HOW TO MAKE AND KEEP GOOD LAWNS

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 352, 12 May 1928, Page 26

HOW TO MAKE AND KEEP GOOD LAWNS

There is nothing in the decoration of the home grounds that is so pleasing and beautifying as a good lawn. A well-kept lawn with its trim-looking surface and carpet-like appearance is not only refreshing to the senses, but is a tangible asset as well, as it increases the property value many times the actual cost of making and maintaining it. GOOD SOIL IS IMPORTANT Soil plays an important part in successful lawn-making, and a little attention in this direction will be amply repaid. The ideal soil is a loam or a sandy loam, with a clay subsoil. A light sandy soil dries out too quickly, and a heavy clay soil tends to set hard and crack if allowed to dry out. Light sandy soils can, however, be improved by the addition of organic matter, such as stable manure and by mixing a little clay with the top three or four inches of soil. The stable manure should be well rotted to reduce the percentage of weeds that may spring up. Clay soils can be broken up and improved in texture by the addition of sand, organic matter and top-dressing of lime. Lime also sweetens th« soil and helps to break down or render available plant foods in the soil. Sometimes lawns are made from subsoil obtained when excavating for the foundations of the house. This soil is usually cold, heavy and lifeless, and is not at all suitable for lawn-making. There are also instances when the soil is of such a poor nature that a good lawn is out of the question. In both cases the best remedy is to procure a few loads of good top soil and spread it about four inches deep over the other soil. Before spreading the good soil the ground should be well dug over and the surface graded. When spreading the good soil the surface should be graded so that, if possible, it will have a slight fall away from the foundations of the house. It should then be rolled well, and if any depressions occur these should be filled in and the soil again rolled, thus making a fine firm seed bed. This applies not only to lawns grown from seed, but also to lawns that are obtained by using sods of turf or runners. SOWING ONION SEED The main crop may be planted this month, and should be sown in drills 12 inches apart and covered one inch in depth. Onions like fairly rich ground, though it is better if the soil has not been very recently manured. What onions like even more than manure is wood ashes and soot. The ashes (which must not, of course, include any coal ashes) and soot should be sprinkled over the bed immediately prior to its final preparation. In the pricking over and raking that it will afterwards receive, they will be worked a few inches under the surface. Another thing that onions are fond of is a firm soil. If one had a small, light garden roller handy, they might draw it on the bed and run it up and down the plot once or twice before cutting the drills. Alternatively, on© could walk about the bed, pressing the soil down evenly, though not, of course too heavily, with the feet—provided the soil is not a heavy paste. On a clay soil the less one walks over it the better, even when onions are to bo grown. The best varieties of onions for general use are:—Ailsa Craig, Giant Eocca, Brown Spanish and straw-col-oured Spanish. TRIUMPH OF POTATO Many visitors to the “Daily Mail” Ideal Home Exhibition at Olympia must have witnessed with interest not unmixed with surprise a demonstration of over 150 ways of cooking a potato. In most households this splendid article of food comes to table in a paltry half-dozen forms. Boiled, roasted, baked, saute, we all know it; but the seductive guises it can assume beneath a skilled and guiding hand — ra - been the close secret of a very hw chefs. Cooked with vision, the potato is fit to grace any board. But the potato has suffered in popular estimation through the monotony of its appearance, and as a result it is eaten too sparingly. The demonstration organised by the Empire Marketing Board is proof that no housewife need ever be at a loss for a means of making the potato attractive. USEFUL FERTILISER HINTS Whether your gardening is done for pleasure or profit, it will always be found that results are far more satisfactory and more easily obtained if the soil is maintained in a rich, fertile condition. The proper growth and development of plants is only possible when the soil contains sufficient plant food to meet their needs. In the home garden, measures should be taken to return to the soil at least as much food as has been removed from it, and to supply those elements of fertility which are lacking. Nitrogen, potash, and phosphates are the essential plant foods. These are removed from the soil in varying proportions according to the crop growth, but so far as garden plants are concerned the average amounts removed may be stated at: Nitrogen, 141 b a quarter-acre; potash, 141 b a quarteracre; phosphoric acid, 61b a quarteracre. This goes on year after year, so it will be seen that unless the supply of food is replenished from time to time the soil loses its original fertility, and can no longer produce healthy plants. The following mixture of manures is a complete one, and should meet the demand for general home use: Sulphate of ammonia, one part; sulphate of potash, one part; superphosphate, two parts. This should be applied at the rate of one ounce, or a dessert spoonful, a square yard. HINTS THAT BRING SUCCESS Plant garlic bulbs at least three inches apart and six inches between the rows and do not dig them up until the foliage has died down. If spinach is grown in rich soil it will not run to seed early. When pulling spinach break it off at the base of the stem; do not cut it with a knife. When providing supports for peas slant the sticks in the ground and there will be less damage by wind. If the sticks are slightly bent arrange them so that the bend is placed nearest the peas. If fertiliser is used when sowing seed, mix it well with the soil. This method will save the tender shoots from being burnt off as they emerge from the seed.