Salt can be deadly to your lawn. Too much salt in the soil can cause brown patches where new grass has trouble getting established. Salt in the soil keeps your grass from absorbing vital nutrients and moisture, and salt that touches the grass blades can cause brown burns that reduce their ability to gain nutrients from the sun.
Salt is commonly found in small quantities in soil. But in large quantities, it stops plants from absorbing necessary nutrients such as phosphorous and potassium, and it absorbs water the plants need to survive. This can dehydrate the roots of the grass in your lawn and cause it to turn brown and die. If the salt is sitting on top of the soil, it can burn the blades it touches. Salt can stay in the soil for years and keep many plants, including grass, from growing until enough is washed away.
Protect Your Lawn
Keeping your lawn healthy can help it survive a small influx of salt, but it might not make if large amounts are dumped on it, such as in the case of strong coastal ocean breezes or when you use salt to kill weeds in unwanted areas. As a nonselective herbicide, any salt that touches your lawn can kill it almost immediately. Covering the grass with tarps or plastic can help prevent errant salt crystals from touching the grass if you're killing weeds with salt.
Combating Salt Damage
Water can be your best friend when fighting salt damage on your lawn, especially if you live near the coast. Because the salt stays in the soil, new grass won't be successful until you take steps to fix the soil. Water the area deeply, which means soaking it for several hours, as soon as you suspect salt damage. Continue watering every day for the next three to four days. This leaches the salt out of the soil, washing it down and away where it can no longer affect your lawn.
Such deep watering can wash away nutrients as well as salt, so you must prepare the area for new grass before planting it. Remove the dead grass and use a steel rake to loosen the soil, then add a seed-starter fertilizer to the soil. Mixing it in well and watering the soil helps the fertilizer begin releasing nutrients. Plant the grass seed or lay the sod immediately on the damp ground, and water it well to help the seeds germinate or the sod's roots connect with the soil.
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