For an Inlander such as me, the bold productivity of the sea is a treat and a novelty.
The twice-daily deposit of seaweed tangles and other flotsam, the wealth of fish types in sizes up to the gigantic that welcome hook and bait, the rich shrimp hauls unloaded at Key West—all of these point up the luxurious merging, through living things, of the energy of sunlight with nutrients washed from land into the sea.
This process has gone on for eons. In the lushness of the ocean environment, the sea plants that feed sea animals are bathed in an inexhaustible soup of nutrients, with fairly constant and equable surroundings.
These plants are safe from drought, frost, and the major ravages of the environment, so much a part of life on the fund.
A Moderately-Tended Lawn
Back from two pleasant weeks at sea, I look out today at my moderately-tended lawn, and I am doubly aware of how good “what we’ve got” really is.
How could that bluegrass-backboned fawn possibly have stood up to the last two drought-ridden Missouri summers and come out for another year with a verdant carpet, grateful for a few spring spots of rain?
How could it blush a lush green to the caress of April, remain green where a modicum of water fell in sere July, stand a pleasing green through the drowsiness of Indian summer, and still show the green of grass blades through fingers of ice as our third winter cold snap moved East?
What a background of trial must lie behind bluegrass since its ancestors of ages past first moved out of the sea to conquer the land.
Soil Mixture
I’ve not done all I should for my lawn in appreciation of its genuine benefits to my home and pleasure. But it was launched well.
The silt loam soil was thoroughly tilled to several inches of depth when workably moist, just as any future lawn soil should be.
It was not imperative to add organic matter, as might have been the case with tight clay or loose sandy soil, but liberal dosing (20 pounds per 1000 square feet) with a fertilizer designed for turf to approximate for grass what the sea so profligately bestows on her pastures.
Fortunately, no grading was necessary to provide a gentle slope, and lime was not needed on my ground (not acid soil, pH near 7 or neutral).
Different Kinds Of Grass
We’ve puttered in past years with several kinds of grass and with the newer grass selections. Course grasses and cheap mixtures have been tried as shade blends and sun species.
“Migrants” from other climates not generally seen in the Midwest have been brought in: Merlon bluegrass, U-3 Bermuda, Meyer’s zoysia, assortments of fescues, and various legumes.
But of all the grasses, none has done as well, all things and all seasons considered, as common or Kentucky bluegrass planted straight bluegrass in my lawn, although a quality mixture containing bent grass to complement the bluegrass would no doubt have been just as satisfactory (or even better were not high mowing our practice).
The seed was thinly and uniformly distributed with a spreader at 2 pounds per 1000 square feet.
The area was lightly raked (with the reverse side of a broom rake) to “plant” the seed and then rolled with a light roller to restore soil capillarity and assure contact of the seed with soil, ensuring rapid germination.
Fertilization
Generous fertilization, after the lawn is established and properly timed, can do much to offset impertinent weather or make up for deficiencies in weed and insect control.
Autumn is a must for bluegrass (10 pounds of complete turf fertilizer per 1000), and early spring is almost equally important.
If you have crabgrass under control and if you water frequently, light feedings are much in order through the growing season. More frequent fertilization will probably be needed on sandy, porous soil than on heavier soils.
Mowing
Mowing high, the mower set at least 1 1/2″ inches in hot weather, is a prime but little appreciated boon to bluegrass.
Measured by results, no summer practice will pay better dividends in pulling bluegrass through its toughest season and holding weeds at arm’s length.
High mowing and proper fertilization seem to afford the magic combination to bluegrass success, no matter what else I do for the lawn.
The mowing should be frequent if the grass is growing rapidly; otherwise, delayed amputation is apt to be so drastic that exuberant plants become frustrated stubs drying from unaccustomed exposure and eventually becoming severely weakened.
Frequent mowing each time the leaves have grown 1/2 to 1 inch will encourage spreading without removing lethal quantities of the leaf surface.
Favor Bluegrass
There are many little niceties with which we can favor bluegrass at home to make a lot of this green sea around us, lacking as it does the solaces of real ocean life.
There is still the number-one weed to lick, and modern crabgrass killers point the way (just as 2-4-D has already lifted the curse of broadleaf weeds, the dandelions, and plantains).
Fungicides might sometimes be in order. Soil or grass insects. grubs and chinch bugs, principally, can be met conveniently with chlordane.
44659 by Robert W. Schery