4 Seasons Landscaping's blog

Spring Tasks for Your Yard

As spring quickly approaches, you will want to get your yard ready for the warm seasons ahead. You can start with some gentle clean up. If you have any snow that is still piled on your yard, try to move it around. This not only will get it to melt faster, but will get the snow off your grass and help prevent mold from growing. You can also start to gently rake your leaves and remove branches that may have broken during the winter, but do not rake too hard, as the ground is soft at this point and you could damage new grass shoots and roots.

If you did not get a chance last fall, you could also aerate your yard if your yard is compacted. Try to wait until you have mowed your lawn a couple of times as this will again prevent damage to new growth. While it is best to do this in the fall, spring works as well, and it will allow water to reach your root systems easier. You can also dethatch your yard in the springtime, and usually happens right before you aerate.

Most of the time, we have plenty of rain and melted snow to bring our yards back to life in the spring, but make sure your yard is getting at least 1 inch of water per week.

How Can You Prevent Salt Damage?

The easiest way to prevent salt damage to your landscaping is to not use it. However, this is not possible for most people, as walkways need to be safe for everyone, especially children and the elderly, to walk on. There are a few other ways to prevent salt damage though.

Check what type of de-icing salt you use. There are some brands that do not have sodium in them. As mentioned in a previous post, the salt that has sodium chloride breaks down when dissolved and is more harmful to your plants and lawn.

Mix your salt with other materials. You can use sand, sawdust, or cinders to mix into your salt. These materials will provide grit so you will still have traction, and they are more eco-friendly.

Carefully apply the salt. Make sure that the salt is only put on your walkway or driveway. Do not freely toss handfuls around, that will cause more damage to your yard. Also check your yard to see if it drains properly. Try not to plant anything besides grass in low areas where water may gather, not only will this be where salt drains to, but excess water in the summer months can also damage your plants.

How Does Salt Affect Your Landscaping?

Salt can affect your landscaping in several ways. The first is how your yard will be affected. Salt will become a liquid as snow melts, and all of that liquid is absorbed into the ground. When the salt is liquefied, it separates into sodium and chloride, and your grass and plants will absorb this and leave less room for them to absorb the nutrients they need. This will interrupt the photosynthesis process, which will lead to leaf burn, when they turn brown, and will kill grass and some parts of plants.

There is also the salt spray on plants near the road. The salt sitting on the plant will cause salt burn on buds, small twigs, and leaves. The salt can also burn away the outer layer of buds, exposing them to harsh winter winds which will kill the buds. Most of the time damage will not be shown until late winter/spring, when the plant will not start to grow back, or needles or leaves on trees will turn brown.

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