Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-09-26
SOW In FALLFOR
THE BEST LAWN
Makes Greensward Healthy
and Abundant From Early
Spring to Late Fall

Washington, Sept. 12.-If you de-
sire a greensward that is slightly, at
tractive, healthy and capable of pro-
| ducing an abundant growth grom
| early spring until late fall without
developing unsightly bare spots or
brown, scared turf, SOW your grass
seed in the fall and sow it early
enough, so that the grass plot will
make sufficient growth to weather
the winter in n rugged, robust con-
| dition. This information is intend
ed particularly for lawmakers in
Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maryland,
| Ohio and Tennessee, and other
! states in the same latitude where
! the common but unsatisfactory
method of spring seeding dominates.
Mr.. Lawn Maker, if anyone urged
| you to SOW oxeye daisies, sheep sor-
rel. broom edge or other objection
able weed in your lawn you doubt
less would characterize him as
crazy. Yet. if you sow your grass
seed in the spring this is exactly
what you are doing, as spring seed
ing really means stirring up a good
seed bed for crab grass. Invariably
this weedy grass, in the middle and
south Atlantic section gets the jump
and gains supremacy over other
grasses which are adapted to these
states.
Good lawns are difficult to estab-
lish and maintain in the territory
| mentioned. Two of the subtropical
grasses, crab grass and Bermuda
grass, are extremely troublesome as
weeds. This is particularly true of
crab grass, which during the sum-
mer invades most lawns and kills
out other grasses in large patches.
Although crab grass is a fair lawn
grass during the summer, 1t sue
cumbs to the first heavy frost with
the consequence that the greensward
during the following winter and
spring is decidedly unsatisfactory
Bermuda grass behaves similarly but
is perennial and difficult to eradi-
cate. There is only one way to
control Bermuda and that is to kill
| it out by careful digging.
Crab grass once established can
be eliminated only by hand wedding
a method not advised except where
one is willing to devote considerable
cash and labor to battling the weeds.
Despite the widespread abundance
of crab grass in the middle states of
the country, lawns have to be made
and management has to be followed
which, as far as possible, will elimi-
nate the pestiferous crab grass. BY
seeding in the early fall between
September l and Is desirable turf
may be established relatively free of
crab grass. The soil should be well
mulched with the under surface
| firm and compact, and some such
seeding mixture as 16 pounds of Ken
lucky blue grass, pounds of red
top, l pound of white clover and 20
! pounds of Italian rye grass. should
be sown. Top dressing the lawn
with a coating of one-half inch of
fertile garden loan is valuable after
the seed is sown. The Italian rye
| grass is used as a sort of carry-over
cover, because of its vigorous growth
during the late fall, winter and early
! spring when the other grasses grow
more slowly. 1t will practically dis
appear the following summer when
Its associate grasses in the mixture
are at their best.
Cleaning Out Infested Lawns
| Even lawns which are thoroughly
| infested with crab grass, if properly
treated early in September of each
| Year. can be reformed and made to
yielda fairly good sod. 1t is essen
! tial that this rehabilitation work
be done early. as otherwise the crab
grass will so dominate the lawn that
it will be bare and spotted during
the seasons when crab grass is dead
and inactive. In September each
year the lawn should be clipped very
closely and afterwards as much as
possible of the crab gras should be
raked out by the roots. This elimi-
nation of crab grass should be con-
Quoted vigorously, as thorough rak-
ing will exert little or no injury on
the other desirable turf grasses in
the lawn. Thereafter the soil
should be scratched thoroughly with
rake sand loosened to the depth of
half an inch or more, when the lawn
mixture previously mentioned should
be sowed.
To improve an old lawn is fire.
quently more difficult than to make
new one, and hence it is usually
impracticable to attempt turf refor-
nation where the soil is very poor
and where the existent greensward
is especially sorry. This rejuvena-
ton work during the fall season is
usually neglected in the middle and
south Atlantic section, because at
that time the lawns look satisfactory
and owners are not as enthusiastic
about ornamentation around their
homes as they are in the spring.
Using Scedcr on Thin Turf
Reseeding of old lawns is difficult
and good results generally are ac-
complished only where the lawn is
patchy rather than being uniformly
thin. If the turf is thin over large
areas, seeding can best be accom-
| plished by means of a seeder which
cuts into the turf and deposits the
seed. If such a seeder is not avail
| able, some implement that will
loosen the soil but not tear the turf
badly should be used. AS previously
suggested, an application of loan or
compost should be applied after re-
seeding, If possible, when the area
should be lightly rolled. Care should
be exercised when moving or water
ing the newly seeded plot to avoid
washing out the seed.
During the winter season lawns
may be improved by top dressing
with fine manure or compost. This
material should be of such nature
that there will be nothing left to
rake off the following spring. Lawns
on clay soils will be benefited by
sanding, which consists of applying
a layer of about one-eighth of an
inch of sand uniformly over the
grass. The lawn should also be
drained, If necessary, in order to
prevent water standing on the grass.
| this being accomplished by digging