Sporting Grounds, Golf Courses – Should They Be Mulched Or Slashed?

There are many reasons why sports grounds and public open spaces should be mulched rather than slashed. Mulching reduces weeds and unwanted plants, over time eliminating the need for pesticides. This is important from a health perspective, as sports and public grounds are used by children and domestic pets. Reducing the use of harsh chemicals on these grounds benefits the community.

Mulching facilitates the significantly faster decomposition of grass than slashing, allowing grounds to be restored quickly. Quick decomposition creates healthier soils full of nutrients, resulting in healthier plants, and giving turf a rich green colour. Nutrient-rich soils reduce the need for added fertilizers. This active soil biology also makes the ground more resistant to traffic and provides the best possible resistance to dry conditions. It also improves playability even in heavy rain.

Sports grounds and playing fields require optimal and visually perfect surfaces. Using a flail mower/mulcher on sporting fields provides quicker decomposition, as outlined above, and a better aesthetic than slashing. Flail Mowers do not leave windrows or create clumping as slashers do. A mulcher finely shreds the plant material and evenly distributes the bi-product leaving a manicured finish.

Benefits Of Mulching For Golf Courses

Golf courses have their own special requirements regarding grounds care. Greens are maintained daily, while fairways and the semi-rough terrain need to retain their top-quality appearance and playability with significantly reduced effort and lower costs.

This can easily be achieved with a mulcher/flail mower. The mulching process intensively shreds grass and stubble, providing the surface finish required for fairways. Mulchers can also be used for maintaining the rough areas too.

Benefits Of Mulching Roadside Greenery & Verge

Mulching is safer than slashing for roadside applications, as they are less likely to pose a potential thrown object hazard. For this reason, councils and contractors are more inclined to use a mulcher for roadside applications. Check with your mulcher supplier whether the mulcher you want to purchase has undergone “Thrown Object Certification or Testing”. This can give the operator safety assurance when mulching in open spaces.

Mulching verges and roadside strips provide a high level of road safety and an attractive appearance on motorways, roads and tracks. Mulching fastens the greening processes while the mulch’s intensive shredding minimises the fire risk in dry periods.

In conclusion, sports grounds and open spaces should be mulched rather than slashed. There are many benefits to mulching open spaces. Firstly, it is safer and provides better playing grounds for sports fields, even in heavy rain. It assists in safeguarding grounds against weeds and dry periods and stimulates soil biology giving turf a better appearance while minimising the fire risk.

For more information on the benefits of mulching rather than slashing, call (02) 4932-3011.