I was asked the other day by a friend why I was so excited to get snow. I hope that I can answer the importance of snow to everyone that is interested.

Below the video, you will learn why snow is Very Important to our Ecological System (some call it EcoSystem) and our Vegetation on which we all depend upon.

This video shows a snow fall on February 12th and 13th, 2010 in Westminster, South Carolina. Westminster, SC is in a beautiful county called Oconee County, South Carolina. The state of South Carolina (SC) has many wonderful things to offer. Here is a place you can visit to learn more about SC ( SCIWay ).

I am Jim Bonham, also known as “Farmer Jim“, I own the Lighthouse Food Farm where we grow fruits and vegetables to give to the Homeless and Hungry Americans that otherwise would not have good nutritous food. Please be sure to visit our site { Lighthouse Food Farm } and learn how you can help. I hope you will learn by this article why snow is so important to our lives and well being.

When it snows, this is a natural Poor Farmer’s Fertilizer gift from God. Nitrogen is deposited by the snow and absorbed either into the soil food web residing and active at low temperatures or by plants as a result of nitrogen fixation, a microbial activity which, astonishingly enough, can take place even at low temperatures. Even when the soil is frozen, its eventual thaw can result in the absorption of nitrogen.

Snow provides a natural insulation that prevents soil temperatures from constantly fluctuating between freezing and thawing. The reason this matters is because these changes cause the water in the soil, and thus the entire mass, to expand and contract. Roots can be damaged, even tossed out of the soil. The same goes for all those fall-planted bulbs.

In addition to preventing frost heave by keeping temperatures below freezing, the snow prevents plants from starting at the wrong time. By the same token, most plants won’t start up in the spring unless they have had exposure to a certain number of days of cold. Snow cover during a prolonged warm spell is a farmer’s dream.

Snow and Rain as well, contains nitrogen compounds that were suspended in air as they formed. It is estimated that 2 to 12 pounds of nitrogen are deposited per acre as a result of snow and rain. Most of this nitrogen comes from emissions as a result of burning fossil fuels and industrial manufacturing. The rest comes from lightning fixing atmospheric nitrogen, which makes up 70 percent of air. Think about it, maybe there is a cycle here that many people are not aware of the importance.

Studies show an increase in nitrogen mineralization — uptake by microbes a la soil food web. When there is snow cover or it becomes clear that snow is falling in your yard. It can be counted for something we need very much, called Poor Farmer’s Fertilizer. Especially if you have not damaged your soil’s microbes with harsh chemical fertilizers.

No wonder the old wives’ tales called snow the ” Poor Farmer’s Fertilizer “.

One more thing, the reason snow puts more nitrogen into the ground is because it does not run off like the rain does. So in fact, snow brings a more concentrated amount of nitrogen to the soil because it releases nitrogen slowly as it soaks into the soil as it melts.

In my opinion, Snow and Rain is a Wonderful Gift from God.

So when it snows or rains, complain and curse it if you must, but know that there is some good from any rain and snow that falls.