Snow In The Country - Benefit And Harm

2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38

Snow is able to bring not only benefits, but also harm, including in the country. Sometimes he saves summer residents from additional troubles, and sometimes, on the contrary, adds them extra work. It is for this reason that it is very important to figure out in which cases the snow should be left, and in which - to get rid of it in a timely manner

The benefits of snow

Snow is an excellent heat-insulating material, in the thickness of which its own special microclimate is created. Even in severe frosts, it is much warmer under the snow cover than on the surface. Since the snow keeps the temperature well, the soil, along with the sown vegetation, does not freeze thanks to it. When the snow cover reaches a thickness of 50 cm, the depth of the non-frozen soil increases to 80 cm. Accordingly, the more snow in the country, the easier it is to endure the winter for berry, fruit and various decorative crops, roses, perennials. In a snowy winter, many summer residents do not resort to the help of additional shelters at all, since even 7-10 cm of snow is quite good insulation.

Also, snow provides excellent protection for vegetation from such scourges as sunburn. Of course, light and warmth are certainly very good, but their combination with chilly wind and strong frosts can cause tremendous damage to trees, as well as shrubs and flowers.

Snow is also considered a positive factor because water is extremely important for vegetation. When the snow melts in spring, the earth is saturated with life-giving moisture. True, this cannot be said about the lowlands - the excess amount of moisture in them has a negative effect. Stagnation of melt water, together with a high level of groundwater, often leads to the fact that the root system of plants, seeds, and vegetation that has already emerged begin to rot. In such a situation, geoplastics or leveling the territory, excluding plants from such planting zones, filling and building rather high flower beds and flower beds can help. In winters with little snow, the snow collected from the rows in the garden, from the platforms and paths, additionally insulates the plantings of perennial flower crops, as well as the tree trunks and shrubs.

Another positive factor is that by traces in the snow, you can easily recognize various pests that penetrate into the country. Thus, you can find out not only how often hares come to the site, but also whether some human individuals are trying to enter the site for profit. And, of course, thanks to the presence of snow, winter recreation at the dacha becomes much more varied and interesting. You can arrange funny winter games, make a snowman, build a snow house. Drawing in the snow, as well as skiing and sledding will be no less fun.

Snow damage

As a rule, only fluffy and soft snow is useful. If it is trampled or covered with an ice crust, the consequences can be very negative. If an ice crust has formed on the snow surface or the snow is trampled down, it turns from an airtight insulator into a cold mass, and the vegetation under such "packing" very often freezes or suffocates.

When there is too much snow, it is heavy and wet, then from an assistant to plants it also becomes a real pest, accumulating in huge quantities in the crowns of trees. And during the thaw period, it firmly adheres to the branches of trees and shrubs, which, bending under its weight, often break. Separately, it is worth mentioning such an unpleasant phenomenon as freezing rain, which also does not benefit the plants.

A large amount of wet snow is a serious threat to conifers. So that conifers and shrubs (including those with a columnar crown shape) do not acquire an unsightly appearance by the spring, they should be tied with twine in the fall. For coniferous trees of low spherical varieties, snow is also not useful: when it cramps between branches, it breaks the crown, as a result of which one should forget about the correct beautiful shape of plants. Therefore, as snow accumulates, it should be discarded in a timely manner. Also, a large amount of snow can significantly damage the electrical cable, especially when it is poorly tensioned. And if the cable is energized, breaking it can be very dangerous.

Snow bends canopies on buildings and structures, cut off gutters. An impressive pile of snow that has fallen sharply from the roof can not only bend the visor over the porch or disrupt an expensive drainage system, but also easily injure people. Therefore, it is also necessary to get rid of such a danger in a timely manner. You can purchase snow holders - these are quite common among roofers and fairly inexpensive structures can always be easily installed on your own.