Recovering a Lawn After Saltwater Flooding

After Hurricane Sandy, a lawn in Fairfield, Connecticut, was damaged by saltwater from Long Island Sound. Salt burns plant roots, with severity proportional to soil salinity. To remediate, spread gypsum at 10 pounds per 1,000 square feet five times at four-week intervals, irrigating heavily after each application. Test readiness by planting squash seeds weekly; if seedlings emerge but die within days, the soil remains too saline.

Additional resources: Coping With Salt Water Flooding, Garden Recovery After Storms and Flooding, Dealing With Sandy’s Salted Earth.