As I look out across my front and back lawns, I see nothing but snow with just a touch of grass peaking through here and there. And while you all would probably think that gets me sad and depressed, in actuality, it is a good thing. Here’s why:

First off, a good, solid snow pack that covers most of your turf area is actually a very good thing. This is because a solid inch or two of snow pack will help protect your lawn from a what is known as “transpiration.”

You can think of transpiration as “evaporation” from plants. Moisture contained within plants, in this case grass blades, is literally “sucked out” by very cold, dry winds constantly whipping across them.

If you have a nice coating of snow over your grass, it is protected and shielded from this winter wind.

Another reason a good snow pack is wanted is because when it melts, it will take your lawn winterizer application down into the soil where we want it. Melting snow also has the nice effect of evenly pulling those nutrients into the root zone right when they are stimulated by spring heat.

Keep the snowmen off the lawn

Now there are is one bad thing about having snow on your lawn, but it is easily avoidable. You see, when the snow is packed on the lawn, people are tempted to walk on it while either playing or building a snow man. This certainly is fun for you and the kids, but it isn’t fun for the lawn beneath. The grass crowns have frozen for winter and are very brittle. When you stomp on them, they crush and break and may not recover. This means brown and dead areas are left in the spring. Long story short on this one: stay off the frozen grass!

So keep these ideas in mind next time you look out your window and see nothing but white as far as your eyes can gaze, knowing it’s all for good in the long run!

Next to lawn mowing tips, lawn watering and irrigation tips are tops on my list of topics I tend to harp on. That is because good watering and irrigation practices are going to help your grass survive the harshest of summer stresses and continue thickening and growing.

Make Your Lawn Watering More Productive

Lawns need consistent watering that is deep and infrequent. This means you don’t want to irrigate every single day, and when you do, you want the lawn to get at least one-half to three-quarters of an inch of water. To get that much, you probably need to leave out a sprinkler for about an hour. I recommend watering 2 times per week unless it is super hot (above 90 degrees) then go for 3 times a week.

In order to keep the irrigation consistent, you will be best served in getting a sprinkler timer at your local garden center or hardware store. A timer will help you stay consistent when you get busy with work, family and other activities. You basically set up your manual sprinklers and let it go all summer long. This consistency will equate to strong turf rooting and increase vigor over the hottest months of the season.

Automatic Irrigation Systems Require Less Frequent Watering

If you have an automatic underground sprinkler system, then the same rules apply with a couple exceptions. When you have an underground irrigation system, usually it is going to be much more efficient due to the fact that an engineer did some layout and planning of the site prior to installation. This means much more efficient water application, translating to a shorter amount of watering time.

If you have an underground system, however, don’t make the mistake of running each zone for 10 or 15 minutes daily. When you do this, the water is not penetrating deeply enough causing a shallow root issue and also thatch buildup. I recommend running your underground irrigation system just two or three times per week for 25 minutes per zone. This will give you that targeted half-inch I mentioned earlier.

If you can follow these simple tips your lawn will respond a lot better to every other action you take this year. Go out this weekend and get set up for spring.