Velvet grass carpets, comparable to those we see at golf and country clubs, result from constant attention and care. Time and money are sometimes available to permit extensive care on home lawns.
Yet, many practices considered essential by golf course superintendents are adaptable to home lawn maintenance and will pay dividends in greener and trouble-free turf.
For example, feeding with commercial fertilizers contributes immeasurably to growing a thick, weed-free lawn.
Today, with the high standards required for home turf, three applications are needed to maintain a healthy lawn.
Only a few years ago, one application a year of a complete fertilizer was considered ample. Then, for a period, two were recommended.
Time Your Applications
Timing these applications is of utmost importance. Therefore, the first should be applied in early spring before growth commences.
It gives the grass a boost for development before the weeds start. Then, about two months later, the second strengthens the turf before the crab-grass season and assists in keeping this weed at a minimum.
The third is timed for the early fall, at the start of the remarkable, moist period, to assist the growth of the desirable blue grasses, fescues, and bents.
Apply Correct Amount
The rate of application is essential. When given on containers, apply as directed. If the rate is not provided, aim at a minimum of one pound of nitrogen per 1000 square feet.
To arrive at the amount of fertilizer required, divide the first figure of the ratio into 100 and apply this number of pounds per 1000’ square feet.
For example, with a 10-6-4 fertilizer, use 10 pounds, and with an 8-6-4, use 12 1/2 pounds. Later in the spring, the same rate is repeated, and in the fall, it is doubled.
Altogether, this fertilizer program provides the turf with four pounds of nitrogen per 1000 square feet during the season. While this is much more than many home lawns now receive, it is only a tiny portion of the amount applied to many golf-putting greens.
Unless the fertilizer is spread carefully, the lawn will become unevenly green. Hand-pushed fertilizer spreaders, the best device for this purpose, are readily available. However, broadcasting fertilizer by hand is messy and seldom results in even distribution.
When the temperature is above 50° to 60° degrees Fahrenheit, or likely to rise above that soon after the application, water the fertilizer to prevent burning unless it rains shortly after.
More often than not, there is little danger the first application will burn, but sometimes, even at this time, severe burning results when the temperature suddenly rises.
Easy To Overdo
Very seldom do negative results come from the use of commercial fertilizer. If grass responds, it is often because more needs to be applied.
Accordingly, the lawn area should be measured accurately with a tape measure, and the total amount of fertilizer required should be calculated to avoid an error.
On the other hand, it is possible to overdo fertilizing by applying too much too often.
Some homeowners prefer to use liquid fertilizers in their lawn programs. However, because the lasting effect of these in the soil is of short duration, manufacturers recommend repeated closes instead of the three yearly applications used for dry materials.
Avoid Close Cutting
Another form of grass starvation that cannot be satisfied by fertilizers comes from too close clipping.
When this is practiced, plants do not have sufficient green tissue for food manufacture through photosynthesis. The grass is sturdier and greener if not cut too close, and a height of 1” inch gives good results.
Golf greens are cut much closer, but they are composed of bent grasses that can withstand close mowing because they tiller or branch close to the ground.
Regular mowing, too, is necessary. Allowing the grass to grow long and cutting off many leafy tops is dangerous.
Superior lawns, which appear to be the result of secret formulae, come from timely fertilizing and regular mowing at the correct height.
Though this may involve considerable work, eventually, it saves the homeowner time because his lawn has been free of weeds, fungus diseases, and other time-consuming troubles.
Avoid Too Much Lime
Lawn grasses flourish in moderately acid soil. Nevertheless, they need lime occasionally. On the other hand, too much lime can be applied to a lawn, and there is evidence that an overdose may encourage crabgrass. Therefore, make a soil test before lime is used.
For this purpose, take a composite sample of about one pound from half a dozen parts of the lawn to a 3” or 4” inch depth. After the piece has been mixed thoroughly, package it carefully and send it to a commercial analyst or state experiment station.
If lime is required, an excellent time to put it on would be between the two spring feedings. It should, however, not be used on established lawns for about two weeks before or after a complete fertilizer application.
Sow Bare Patches
Early spring, when the ground is still honeycombed with frost, is an excellent time to sow seed on bare thin patches because spring rains and melting snow carry it deep into the soil, where it germinates as the weather becomes warmer.
If planted after the frost has left the ground, prepare the seed bed by spiking or vigorous raking. Then cover the seed lightly with soil.
A great variety of new equipment and materials for home lawn care are available for the homeowner. Three of the numerous noteworthy developments include the new plastic or rubber underground irrigation systems for do-it-yourself installation, the introduction of self-starters on small power mowers, and the addition of riding seats or sulkies to other power mowers.
Much other new equipment makes for easier lawn maintenance, and a trip to a golf course or garden supply house to see the latest is worth it.
Regarding new lawn chemicals, disodium methyl resonates for selective control of crabgrass is proving very effective, although phenyl mercuric acetate and potassium cyanate, two chemicals used since shortly after World War I f for this purpose, are by no means outdated.
The chemical 2,4-D, used for a decade to control common broad-leaved weeds, is still the most effective material for this purpose. A chemical relative of 2,4-D is available to apply to lawns months before the crab-grass season to kill it as it germinates.
Widely Used Chemicals
Chlordane and DDT formulations are still the two most widely used materials for controlling ants, chinch bugs, sod webworms, and grubs of Japanese beetles, but several newer materials, such as dieldrin, are said to kill these insects quicker.
In addition, spectrum fungicides are also available for killing many lawn fungus diseases instead of a specific illness.
These should prove helpful because it has always been difficult for the homeowner to diagnose the condition and select the correct chemical.
Combination materials containing crabgrass, weed, and insect killers, together with a complete fertilizer, have also been developed and are endearing themselves to many because of their labor-saving qualities.
A new complete fertilizer that does not burn grass appeared on the market last year, and this year the nitrogen material, urea-form, is being sold under several trade names. Containing 38 percent nitrogen, this fertilizer will seldom burn the grass.
All these new developments are precious. But, useful as they are, none is a panacea for all our lawn troubles. The way to a greener and better country club turf for the home lawn still lies in correct mowing practices and adequate and timely fertilizing.
44659 by Geoffrey S. Cornish