No more snow.. or yes?

This time of the year we only have one thing on our minds and that is spring time. We cringe anytime we hear the word “snow” in the weather forecast. The shoveling, the falling, and the mess are just a few things that we begin to hate about snow this time of year. Trust me, I am so ready for spring to get here and for all the beautiful colors that it brings (and for planting 2013 to start too, of course)!

I was always taught to look at the positive side of things in situations that I don’t like. Could there be anything good about snow this time of the year? Well, I looked into that, and for how much I hate to say it, the snow has a few benefits this time of the year as we prepare to get in the fields in the next month or two.

Beautiful snow cover ground at sunset at The Young Farms.

Moisture. With the heavy drought that we experienced last year, we are all hoping that spring this year will bring us plenty of rain showers. Rain is something that we need a lot of in order for our crops to grow. However, the snowfall can also have a positive impact on the moisture levels of the soil. It has been found that 10 inches of snow equals 1 inch of rain. As the snow melts, some the water gets absorbed into the ground and the rest runs off into nearby streams and rivers. As the grounds soaks up all of this moisture, it helps to get the soil nice and ready for upcoming planting season.

Insulation. As you know, the ground freezes during the winter months because of the cold temperatures that we experience in the Midwest. The snow provides insulation to the ground. The blanket of snow helps to warm the ground and prevents the deep soil layers from freezing. The fewer layers of soil that are not frozen, the quicker the top layers of the ground can thaw in the spring. By keeping the ground warmer, the soil is able to absorb more moisture and the upper layer of the soil will thaw much faster.  

So the next time the weather man calls for a couple inches of snow, just remember, snow is moisture and moisture is good! We may hate it now, but since we are stuck with it we might as well appreciate the benefits that it provides.