Loudoun County Master Gardeners
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Loudoun County Master Gardeners |
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De
Icing Without Damaging Your Plants You
probably already know that basic rock salt (sodium chloride) isn’t great
for your grass and flower beds but did you know salt can cause heavy
metals like lead to leach to your soil’s surface and into groundwater?
And when it washes into our storm sewers and overflows into lakes and
streams, we’re talking long-term damage to aquatic life. Ask at any
hardware store if they have eco-friendly salt-alternatives and they’ll
point you to calcium chloride. The stuff will cut through ice at much
lower temps than regular salt, but it stresses the environment in a lot of
the same ways. What makes it earth-conscious is that you have to use way
less of it than other types – 3 ounces per square yard versus 8 of the
other stuff. Avoid
potassium chloride for much the same reasons; and products that contain
urea are corrosive, expensive and not effective when temperatures go below
20°F • Be sure to keep any of the above away from landscape plants,
especially those that are particularly salt-sensitive, like tulip poplars,
maples, balsam firs, white pines, hemlock, Norway spruce, dogwood, redbud,
rose bushes and spirea bushes. The
first step in preventing ice buildup is to keep your walkways shoveled,
continually checking for and breaking up any ice that forms. If you have a
small, manageable area, this is the most practical, inexpensive and least
toxic solution to preventing slips and falls. Many
people use sand, birdseed, or cat litter to improve traction, but these
should be used sparingly as they can become messy, do not melt ice and can
run off into streams and waterways as well. If you use cat litter make
sure the type is natural and biodegradable. Options range from Yesterday's
News (made from recycled paper and available in 5-, 15- and 30-pound
bags) to Arm & Hammer
Essentials Natural Clumping Litter (consisting of corn fibers and
baking soda in a 10.5-pound bag). Other
Options: There are also a few options for non-chloride based deicers. Safe
Paw is an amide-glycol blend that is marketed as salt-free and safe
for pets. Calcium magnesium acetate (CMA), is a more environmentally
friendly deicer made from limestone and acetic acid. |