Protecting Your Yard from Deicing Salt

Every Minnesotan knows that unsettling feeling.  You step on your sidewalk and immediately realize that the best-case scenario is you can slide across the pavement to reach where you’re going – without falling!  That’s when the bags of salt come out. But, while deicing salt reduces the danger of hurting yourself, unfortunately, it increases the danger of winter damage to your lawn.

LUNSETH agrees with the advice provided by the University of Minnesota Extension Service, regarding ways to deal with icy sidewalks without causing irreparable damage to your grass.  Here are some of their suggestions.

Effects of Deicing Salt

Using deicing salts on paved areas increases the salt content in the soil of adjoining turf and gardens. The salt damages roots and causes dehydration in many grasses, causing discoloration or death.

Ways to Avoid Deicing Salt

Sand is a time-tested solution for increasing traction on icy surfaces. The downside is that it doesn’t melt ice and can be a nuisance when it’s tracked into the house. 

Beet brine and alfalfa meal are more recently suggested deicing alternatives. Sugar beet brine can effectively lower the temperature at which salts can be applied and reduce the environmental impact of salts. Alfalfa meal is an effective deicer and provides traction, but it contains nitrogen which can contaminate waterways as part of your yard’s runoff.

Good Shoveling Practices Reduce the Need for Deicing Salt

If you clear the snow often to remove as much snow as possible, it prevents ice buildup. With less snow on your paved areas, when the winter sun appears, it will do an amazing job of melting off any snow and ice that remains. 

If You Need Deicing Salt

There will probably be times when it’s important to make sure your sidewalks and driveway are ice-free, and deicing salt needs to be used.  When this happens, keeping a few tips from the Extension Service in mind will minimize the potential damage deicing salt will cause.

  • Apply the deicing salts correctly and sparingly to critical areas only.
  • Do not apply deicers to snow. Remove the snow first.
  • More is NOT better. A coffee mug of salt (about 12 oz.) is all that is needed for about 1,000 sq. ft., approximately the area of a 20-ft driveway or 10 sidewalk squares.
  • Spread salt evenly leaving about 3 inches between salt grains. Avoid spilling piles of salt.
  • Sweep up any salt grains you see on dry surfaces to prevent it from washing or blowing into plants and waterways. Save it in a container to reapply later in the season.

Planning Ahead – Healthy Turf and Salt-Tolerance Grasses

Making sure your turf is as healthy as possible will help it fight the effects of deicing salts and other winter damage. One product LUNSETH recommends is C20 Soil Builder to stimulate biological activity 157x more than compost. This promotes root health for all types of plants.

Choosing grasses that are heartier is important as well.

  • The UMN Turf Department research found that Fine fescues perform the best in high-salinity environments. They recommend Creeping Red Fescue because it performs the best, but seed mixes containing any fine fescue species will perform well in high-salinity environments. 
  • Tall fescue has intermediate salt tolerance among turfgrass species.
  • Kentucky Bluegrass performs poorly with high salt concentrations.

If deicing salt damages your grass, contact the experts at Organic Lawns by LUNSETH in the spring. We will come up with a plan to repair the damage and help your entire yard thrive because, naturally, we can help!