Evening star., 1932-01-20
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL.

time While a lawn will not be as
| flourishing a color in Winter as IN
| Summer, there is no reason why IL
should not have some color
The thing to do with brown lawn,
then. is to tackle it as early as feasible
and to try every eXpedient which eX-
perience and the literature OF the sub
| iect suggests Lining should be done
in February, in the average year, and
perhaps in this one. While Scnool
opposed to the use of agricultural lime
has grown up during the last 10 years,
MANY first rate horticulturists still ad-
yocate its use. If one will stick to the
mixtures of grass seed varieties which
thev recommend, they will discover that
lime is good, after all.
MANY city and suburban lawns are
sour, owing to shade and the nlmleal
influence of an excess of earth worms.
Lime will do something to oppose these
conditions. Good bone meal also helps.
After the lime is put on, toward the
first of March a good fertilizer should
| be used and shortly thereafter the
lawn reseeded This does not mean
that the space should be raked so Vlgor-
ously that the old grass roots are de-
stroyed. The object Is to get new grass
growing with the old. 1t need scarcely
be CalQ JIlhL LIE bES1 NhSuhAis VIZ AAtSoS
expensiye) mixture is the only one
worth using, as the cost of the seed Is,
after all, the cheapest thing about
good lawn.
IT. would make a most interesting
experiment If some redoubtable person
would try making lawn at this hour
instead of waiting until the usual time.
At the worst, perhaps no materials
would be lost. not even the seed, but
dormant period would intervene.
RcsebusheS might be prune5, shrubs
and hedges set out, annual seeds
planted. Surely it would be taking a
great chance, but if the weather stayed
as it was the planter would have
booming garden months before any one
else in his neighborhood. Also perhaps
he would have an exhausted one when
the gardens of others would still be in
their prime.
One would not seriously advise any
one to rake the lawn or do the neces-
sarv pruning or planting at this time,
therefore. 1t was only the warmth OF the
air and the feel" of the unseaSonably
high temperatures which put one in the
mood for such things.
Common sense speaks against the
temptation to rush the season." and
common sense Is still great thing, in
gardening as elsewhere. The plain fact
Is that 1t is too early.
About the only things that might be
planted at this tine providing the tenn
perature does net go to freezing, are
the California privet and dormant roses,
If the dealers can furnish them.
The hedge material, properly planted
and watered, would not be hurt by sub
sequent freezes, even If the roots froze
If the weather should chance to remain
warm. it would secure a tremendous
head start" on the season.
One good thing that can be done by
the garden minded during such weather
as Washington has enjoyed is to pre-
pare the vegetable patch. Hard clay
soils can be dug up and left in clods to
weather, or they can be mixed with lime
and coal ashes
This tightening will put them in fine
shape for early Spring planting. In
fact, the mild weather has made this
pte-treatment OF soil extremely advis.
eble, and it may be applied t. future
flower beds and borders, as we'll as to
the vegetable garden.