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Lawns for the North

PREPARATION OF LAWN AREAS. The keynote of success in securing a good lawn is thorough preparation of the area before seeding. Failures are almost invariably due to poor preparation rather than to poor seed. Grading should be finished with a view to seeding either in the early fall or spring. Prepare the soil thoroughly, for the permanence of the sod rests entirely on this initial outlay. The soil should be deep and porous to produce deep rooting of the turf, which means success in combating winter-killing and drought. For the ideal lawn the ground must be prepared to a depth of one foot; but eighteen inches is preferable. If the area is large enough it should be plowed; otherwise spading must be resorted to. When the soil is naturally good and there is ample topsoil (six inches to eight inches) deep plowing without subsoiling is sufficient. In heavy soils the clay subsoil should be broken up but not brought to the surface. After plowing, if the area is large enough to permit the use of a team, the soil should be worked fine by harrowing. Follow this operation by levelling with shovels and hoes, and finally with rakes. The top layer of soil should be made very fine to induce quick germination of seed and permanency of sod. The average lawn to which the author refers is the lawn developed in the immediate vicinity of the residence. If building operations have extended over the greater portion of this lawn area, as is general on the smaller residence lots, then all of the topsoil should have been stripped and placed in one or more large piles prior to the commencement of any building operations. In the preparation of a lawn area under such conditions it is very advisable to delay actual work upon this area until after that portion of the building operations apt to cause further litter to be thrown over the lawn area is completed. While the ideal lawn LAWNS area should have a proper depth of topsoil in which the feeding roots of grass can develop, there are many instances where for purposes of economy or otherwise a sufficient depth of topsoil is not provided. The first step is to determine the depth of topsoil which is to be finally spread over the finished subgrade of the lawn. The less the depth of topsoil the greater will be the cost of future maintenance over a period of years succeeding the first year. The surface of the finished subgrade should be established to conform with the finished grade of the lawn area and at a definite, even depth below this finished grade of this lawn area. No topsoil should be spread over this subgrade until every precaution has been taken to be certain that an excessive depth of topsoil will not be necessary where spots of extreme depression can be located in the surface of the subgrade and previously filled. In sections of the country where the subsoil consists of a clay loam and other types of heavy soil the item of providing topsoil for the preparation of the lawn area is one of the most expensive items in the landscape development of the property. Experience has shown that topsoil is one of the items which is often subjected to the greatest amount of waste, and it should be carefully conserved and not used, in any instance, except to the correct depth as required.

When the subgrade is completed and previous to the application of any topsoil it is often well, especially on types of clay soil, to apply a coating of lime at the rate of not more than twenty-five pounds to every 1,000 square feet. On the top of this, a layer of well-rotted manure at the rate of one cubic yard for every five hundred square feet should be applied. The lime and manure should then be spaded or harrowed into this finished surface of the subgrade and the final surface smoothed with shovels or rakes before the final layer of topsoil is applied. This thorough preparation of the subgrade is much more essential if a shallow depth (two inches to three inches of topsoil) is to be used. It is not so essential if a more generous depth (four inches to six inches of topsoil) is to be used. one.

FERTILIZER FOR LAWN PREPARATION. In the preparation of a lawn area the problem of correctly fertilizing this area is an important On the less fertile and poor types of soil a liberal application of well-rotted manure together with lime should be spread. Manure should be used at the rate of one cubic yard for each five hundred square feet and lime should be used at the rate of between twelve and twentyfive pounds to each 1,000 square feet. On the heavy types of soil this manure should be of a light texture containing sufficient straw, while on the sandy soil this manure should be of a heavy texture containing a quantity of humus. If the preparation of a lawn area is undertaken at least one year previous to the time that the actual seeding of the lawn is to be done then the heavy types of soil can be made more fertile and more porous by the development, during each spring and fall, of a cover crop of clover, cow peas, vetch, or rye. The deep roots of these plants and the frequent cultivation caused by plowing them under will do much to produce a mellow and friable condition of the soil. On the very heavy types of soil the frequent mistake is made of spreading a heavy coating of well-rotted manure over the surface of the proposed lawn area and plowing this under to a depth of ten inches to twelve inches. On the average lawn this is a great mistake, and a considerable waste of time and money. Such lawns should be plowed thoroughly, the soil made loose, and the surface pulverized as much as is practical with a disc harrow. A heavy coating of manure at the rate of one cubic yard to one and one-half cubic yards to each five hundred square feet should then be applied and harrowed into the soil. By this method the available food in the fertilizer is within reach of normal root growth of grass while under the other method such portions of the manure as are plowed to a considerable depth (ten inches to twelve inches at least) are beyond the reach of normal root growth of lawn grasses and soon become imbedded in a heavy soil impervious to root growth. On the average lawn a top-dressing of manure at the rate of onehalf to three-fourths cubic yards to five hundred square feet, of sheep manure at the rate of five pounds for each one hundred square feet or of bone meal at the rate of five pounds for each two hundred and fifty square feet, should be applied and raked into the surface of the lawn. Manure, whenever used, especially in the preparation of lawns in the spring, should be well rotted in order to avoid so far as possible the presence of persistent weed seeds (such weeds as grow after the lawn is seeded). Bone meal and the types of dried manures commonly purchased on the market in bags do not bring into the lawn this objectionable feature. On the other hand, such concentrated fertilizers do not provide the humus which may be almost as essential as the food contained in the fertilizers.

DRAINAGE of LAWN AREA. A part of the preparation of all lawns LAWNS which are constructed upon the heavy types of soil should consist of correct drainage in order to secure surface conditions conducive to the growth of good lawn grasses and to provide a firm texture to the lawn. Subsoil plowing is sometimes done with the object of correcting soil water conditions. This is not permanent, however, because the soil will pack down again within a few years. Before the topsoil is applied over the subgrade all necessary tile drainage should be installed at a depth averaging from twenty-four inches to thirty inches below the finished grade of the lawn and at intervals approximating from fifteen feet to twenty-five feet between lines of tile. This interval often depends upon the expense which the owner feels justified in making to procure an ideal lawn surface.

SEEDING OF LAWNS. A general rule is to sow in April and May; or September and October (See Plate III). It is but seldom that sowing in June or July is successful. If sown before the fall rains, grass should become sufficiently developed to withstand the winter weather. It is generally preferable to sow seed in the fall. If the soil is properly prepared in the fall, seed may be sown on a light fall of snow in the spring. The seed will sink in as the snow melts and will germinate very quickly. As a general rule a lawn seeded in the fall will develop to better advantage with less maintenance cost than a lawn seeded in the spring, because any weed seed present in the grass seed will germinate and most of the weeds will be destroyed during the winter months; while if the same seed is sown in the spring it is necessary to remove these weeds by pulling them before they go to seed. Seed should be sown at the rate of eighty pounds to one hundred pounds to the acre, or one quart to three hundred square feet. Always sow thick. Choose a day when the soil is moist, when there is little or no wind, and when the weather is comparatively cool. Seed is scattered broadcast by hand, and the hand must be kept low. Go over the area in narrow rectangular sections marked out, sowing one-half the seed; then repeat the process, walking at right angles to the previous course followed. After sowing, the ground should be raked lightly and rolled thoroughly. Very young grass must be safeguarded against drought by frequent and deep watering.

Wherever lawns are to be developed under large shade trees, such as maples, oaks, beeches, etc., great care should be used and the work of seeding should be completed at the earliest possible date in the fall. It is not practicable to seed lawns late in the fall where large trees drop leaves which if not removed within one or two days are apt to smother the young grass. This is an important point to keep in mind. The best grass generally for the foundation of a lawn, except on acid soil, is Kentucky blue grass. This does not fully mature until the third year. It is better, therefore, to use Kentucky blue grass in a mixture. Other grasses such as redtop and the creeping bents will produce a quicker effect and will keep out the weeds until the blue grass is fully established. Kentucky blue grass during the first year grows thinly, and continues to become thicker with successive mowings. When it is fully established it will crowd out some of the less permanent grasses in the mixture. The ideal lawn is one composed mostly of blue grass and it is also the most difficult to establish. Many people who wish to develop a good lawn in a short space of time resort to the use of a considerable portion of white clover. Clover is of no real value in the making of a fine lawn other than that it helps to produce a quick effect, thereby crowding out many early weeds, and that it produces a soft carpet effect with little difficulty, where the process of establishing a permanent lawn of blue grass might be slow. The immediate development of a carpet of green over the surface of a lawn area is no indication that a permanent lawn has been established. The construction of a permanent lawn which requires only a normal expense in future maintenance involves not only the question of selection of grass seed of permanent types but also questions of adequate drainage, especially on heavy types of soil, and thorough preparation of the subsoil and the topsoil as a foundation of the lawn. Unfortunately many persons ignorant of the real requirements of a permanent lawn give much credit to those persons who are able, by the use of quick growing and temporary types of grass seed together with clover seed, and quick-acting fertilizers such as sheep manure (which soon releases all of its food value and leaves the lawn in an unfertile condition), to succeed in producing an immediate effect of greensward in a remarkably short time. The permanent and desirable types of grasses will not develop within such a short period, and lawns of this temporary character, while exceedingly satisfactory during the first year, will usually prove unsatisfactory and expensive in their maintenance cost during the succeeding years. Not only do certain types of grasses die out due to the nature of the grass and the lack of proper food supply but the lawn is seriously injured during the hot summer LAWNS because of the shallow depth of topsoil that causes feeding roots to remain near the surface of the ground.

The various grass mixtures on the market vary in quality rather than in kind. It is inadvisable to buy poor seed. Many mixtures contain a large percentage of "chaff," and some mixtures contain more or less weed seed. It is highly desirable that any one responsible for the development of a good lawn should be able to identify the important types of good seed in lawn mixtures. Of the various grass seeds used the fescue and the clovers produce a quick effect during the first year.