Beware of Frost Damage to your Grass. If grass feels crunchy underfoot, stay off!
We see it every spring & fall. There comes a heavy frost and then within a day or two, brown spots appear, mostly in the form of trails and patches across and around the yard. The culprit is not Jack Frost alone, frost damage is caused by stepping on the lawn during this fragile time.
Grass freezes, becoming brittle; and brittle grass is very breakable. The problem usually occurs on cold mornings when we or our pets go on the lawn before the grass has a chance to thaw in the morning sun.
Once broken, the grass blades quickly discolor, leaving brown, sunken depressions that are spaced, shaped and sized like a shoe, the paw of a dog, cat, squirrel, or other critter. Mower wheels can leave dramatic, brown patterns that last for weeks.
Unless the damage is repetitive, damage to the lawn is mostly aesthetic and temporary.
This time of the year most frost-broken grass blades will regrow within 2 – 3 weeks, but repetitive damage can severely thin the turf. So the best advice is to keep pets, people and mowers off frozen grass.
Interestingly, a lawn can become crunchy for reasons other than freezing and none of them are good. Extremely dry grass can become crunchy, as can grass coated with dried algae. Since drought and algae severely stress turf, a lawn is much less able to recover once broken under those conditions compared to frost-broken turf.
Overall, since walking on a crunchy lawn is always harmful, it is best to be aware of the problem so the damage can be prevented. If you are concerned about frost damage to grass in your lawn, please give us a call (913) 789-9333 or Contact Martz Bros.?Online.
