The way to Restore a Yard After a Salt Water Flood

The health of your grass may be the least of your worries after your home is hit by coastal flooding. The sooner you can mobilize to save your yard, nevertheless, the less time and money you’ll want to spend later on. Not surprisingly, salt water has a drying effect on plants, nearly sucking the water they need right out of their root systems. Grass is no exception. Once the flooding is over, take steps to remove the damaging sodium material the flooding left behind.

The large Haul

After flood waters recede, remove any large pieces of debris which may have washed into the yard, like driftwood, tree sections and items out of your neighbors’ yards. These bits not only wear away bud, but they also block sunlight while depositing extra salt on these sections of yard. Hand-remove the bigger pieces, and use a rake to scrape away silt piles and other pieces of little debris.

Step by Step

Doing everything you can to minimize soil compaction after a flooding is crucial. Avoid all but the most necessary foot traffic, and aerate the yard just after removing debris. With salt particles choking dirt and grass roots, wrap little holes in the ground will help open the yard to the healing powers of sunlight, irrigation and alternative therapy. Use an aerating hand instrument or spiked shoes for smaller areas, or even an aerating machine for yards.

Leaching the Yard

Once you’ve eliminated debris and aerated the yard, turn to your hose to get re-flooding the yard — but this time with fresh water. The water leaches damaging salt material particles in the upper layer of dirt and out of grass blades. Use the strongest setting on your hose’s nozzle attachment, and water the area frequently in the days following a flood. The sooner — and much more frequently — you irrigate the yard, the better chance you have of reducing salt damage.

Go With Gypsum

When you’ve irrigated the dirt, turn to the garden amendment called gypsum. This powdery material displaces sodium particles also replaces them with iron. Unlike stone, another high-calcium substance, gypsum will not affect the pH of your soil. Implement a total of about 50 pounds of gypsum per 1,000 square feet of yard, but split this application up into five or four treatments of 10 to 12 lbs in a time every few days. Hand-broadcasting above the grassy area is 1 way, or you may place the gypsum at a wheeled fertilizer-spreader. Water thoroughly after every application.

Watchful Waiting

Based on what time of year a flood strikes, then it’s helpful to wait and see if bud rebounds on its own. Resist the understandable temptation to nourish the yard to spur growth since most fertilizers are composed of salts which will only exacerbate the yard’s high sodium content. If the grass needs mowing, then cut it an inch or two taller than you usually would, which will help build up root processes. This season, if it’s clear at least a few of your bud won’t be rebounding, you can then consider re-seeding or even re-sodding.

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