Salt, ice and snow can wreck havoc on your home and your winter fun.  Remember it is for safety important to treat your walkways and driveways with an ice melt product when needed.  These applications will help prevent injuries that can be incurred from falls.  Always exercise caution when working in slippery conditions.  Below are some simple steps you can take to help prevent your lawn and home from suffering permanent damage due to ice melt.

There are a few options on the market today when it comes to ice melting products.  The most common ones are rock salt (also known as sodium chloride), potassium chloride, magnesium chloride, calcium chloride and urea.  Each of these ice melters work in different ways to reduce the amount of ice on your walkways and driveways.  You should not apply any ice melt products to concrete areas that are less than one year old or your risk damaging the new concrete.  When snow and ice freeze and melt the water works it way into the concrete and create cracks that can permanently damage a beautiful driveway.

We recommend you use Jonathan Green Melt-A-Way this winter for all of your ice melt needs.  Melt-A-Way is fast acting and is gentle on concrete, shrubs and lawns.  It will not track inside or stain your carpets or your leather shoes.  Melt-A-Way melts ice at a very low temperature and has a reduced freeze-thaw cycle which will help to reduce the amount of damage to concrete.
 
Want to know more about Melt-A-Way? Click here!

    
Many towns apply large amounts of rock salt to the roads and then plows the snow onto your lawn and curb.  The salt can be harmful to plants and grass when applied too heavily and will dry out the plant causing it to die.  You can try to water the area heavily to attempt to neutralize salt damage but oftentimes with road salt this is an impossible task. 

You may notice come spring once the snow has melted that the edges of your lawn are yellow or dead.  These areas will need to be reseeded in the springtime.  Next spring use Black Beauty Ultra grass seed to reseed these damaged areas along with an application of gypsum to help neutralize the salt damage to the soil.  The same day you seed also apply Love Your Lawn-Love Your Soil and New Seeding Lawn Fertilizer to help improve the soil and give the new seedlings the nutrients they need.  Remember safety is always our priority when it comes to using ice melt around your home.  Please use ice melt where and when needed because lawns can always be repaired.

Looking for more info on seeding in the spring? Check this out!

Congratulations to Rich C., who was the grand prize winner of our "Show Us Your Lawn" photo contest for 2014. By showing us his lawn, Rich won $500 to spend at his Jonathan Green retailer, Baker's Hardware in Millsboro, DE. To the right is a photo of the winner's Black Beauty lawn. Below, Bob Ricker, the owner of Baker's Hardware, and Rick Hardie, the Jonathan Green Sales Representative, presenting Rich with his award check.

Now is a great time to start planning your lawn care program for next spring.  Think about what was successful in your lawn this year and what you could do to change your program next year.  For seasonal lawn care tips be sure to download your copy of the New American Lawn Guide.  This helpful guide will give you tips on how to keep your lawn healthy and green all year long.  Visit newamericanlawn.com to learn more and view how to lawn videos.

To download your free copy of this helpful guide click here!
New American Lawn Guide

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