What Does This Extended Winter Mean For Our Lawns?
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The snow is expected to be gone by the end of the weekend -- but all of this melting has some of us worried about what we will find underneath.
Amanda from Brooklyn Park asks: What does the extended winter mean for our lawns? Good Question.
"I think in general, the winter has been OK for our grass," said Sam Bauer, a turf grass expert with the University of Minnesota Extension. "Snow cover's a good thing."
Snow cover insulates the soil. Bauer said snow cover for an extended period of time, like this winter, can cause some extra snow mold. That mold usually grows out of the grass quickly in the spring.
"When we've had a lot of winter injury is when we've seen these large fluctuations in temperature," said Bauer.
That has not happened this winter. There is still frost in the ground, which means the surface moisture will continue to saturate lawns or run off into the street.
Bauer warned against working on a lawn too early. He said people should wait to even rake or pick up debris for another three weeks.
He said the first thing to do on his list would be cleaning it, raking it and removing leaf matter. After that, people can apply crabgrass preventer.
After another month is when Bauer said it is OK to start mowing, dethatching and aerating.
"We still need to be patient," he said. "I would say stay off your lawn for the next few weeks."
