What is snow mold? It's a fungus that affects cool season grasses and is found after spring snow melt.

The conditions that are favorable to snow mold is when we have heavy snow fall on cool season grasses in years when the first snow fall is on ground that is not yet frozen.

We had a decent amount of snow fall this past winter and as all of this snow melts, we are hearing from several customers who are seeing series of small trail systems all over their yard. 

What are they? If this trail system is on the surface of your lawn, the odds are good that you have voles (or field mice) in your yard.  Their "highway system" will show signs of trampled grass from repeated use. What is the reason we are seeing this now? Snow melt.

A warm ground plus about 6 inches of snow pack throughout winter creates the perfect habitat for voles.  Snow acts as ground insulation and temperatures between the ground and snow usually linger around 32 degrees. Their protected tunnel system minimizes their time out in the open exposed to predators. 

Everyone knows that moles can dig tunnels and cause damage but did you know that voles and gophers are also diggers and can do significant damage to a lawn?  

Determining which you have depends a lot on which part of the country you live in but we'll point out some of the major differences below:

Does snow fertilize a lawn?

Have you ever heard the old adage that snow is Poor Man's fertilizer? Well, it actually is!  But not to the extent that you would find in a standard application of fertilizer.

Snow, rain, sleet, lightning and hail all collect Nitrogen, Sulfur and other nutrients as they pass through the atmosphere. It brings these nutrients to the ground, then your soil and then your grass. 

While you can't count it as a full application, snow can supply up to 5 pounds of nitrogen per acre of land throughout a season. 

Are ticks active in winter? Yes!  When temperatures are above freezing, black legged ticks (deer ticks) are active.  These ticks will find shelter in leaf litter to survive winter.

Their activity will decrease when temperatures dip below freezing but they are still out there!  As long as they aren't covered in snow, they are looking for hosts. 

“There’s a really good correlation with our increase in temperatures in the winter months and the increase in survival [for ticks],” explained Kirby Stafford, chief scientist at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station and state entomologist. 

How does hard water or soft water affect my soil/lawn performance?

Water that is too hard and water that is too soft can be equally damaging to a lawn. What’s the main difference between the two? Hard water contains minerals and soft water does not. 

With hard water comes nutrients that are beneficial to a lawn, whereas soft water contains no nutrients for your lawn - just salt. 

Rain water is soft. When it travels through the ground before reaching treatment facilities, it picks up minerals along the way in the process of becoming hard water.

A lot of people believe the best time of year to seed your lawn is in the spring.  Seed planted in springtime will germinate quickly but might die just as quickly as it came up. 

• Time of Year to Seed My Lawn [Best to Worst]
• Best Way to Prepare My Lawn for Spring

What's the Difference Between Local and Franchise Lawn Care?

It’s easy to hire the “Big Boys''; with their enticing prices, tv commercials and coupons galore.  Some of these companies spend millions just to stay in front of you. 

Is going out of your way to take the time to find a local, family owned lawn care company even worth it anymore? 

Is my grass dead? Or just dormant?  A brown lawn doesn’t necessarily mean that your lawn is dead. It could be dormant.

During dormancy, your grass is conserving its energy & water and sending its resources down to the root system rather than to the grass blade itself. This will cause your grass to turn brown and appear to be dead but, inside, the grass crown remains alive. 

Which Kind of Grass Seed is Best for My Yard?

The Northeast’s changing seasons can be tough on turf. It’s important to have a grass variety that can withstand the challenges of long winters and moderate summers. In the northeast, no one grass can do this alone.

The benefit of having a grass seed blend is that it offers genetic diversity.  Where one grass type lacks - another might excel when considering factors such as humidity, seasons or elevation.