THE LAWN

Wairarapa Times-Age, 26 August 1938, Page 9

THE LAWN

SOME USEFUL' HINTS. To grow good grass requires just as good cultivation and draining as for any other garden crop, and if possible the site of the lawn should have been trenched of double dug in the autumn or winter. It is quite a good idea to take a crop of potatoes off the new lawn site the first year and so sow down in the autumn, but this is not necessary, and the soil can be got into quite good order for spring sowing by first forking it over, taking care to keep the fine weather soil on top, giving a dressing of lime and then tramping it all over or rolling/it to find out the soft places. It can then be levelled over, filling up all hollows and reducing bumps, raked to remove all stones, clods, or roots, and to make the surface fine and reasonably level. If the lawn is to be used for games it will be necessary to peg it out and to go to considerable trouble to get it perfectly firm and level before sowing. Sowing should be done on a calm day, and to get an even distribution of the seed it is better to mark it out in strips a yard wide with lines and to sow between these. To get the best results, it is better to sow in two directions, both up and down and across, the seed being divided into two t equal parts, one sown one way and the other the other. The amount of seed to the square yard would be one ounce and a-half for fine seeds only and two ounces if ryegrass is added to the mixture. This will give a good, thick sward if germination is good and will also leave a few seeds for the birds.

For those who have only a small area to sow it is better to obtain a lawn grass mixture from a seedsman, and these mixtures are usually of two kinds —one with fine seeds only and the other with a proportion of ryegrass. The advantage of the ryegrass is that it germinates quickly and provides a sward almost right away, and it also acts as a nurse for the finer grasses which come on slower, but take its place when it dies out, which it does in a year or two. It is called perennial but it does not really last very long. For those who like to make up their own mixture one prepared at the following rate would be satisfactory:— 11b perennial ryegrass, jib brown top and Jib chewings fescue. If ryegrass is to be left out I would advise replacing it with a “lb of crested dogstail. Brown top and fescue are the natural grasses for upland gardens, and as most of the new houses are being built on uplands, these would be the most satisfactory grasses. In extra well drained and sunny gardens, which dry out in summer, a little clover would be an advantage, for it does not Wither up in dry weather, remains green and it helps the growth of the other grasses. It should not be sown on a tennis court or bowling green, 2oz of suckling clover added to the grass mixture would be sufficient.

For the more shady and damp lawns Jib of Poe pratensis could be added to the mixture, and on dry sand or shingly ground a similar amount of yarrow would be an advantage. It forms a nice, close, soft lawn which stands dry weather. ' After sowing the seed evenly, it can

be raked in, but it is really better to have a heap of nice, light, dry soil and to dust this over the seed until it is completely covered. Some recommend rolling at' once, but unless the roller.is a light one it is better to wait until the seed has germinated and then to use a light roller only. As a rule, lots of small weed seedlings appear. This is not due to bad seed, but rather to the dirty state of the soil or to seeds blowing in from the surrounding country. However, most of them will disappear with mowing when it commences, and the flat-leav-ed kinds, such as daisies and eape 1 weeds, can be killed with lawn sand. Birds are as a rule very troublesome, for not only do they pick up a lot of the seed, but they dig holes and spoil the level surface. There are several bird "scarers,” such as suspending pieces of rags or tin from strings, stretching strands of black cotton, and sowing poisoned wheat. The latter is quite effective, and, though we may not destroy many birds, the wheat keeps them busy until the grass seed germinates. Some people recommend mixing the seed with red lead before sowing, which should be quite effective, and others dust red lead over the seed after sowing. On a small lawn it is often an advantage to spread twiggy scrub or branches over the surface, but these should be removed as soon as germination takes place.