Spring here in Idaho means busting out the grill, digging out your favorite concert T-shirts and getting outside to enjoy your yard. Heck, even mowing the grass is kind of fun the first time of the season.
But yikes. What the heck happened to your nice lush lawn?
Sharp steel snowplow blades might have gouged the heck out of it. And those handy ice melt products that kept you from slipping and breaking your arm might have also damaged you.
It's time for lawn repair.
You may have questions. Will grass grow back after salt? Can you neutralize rock salt damage in soil? Will grass grow back on its own after plowing damage?
Let’s learn more about snow removal landscape damage in Boise and Idaho Falls, including:
- Is Rock Salt Bad for Grass?
- What Does Salt Damage Look Like on Grass?
- How to Neutralize Rock Salt in Soil?
- Will Gypsum Repair Grass Damaged by Salt?
- Will Grass Grow Back on its Own After Plowing Damage?
- How to Repair Snow Plow Lawn Damage in Boise and Idaho Falls: Sod is Faster
- Seed is a Top Choice to Repair Snow Removal Landscape Damage
- Ready to Seed? Follow These Pro Tips
- Try to Keep Ice Melt Off the Grass
The type of repair you'll need depends on the extent of damage. If we get heavy spring rains or you take the time to flush out the salt with plenty of water, salt-damaged grass in Boise and Idaho Falls might recover on its own.
But once grass is killed by salt burn, you’ll need to re-seed or sod those damaged areas of lawn.
You could wait and hope your grass will grow back after snow removal lawn damage — again, it depends on the extent of the damage.
If the plow only grazed the top of your grass, it will probably recover on its own. But if those plow blades dug deeply into your lawn, scraping up big sections of it, you’ll likely need to sod or re-seed after snow plow lawn damage.
Is Rock Salt Bad for Grass?
Yes, it is.
When salt comes into contact with your grass' roots, it draws important moisture out of the plant cells, causing them to dehydrate and die.
Proper application of salt and other snowmelt products can prevent damage. But if damage has occurred, there's no hiding it.
What Does Salt Damage Look Like on Grass?
Not Good. Here’s what you’ll notice:
- Salt-damaged grass turns yellow or brown and sometimes looks burned. This damage is often called “salt burn.”
- If you touch the grass blades, they’ll feel dry and brittle, not soft and healthy.
- The damage often happens in uneven patches, depending on where the salt has accumulated. Some areas will look fine, others, not so much.
Salt can damage your soil, too. Unlike grass damage, it’s not noticeable right away, but high salt levels change and disrupt the soil structure, making it difficult for your lawn’s roots to properly absorb the water and nutrients they need.
How to Neutralize Rock Salt in Soil?
Flushing the excess salt from your lawn with water will help your grass recover from rock salt lawn damage.
The spring rains we typically get here in Boise and Idaho Falls will also help a lot with that.
Give your lawn a chance to recover from salt-damaged grass on its own. If you went into winter with healthy turf, it might bounce back unless a significant amount of salt was dumped on it.
Will Gypsum Repair Grass Damaged by Salt?
Maybe you’ve heard that gypsum can help neutralize the salt in the soil by replacing sodium ions with calcium. Gypsum is a mineral that contains hydrated calcium sulfate.
Here at Lawn Buddies, we haven’t used gypsum to help with rock salt lawn damage, so we can’t speak specifically about that.
But gypsum, in general, is beneficial for soil health and structure and can help with nutrient uptake. By improving soil structure, gypsum can act as a natural aerator, allowing more air to reach the roots.
Or, if your lawn soil pH is too high, your lawn might need gypsum to balance the pH level of your lawn.
Will Grass Grow Back on its Own After Plowing Damage?
If plows just skimmed the top of your lawn, it might recover on its own.
But if snow plows gouged the heck out of areas of your lawn, you have a couple of lawn repair choices here to get grass growing again: seed or sod.
Part of lawn care services in Boise and Idaho Falls is fixing bare patches of grass — whether the damage is from snow plows, salt burn, or a host of non-winter issues.
How to Repair Snow Plow Lawn Damage in Boise and Idaho Falls: Sod is Faster
Sod is instant grass, and who doesn’t love instant grass?
Replacing snow plow lawn damage or salt-damaged grass with sections of sod fixes damaged areas and also helps prevents weeds from sneaking in since there’s no bare soil inviting them. Weeds love bare soil.
This is often the most expensive repair, however, and matching up irregular segments of dead grass with big, pre-portioned cuts of sod can be time-consuming.
If your lawn damage isn't extensive and you don't need immediate repairs, sod may not be your best option.
Seed is a Top Choice to Repair Snow Removal Landscape Damage
Sod is a great lawn repair quick fix for small areas of lawn damage, but if you have large areas of damaged lawn to repair or want to spend less money, seed is always a winner. Lawn care services in Idaho Falls and Boise often use seed as a top grass-growing method.
What seed is best? You have a couple of good choices.
First, your go-to grass should be cool-season in Idaho's cooler climate. Cool-season grasses grow quickly in the cool weather of fall and spring before going dormant in the summer heat.
Kentucky bluegrass and perennial ryegrass are cool-season grasses and Idaho favorites. However, the best grass seed for Idaho is a mixture of those two grass seeds.
Here at Lawn Buddies, we recommend a mix of 80 percent Kentucky Bluegrass and 20 percent Perennial Ryegrass, whether repairing snow removal landscape damage or starting a lawn from scratch.
Unlike a single-variety grass seed, this blend gives you the benefits of both lawn types.
Using a blend reduces the chance of one grass type being wiped out by an insect or disease problem.
Different grass types also have different traits. One type may do better in drought conditions, and the other may be more disease-resistant.
Ready to Seed? Follow These Pro Tips
Rake out any dead, salt-damaged grass. Your grass seed will germinate and root best with great seed-to-soil contact.
- Loosen the soil a bit to prepare it for the seed.
- Scatter grass seed over the soil, scratching the soil a bit and tamping it down so you know there’s good contact.
- Limit foot traffic as your seed sprouts. That tender new grass needs a chance to take hold and fill in.
- Water extra at first. New grass needs more frequent watering in smaller amounts. But don’t drown your new grass. Lots of people tend to overwater their new lawns, overestimating their thirst.
- Use starter fertilizer. This fertilizer is designed for new grass, which helps it grow and get stronger. It contains phosphorus and quick-release nitrogen in smaller doses — your new lawn’s tender roots need quick access to these nutrients.
Try to Keep Ice Melt Off the Grass
The best advice to avoid salt-damaged grass is to try to keep ice melt products off your lawn in the first place.
It’s easy to go a little crazy with the ice melt, tossing extra on the sidewalks, assuming more is better and will melt your ice faster.
More isn’t better. Let’s pause for a quick science lesson:
Ice melt products work by lowering the freezing point of water, allowing ice to melt at a lower temperature.
Once a certain amount of ice melt is mixed with water, it reaches a saturation point where adding more will not drastically speed up the melting process.
The key is to ensure proper ice coverage with the ice melt, allowing maximum contact between the two.
Always follow the recommended application rate for your specific ice melt product to help avoid rock salt lawn damage.
Also, don’t put ice melt on snow if there’s enough snow to shovel. You’ll end up shoveling the snow, tossing it on the grass, and then that ice melt will end up on your lawn.
If you hire a contractor to apply ice melt, make sure they use it responsibly.
If a snow removal service still uses straight rock salt as a de-icer, that’s a big red flag.
Rock salt is terrible for the environment— including your lawn and plants. It seeps into area waterways, creating a hostile environment for wildlife. It also damages surrounding landscaping, leaving unsightly brown patches of dead salt-damaged grass. There are better, safer options.
Choose a commercial snow removal company that uses other key players for de-icing, including liquid magnesium chloride, treated rock salt, and brine — all significantly better for the environment.
Get Your Healthy Lawn Back with Lawn Buddies
Winter is rough here in Idaho. Some lawn damage is often part of the deal.
But a well-fed and maintained lawn can withstand salt better than a hungry and drought-stressed lawn. Keep your grass thick, lush, and healthy with a lawn care service's annual maintenance program for healthy, strong roots.
If you want simple, hassle-free lawn care and landscaping services in Boise and Idaho Falls that offer quality core lawn care services for a healthy, impressive lawn, it doesn’t get easier than Lawn Buddies.
No stressing about which complicated combination of lawn care services will get you beautiful, healthy green grass.
You don’t have time to fuss with all that. Give yourself a break.
Welcome to one premium, six-visit lawn care program that includes everything your lawn needs to grow healthy and green. Fertilizer, weed treatments, and grub control, all wrapped up in six visits, each perfectly timed throughout the season, so your grass is green and strong and can stand up better to winter lawn damage.
Got a few minutes? That’s all you need to get started. Just fill out the form on this page, call us at (208) 656-9131 or read more about our services. Then, you can kick back and relax in your healthy, thriving yard.
