For many years now Calgarians have been using salt or gravel to melt snow and ice from their slippery winter walkways and sidewalks. Salt can be especially harmful to your plantings and sod and other landscaping. A little salt is ok but too much salt can cause short and long term damage to sod, shrubs, trees and perennials. Not only is salt damaging to the foliage but more damage is caused by salt being taken up by the plants root systems.
Salty spring runoff is harmful
In the spring or during warm chinook weather, the snow melts and mixes with the salt. This salty spring run offThe water and salt is absorbed by the plants root systems and eventually reaches toxic levels. In spring, during new plant growth, you may notice your plants are slow to leaf out or they are not showing any signs of life. Your lawn or sod may look brownish and the grass blades may be mushy. Minimize salt damage to your lawn in Calgary.
Lava rock is a good option
Lavagrip is a great option to using salt or gravel. Lavagrip is actually crushed Lava rock that provides a very grippy surface when applied on walkways on patio surfaces. The lava rock is harmless and won’t damage your plants or lawn. Lava rock is porous and this allows your plantings to still get air even if you apply a lot of lava rock to your walkway. Lavagrip will not melt ice and although it provides a good drip on top of ice it is still best to shovel your walkways clean of snow and ice.