Will the melting 2 feet of snow we have be beneficial to my gardens?
My husband says "no, most of it evaporates". Is he correct? I was
hoping for an extra lush spring as payback for the horrible winter
we've had here in No. Va. Thanks!

starrysmile wrote:
Will the melting 2 feet of snow we have be beneficial to my gardens?
My husband says "no, most of it evaporates". Is he correct? I was
hoping for an extra lush spring as payback for the horrible winter
we've had here in No. Va. Thanks!


Some will evaporate, some percolate down into the soil. Snow varies
quite a but in the amount of moisture it contains.

Google "liquid water content of snow" to see various reports of how
much snow it takes to melt to an inch of water. That statistic is
surprising to most who read it.

gloria p

On 2/21/2010 5:29 AM, starrysmile wrote:
Will the melting 2 feet of snow we have be beneficial to my gardens?
My husband says "no, most of it evaporates". Is he correct? I was
hoping for an extra lush spring as payback for the horrible winter
we've had here in No. Va. Thanks!

Most of the water supply in California is the runoff from melting snow.
In a normal or wet year, the snow pack in the Sierras might contain
more water than the capacity of the California Water Project reservoirs.
By melting slowly, the snow pack is itself a reservoir.

In your area, the result is determined by whether or not the soil
freezes. In any case, much of the melting snow trickles through the
unmelted snow, down to the soil. If the soil is well frozen, the melt
water will then puddle or run off. If the soil is lightly frozen, the
melt water will soon unfreeze the soil and then soak into the soil. If
the soil did not freeze at all (protected from colder temperatures by
the layer of snow), the melt water will definitely soak into the soil.

--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean
Sunset Zone: 21 -- interior Santa Monica Mountains with some ocean
influence (USDA 10a, very close to Sunset Zone 19)
Gardening diary at http://www.rossde.com/garden/diary

I have spread fertilizer when there was snow on the ground because it will penetrate faster then a heavy rain. True some evaporates but not all of it so I guess your husband hasn't walked on grass after the snow melted?

On Sun, 21 Feb 2010 16:00:27 -0500, bullthistle
wrote:


starrysmile;878003 Wrote:
Will the melting 2 feet of snow we have be beneficial to my gardens?
My husband says "no, most of it evaporates". Is he correct? I was
hoping for an extra lush spring as payback for the horrible winter
we've had here in No. Va. Thanks!


I have spread fertilizer when there was snow on the ground because it
will penetrate faster then a heavy rain. True some evaporates but not
all of it so I guess your husband hasn't walked on grass after the snow
melted?

Your ground is frozen, most of your fertilizer will be washed away as
run off as snow melts and be wasted. Heavy rains will wash away most
fertilizer as well. Read the directions on the package for when/how
to apply in your area.