LAWNOWNERS are just discovering that a common garden buy can spontaneously catch on fire.
The realization has sent gardeners into a frenzy.
Josh Davis (@joshdavis355) shared a video of his garden smoking in a viral TikTok video.
"Have you ever seen a big mulch pile? Fires will start in the middle of them," he said.
"I used to play on them as a kid, and they were like, 'You're going to fall on a pit of fire if you keep playing on that thing.'"
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He stomped on the smoking mulch in an attempt to stop the upcoming fire in its tracks.
Experts at Turfscape Ohio explained that while mulch provides plenty of benefits to your turf, such as weed suppression, it can also be dangerous.
Homeowners need to monitor the material, as it is combustible and can be set on fire in extreme weather.
"It can be easily ignited by improperly discarded smoking materials or by spontaneously combusting," Turfscape said in a blog post.
"Unfortunately, hundreds of small and large fires are started this way every year."
While the fires start small and can be easily put out, the danger in mulch fires rests in their capacity to quickly spread to buildings and homes.
Homeowners should take care to watch for warning signs, such as mulch smoking.
Before a mulch pile spontaneously combusts, heat and flames will tunnel under its surface before breaking into the open.
Landscapers and gardeners can also avoid piling their mulch too high, at just under a few inches, to avoid mulch fires.
Proper plant and area hydration, such as consistently watering your crops, can quelch symptoms of mulch fire.
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Gardeners were horrified by the video, with some sharing their own experiences with mulch fires.
Have you ever seen a big mulch pile? Fires will start in the middle of them.
Josh Davis
"Me looking at the mulch I just laid down," said one shocked viewer.
"Our playground catches fire once a summer at least," said another.
"My friend put a cigarette out and then dropped it in the mulch. BOOM, I had to clear out the whole side of the house," said a third.
"Anyway, I ripped everything out and put a raised garden bed, rocks, and pavers."
One commenter shared how they reduced the risk of fire.
"[I] worked at a lawn care place, and they used to have us stir the pit every morning to reduce the heat and the steam," they said.
Another shared a benefit of the phenomenon in the cold.
"A long time ago, I used to be a landscaper, and in the winter, we would just stick our hands [in] a pile of mulch to warm them up. It was great," they said.
