Landscaping mulch turner and treatment applicator and method of using the same

Apparatus for turning over and thickening a layer of an aggregate mulch material on an underlying surface of a compacted material, comprising:

• a roller having a cylindrical outer surface with a plurality of spaced, elongate mulch lifters extending generally radially outwardly therefrom at spaced locations thereon, and
• a handle connected to and supporting the roller for rotation about a cylindrical axis therethrough, the handle being capable of being held to move the roller over a region of the layer of the mulch material having portions in a first orientation and the roller having a sufficiently small diametrical extent and the mulch lifters being sufficiently long such that the lifters will penetrate the portions of the mulch material and lift and turn the portions over and deposit the portions back on the layer of the mulch material in a second orientation different from the first orientation and so as to increase the vertical extent of the region of the layer so as to have larger spaces and voids between individual portions of the mulch material compared to prior to when the portions of the mulch material were lifted and turned by the lifters for aerating the mulch material without significantly disturbing the underlying surface of the compacted material.

A method for turning over and thickening a settled layer of an aggregate landscaping mulch material lying on a surface, comprising the steps of:

• providing an elongate cylindrical barrel having an outer cylindrical surface having a diametrical extent of less than about 3 inches and a plurality of elongate mulch lifters extending generally radially outwardly from the cylindrical surface at spaced locations thereon, the mulch lifters having an average radial outward extent from the barrel of at least about 1 inch and adjacent ones of the mulch lifters longitudinally along the outer cylindrical surface being spaced between about 1 inch and about 4 inches apart;
• providing a handle supporting the cylindrical barrel for rotation about a cylindrical axis thereof:
• holding the handle and pushing or pulling the cylindrical barrel across a region of the layer of the landscaping mulch material to rotate the barrel such that the mulch lifters will penetrate into the mulch material and lift and reorient portions thereof to aerate and thicken the layer, without substantially disturbing the underlying surface.