Here in Colorado, we’ve finally entered winter and we’ve finally received the snow to prove it! Just over Christmas we received a few much awaited inches of beautiful snow. But with snow comes another: salt. While using salt on driveways, sidewalks, and roads can be great to ensure ice stays away, your lawn may think a different bit differently. Not properly taking care of the salt on your lawn can ensure damage in the spring but nonetheless, there are tricks and tips to ensuring your lawn wakes up happy and clean come spring.
Recognizing Salt Damage
Generally come April is when you can notice damage of the salt when your grass begins to green up from the heat and rain of spring. You will notice in the areas that have been hit hard from salt damage will not change. This most often occurs in parkways, the areas between the street and the sidewalk, and around the edges of your driveway. The reason that these areas have become damaged and brown is because the salt has altered the pH balance of the soil to where the root system of the grass has literally stopped. Good news is that if the crown of your grass still has a little life left, and if you act quickly, these can be saved.
How to Repair Damage
First off and most importantly, the first step to repairing salt damaged grass is to heavily aerate the areas that have been affected. You should aerate your lawn in the spring regardless, but make sure you double pass areas that have been damaged. Next, you should apply a top dressing of Ringer Lawn Restore fertilizer. This natural and organic fertilizer will move down into the holes of the aeration and start the microbial action needed down in the grass’s root zone. The final and most important step is to keep an eye on the areas and watch for flattened areas that don’t recover. These will need to be raked out for the parts of grass that are recovering and are able to spread out more.
Need Help?
Sometimes with heavy salt damage, it can be a little more difficult to repair your lawn to its once healthy and original state. If you or someone you know needs a little bit of help in repairing your lawn, contact us here at Westside Grounds Lawn, Inc. today!