Evening star., 1932-09-14
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRACEHELL.

Those who wish to re-seed their lawns
this Autumn should not wait any longer.
| As matter Of fact If cold Fall
should set in early. the time is too
short, at best.
It is a chance which must be taken.
Given six to eight weeks Of normally
warm weather, with plenty Of water,
grass plots may be made over entirely,
, or bare spots filled in
1t will be realized by the ambitious
home gardener that time Is the essence
of the plot"
And, next to time. Is moisture.
During the past three years drought
| has prevailed to a greater or less ex-
tent, so that the sowing of grass seed
at this time Of year was attended with
difiiculty.
1t is not generally realized, perhaps,
except through painful personal expert
ences, just how much water is needed
to make young grass plants grow prop
erly.
To keep them growing we'll even more
water is necessary.
Many an otherwise good lawn was lost
last season by lack of care in this
regard
The extremely dry Autumn of 1881
| caught many q home owner napping
| He did not water; and much of his
grass killed out during October and No
! vember although he did not realize
his loss until March and April.
i Then he discovered that his grass was
dead: 1t was not coming up
The blizzard of March 6 did it," he
told himself.
The trouble went back to October
and November, 1881, however.
A so-called normal Autumn brings
some rain with it. enough to keep the
grass growing a bit. Lawns will not
need to be cut every five to seven days,
as In Summer, but in many places they
must be moved at least every 10 days
| When the early days of Fail are un-
usually dry, and no water is put on
| lawns by the owners thereof, even the
| best grass plots tend to die out,
Especially will this condition Of super
dryneSs prevail on terraces and lawns
made on built-up ground.
Many such plots tend to emulate the
deliberately raised bed. which Is elevated
from eight inches to foot In order to
give certain plants, usually dubious, the
best possible drainage.
California's Mariposa lilies, as they
are commonly called, need some such
elevation, in order to insure that no
| water will be left standing around their
roots
1t is not always realized that city
and suburban lawns. in many instances.
are seeded or sodded on exactly such
| elevations, where the drainage is exces-
| sive.
Between too much water and too lit
| tie water there can be no doubt in the
world which is best for grass.
The truth is that it is almost i'm
possible to get too much water for grass
plants, with the exception Of certain
varieties commonly called shady"
Plentiful rainfalls, too long continued,
will give shady grass under large trees
thin. bedraggled appearance; often
such plots are helped rather than
harmed by dry weather.
1t is useless to expect grass seed to
grow. even in such places. unless the
just terminated plants are given plenty
OF water.
So this is the first point the ambitious
grass grower must keep in mind, next to
the necessity for putting in his seed at
once.
Watering preferably had better b.
done In the evening, after the sun goes
| down, but it need not be as prolonged
! as during the Summer for the benefit
Of the mature plants. 1t must be re-
,, memoered that the new grass plants are
tiny affairs, at best. and that their
| roots are very short.
What would be an inadequate water
ing for the Older grass will be quite
sufficient for the new plants, the plants
| which are coming on. and which one
hopes will make a good stand by the
time freezing sets in. =
How often one should sprinkle fop
| the purpose of bringing alongthe new
plants is a matter for that pleasurable
debate which goes on perpetually among
amateur gardeners. Perhaps they take
their business too seriously. At any
rate, amateurs get a great deal of real