you are not certain about using a commercial mulch, consult with a landscaper. He or she will help you calculate the costs of separate additives versus the use of commercial mulch by itself. You may be surprised at how the numbers come out.