"The Unmistakeable Charm of a Melting Snow Bank"

Spring is on the way!

Surely, those of us who reside in Wisconsin can appreciate the charm and peculiar beauty of a melting snow bank in March… it signals the onset of spring!   Melting March snow also improves the water table of our soil and provides moisture for turf grass roots just below the soil surface.  Sadly, much of our melting snow finds its way into the storm sewers, especially if we experience a sudden warming trend.  A gradual thaw is more desirable, which enables most melted snow to seep into the soil slowly and percolate through to soil pore spaces below.

Since we experienced a severe drought last summer, many plantings were already stressed and water starved when winter arrived.  We will continue to witness stressed plantings—trees, shrubs, turf—as we proceed into spring and summer.

As snow continues to melt exposing patches of turf, we may observe the ravages of winter snow-load, as well as fungal diseases like snow mold.   Melting snow banks might also reveal damage caused by “visitors” like deer, rabbits, voles, moles, and other critters which wreak havoc with our landscape.

When all snow banks in your yard have melted, it will be time to determine action required to bring your lawn back to its lush and lovely appearance.  Following are a few tips I’ve learned in turf classes and seminars:

Avoid walking on soggy, saturated turfgrass; compaction is never a good thing and causes damage to soil structure below.

Don’t use a heavy rolling device to “even out” lumpy turf; Kentucky blue grass and other desirables HATE compaction!  Weeds don’t mind compacted soil… rolling your turf grass allows weeds to thrive AND deters grass from thriving/spreading.

If renovation is required (starting over), take this opportunity to sculpt the area properly, recreating swales where appropriate.  Bring in only SCREENED TOPSOIL to spread over planting area. Use a quality blended seed mixture (not just one species); spread area with covering of straw to prevent erosion, and WATER!

M. Lynn Schmid,   Certified Master Gardener
A.A.S. Landscape/Horticulture/Arboriculture