Look for This Winter Damage To Your Lawn

Your grass may spend the winter dormant, but that doesn’t mean it can’t suffer damage. When soil temperatures warm up beyond 50°F and air temperature consistently remains above 60°F, your grass will begin to show signs of awakening. Cool season grass starts growing in early spring as soon as soil temperatures rise above 50°F. When the grass starts growing, it’s time to start looking for signs of damage. 

Start by walking your lawn and giving it a thorough inspection. You’re looking for mold, compacted soil, and dead or brown patches. You might see grayish or pinkish mold, salt damage near the pavement, or soil that’s so hard that you can’t push a screwdriver into it. 

These are the signs of common winter damage:

• Snow Mold: Look for circular matted patches that are grayish white or pinkish. Since snow mold forms under heavy snow, you’ll be able to see it as soon as the snow melts away. If you find snow mold, treat it right away to prevent it from killing your grass while there’s still time. 
• Salt damage:Salt damage is the result of snow melt or rock salt that either you or your local government puts down to melt snow and ice in the winter. While salt does a great job of melting ice, it also can burn your grass. Look for burnt, brown grass, or soil that’s crusted over with salt along your driveway, sidewalks and curbs. 
• Vole damage: Voles, often confused with moles, because they too burrow underground can do a number on your lawn. While moles leave raised tunnels in your yard, voles leave shallow, winding 2-inch wide open trails around your lawn. 
• Soil Compaction: Look for compacted soil where the ground is compacted. Attempt to stick a screwdriver in the ground. If it won’t penetrate, the soil is too compacted for grass seed to take root. This compaction is often caused by the cycle of freezing and thawing in winter that can tighten up the soil. If the soil is compacted, you’ll need to aerate it to improve oxygen flow to the grass roots. 
• Dehydration: Grass that is brown or golden and fails to turn green when spring rains arrive is likely dead. Perform the tug test to determine if it’s dead or just dormant. If it’s the former, you’ll need to fill this bare patch by planting new grass seed. 
• Dessication: Grass that’s exposed to cold winter winds can dry out grass, denying it the moisture it needs to survive, leading to desiccation. Keeping your grass hydrated in winter is a way to prevent this. If not, dead patches will appear and you’ll need to reseed. 
• Thatch: Assess the thatch layer on your lawn. While thatch will break down normally, cold winter temperatures can prevent that process from happening, causing dead grass to accumulate on your lawn. A thatch layer thicker than 1/2 inch is considered too thick, preventing water, air and nutrients from reaching the soil. Dethatch the lawn using a motorized dethatcher or dethatching rake. 
• Bumpy Lawn: This condition happens as a result of crown hydration. This happens when temperatures rise, prompting your grass to start growing, before plummeting back to sub freezing temperatures. When the ground refreezes, the roots and crowns of grass plants burst and push up into the lawn, resulting in a bumpy lawn surface. When this happens, you’ll need to remove the dead grass and overseed to fill the bare spots. 

Related: This is Why Those Bare Patches On Your Lawn Keep Coming Back

Make Repairs Quickly

Once you spot damage on your lawn, repair them quickly. Dead grass leads to bare spots, which something will fill. If you don't plant grass seed, weeds will quickly take over those bare patches. Get seed in the ground as soon as soil temperatures hit 50°F before crabgrass begins germinating when soil temperatures reach 55°F to 60°F.