Households across the UK with gardens covered in snow or frost are being warned not to walk on their lawns.
Multiple yellow weather warnings for ice are currently in force across large swathes of the UK as freezing temperatures sweep the country. The warnings, which affect parts of North East England, East Midlands, East of England, London and South West England, Yorkshire and the Humber, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, coincide with an amber cold health alert which is in force until 8am on Saturday. The Met Office has warned that freezing temperatures overnight will result in ice forming on untreated surfaces on Friday, creating potentially hazardous conditions on roads and pavements.
But the cold weather also poses hazards in gardens and households are being urged to protect their lawns from the severe conditions.
According to gardening experts, if your lawn is frosty or covered in a layer of snow you should avoid walking on it until the snow or frost has melted.
This is because walking on it can rupture the leaf cells and cause the grass to become burned or scorched, leaving it looking black or brown.
Stepping on a wet or waterlogged lawn can also compact the soil which makes it harder for the lawn to drain, so it is best to wait until conditions are dry and frost or snow-free before walking on your grass.
Experts at Allett explain: “Your lawn may appear dormant during the winter but the grass is still alive and its cells are active. Walking on a snowy or icy lawn can cause the grass blades to break creating entry points for diseases and pests.
“Walking across a frosty lawn breaks the blades of grass (which is why you hear that crunching noise), so it’s best to keep off the lawn if there is a frost present. This damage, known as winter kill, can lead to unsightly brown patches and weakened grass when the snow finally melts.”
Walking on frozen grass not only causes damage by breaking the brittle blades, it can also weaken your lawn and make it more susceptible to diseases like Fusarium snow mould, so it’s advised that you stay off the grass until it has defrosted.
To help avoid this disease spreading on your lawn, gardening experts say you should avoid walking on snowy or frosty grass, and regularly aerate your lawn using a garden fork as this will help prevent it from becoming waterlogged over the winter months.
Experts at The Grass People add: “The disease most likely to affect your lawn from compaction is the lawn lover’s arch enemy – Fusarium. Fusarium causes your grass to become yellow/brown in patches across your lawn and will kill it off if left to its own devices.
“Of course, dead patches can eventually be reseeded, but you could save yourself a lot of heartache if you prevent fusarium from culminating in the first place in two short steps.
“The best thing you can do is regularly aerate your lawn to avoid compaction initially and protect it with a Slow Release Autumn / Winter fertiliser that is low in nitrogen and won’t make things worse. And last but not least – keep activity on your cold or snowy lawn to an absolute minimum.”
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