What is Mulch Blowing and How Does it Work?

If you have considered having mulch installed at your home or business, you may have come across a service called mulch or bark blowing. This service is a fairly new technique to deliver and install mulch for landscaping, playgrounds, or ground cover without the intense manual labor, time, or damage to your property. Here’s what you should know about having mulch blown in, including how it works and why so many homeowners and business owners are turning to this mulching solution.

What Is Blown-in Mulch?

Blown mulch is installed with a large flexible delivery hose attached to a blower truck. The truck uses a conveyor system to feed mulch into the hose and a technician uses controls to adjust the flow of mulch that’s blown. This hose is usually 300 feet long to easily apply mulch anywhere on your property without heavy equipment or wheelbarrow tracks on your lawn. Two technicians can spread 60 yards of mulch with a blower while a single person can only spread around one yard per hour by hand.

Blowing mulch is faster, more precise, and results in less damage to your property than hiring a crew to install the mulch by hand. Blower trucks can be used to spread compost, soil, and a wide range of mulches, even reaching areas that are difficult to reach by a normal landscaping company.

What Are the Benefits of Blowing Mulch?

• Blown mulch has many advantages over mulch spread the old-fashioned way:
• Mulch is blown efficiently to avoid waste and create a smooth, even application
• Less damage to your lawn and landscaping. No heavy machinery or large crew will need to go on your lawn. This reduces damage to delicate plants and avoids wheel tracks in the yard.
• Mulch is installed quickly. Mulch is spread in at least half the time as it would take with a full crew by hand.
• Less impact on your home or business because the mulch will be installed in a matter of hours.
• Easily mulch inaccessible or fragile areas. With blowers, technicians can install mulch on steep slopes, fragile soil, inaccessible areas of your property, and even rooftops.
• Save on labor costs. Blown-in mulch can be much more affordable than having a crew install it by hand thanks to labor savings.

Where Can Mulch Be Blown In?

Because the blower truck remains parked in a driveway, parking lot, or street, technicians can reach virtually anywhere on a property to blow in mulch. Mulch blowing can be used for landscape mulch in a residential or commercial setting or playground mulch for safety. Technicians using a blower hose of 300 to 500 feet can install mulch almost anywhere, including steep hills, inaccessible areas, flowerbeds, and more.

Mulch blowers can serve a wide range of industries as well:

• Parks
• Rental and investment properties
• Multifamily housing developments
• Commercial landscaping
• Construction projects
• HOAs
• Playgrounds

 

What Types of Mulch Can Be Blown in?

Mulch blowing equipment can be used to blow in most types of mulch and wood chips including specialty products like playground mulch. The following are some of the most popular varieties of mulch you can have installed by a bark blowing company.

• Shredded hardwood. This type of mulch is a byproduct of lumber and paper and it offers longevity with slow decomposition, but it tends to compact over time.
• Cedar mulch. This type of mulch is natural and usually comes double shredded. Its light texture is excellent for water retention and temperature regulation. It also helps repel insects, but it decomposes faster than other organic mulches.
• Pine bark. This is the most popular type of mulch ordered for mulch blowing in North Carolina. Pine bark comes in a variety of sizes like fine or medium bark mulch for a uniform look.
• Cypress mulch or chips. This type of mulch comes in a shredded or chip variety. Shredded cypress stays in place and costs less than other organic mulches. It also adds nutrients to the soil as it decomposes.

Blown-in Mulch Installation Tips

If you’re considering having bulk mulch delivered with a blower truck, it can help to know what to expect. Before the truck arrives, make sure the area where the mulch will be blown is cleared of weeds, leaves, and twigs. If you can, avoid installing new plants within 2 weeks of the scheduled mulch delivery. The technicians will be careful near delicate plants but let them know ahead of time if you have young or delicate plants that need to be protected. These areas can be hand mulched.

Most mulching companies have a minimum number of cubic yards that must be delivered or paid for, usually around 4 cubic yards. Calculate the amount of mulch you will need ahead of time. You can use our mulch calculator to find your property, trace the areas you would like mulched and determine an estimated number of yards you will need. When installed at 3″, you will need 1 cubic yard of mulch for every 100 square feet. It’s usually fine to order more than you actually need as most companies will only charge for the amount of mulch actually installed.