Is it healthy to burn lawn in spring?

Answer 1

By and large and in general, to my understanding (lifelong "plant person" in assorted ways) spring lawn burning gets a thumbs down.

Yet the matter is not a simple one, much though the question may seem simple. And therefore, for the sake of environmental responsibility, let me enter into a bunch of explanation such as seems called for.

the "thumbs down" verdict, on the one hand, may be, or at least seem, a fairly mild one; and there could, somewhat rarely, be exceptions. the exceptions first: this may be more a related situation than actual lawn burning, but a farm near me, having hay and corn fields (same fields mostly, they are in corn/hay rotation) whom I had never known to burn a field, a couple years ago did just that. The situation was that they had apparently missed an entire year of mowing one field, and come next spring, they faced an very very thick tangled layer of dried growth (hay with some weeds). It might have been so thick that plowing it under could prove a problem. So, come spring they burned it. But still no burning at all of their other fields.

So this might illustrate kind of what legit spring field burning can be about--but only probably in very very limited or specialized instances--because the downsides are just to much:

downsides of spring lawn burning:

1. incredible air pollution: a very very "dirty" type of smoke

2. waste of organic matter

2. loss of most of the nutrients--there "is" or at least can be some limited fertilizing and effect from burning--potash (nutrient) added, and also a liming effect. Most lawn burners are apt to be "going for" the latter at least partly, but the liming effect is apt to be much shorter lived than regular liming, because of the great solubility of the liming ingredient in ashes: largely can just wash out of the soil.

ditto , much of the potash (potassium) effect.

4. resultant potential erosion factor, from the sripping of this residue cover from the ground

5. long term potential--if done repeatedly--of major loss of soil health and fertility. Even one burning is likely to --after the initial plus spike in (equivalent of ) lime and potassium-- head the soil fertility and health in a somewhat negative direction.

Bottom line: if you feel, think, or are advised that you maybe should burn off your lawn (or field), you might want to consider carefully and if inexperienced or unsure, research your particulars and circumstance to see if your case represents a reasonable exception and something which will be responsibly okay. Most cases won't.