Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - August 10, 1963, Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg free press saturday August 10, 1s63 choose topsoil with care for new Lawn preparations just As the carpet is to the living room and the Lake is to the summer cottage so is the grass Lawn to the Home landscape. August is the month to establish a new Lawn with the greatest pos sible ease and the least expense. The last two weeks of August and the first week of september Are optimum for sowing grass seed in this territory. The intense heat of the dog Days has eased nights Are becoming longer the Earth becomes increasingly drenched with Dew before Dawn weeds have lost most of their ambition to grow in the lawns and it is nature s time for the newly ripened grass seed to Germin ate. Seed Falls from the Bluegrass is in August and september it tends to lose vitality rather quickly. Because it does not require any after ripening internal changes the seed is All set to swell and sprout As soon As it becomes wet so seeded about the third week of the month the landowner has an established turf in october Over the Garden Wall no. 703 by w. R. Leslie landscape consultant Sandy Earth with its Large parti cles and numerous air spaces needs humus in Quantity and preferably the addition of a couple of inches of Clay Loam spread and worked in. Otherwise the Lawn will dry out and. Yellow quickly. Humus gives a spongy character so it holds water and nutrients in solution. Seed or Sod laying Sod is quicker More expensive and often disappointing be cause poor turf May be carrying weeks and a considerable proportion of coarse cheap grasses. How Ever a new Lawn by Laving Sod can be completely satisfactory some of our landscape firms Are now renting Rich farm lands and sowing clean soil to top Grade grass seed. At the moment we Are restricted to getting out Lawn by seepage. Next weeks column will discuss Sod repair autumn feed ing sol just As a Highway is Only As Good As the base upon which it rests so is a stretch of turf de Pendant upon the nature of t h e Earth through which the roots roam for food. A Good Garden soil worked to a depth of nine inches or so is ready for sowing grass heavy clays on the other hand Are composed of tiny parti Eules which tend to pack tightly together excluding air and Draing poorly. When drying out they shrink forming open cracks with Conse quent ripping of rootlets. Base ment Clay is a very poor base indeed. A Good Lawn May be made on Clay by tilling in a great Deal of humus. Use manure or peat Moss and commercial fertilizer or rotted Sod Etc. Lamas assume we Start with a Good Clay Loam. Work it eight to 10 inches deep. Add barnyard manure five to six bushels per 100 Square feet. Lacking manure buy three jumbo Bales peat Moss for spreading on ipod Square feet soak the peat for some time squeeze out surplus water and spread after applying 40 pounds of commercial fertilizer. Use a grass seeder to spread the fertilizer evenly. Rot Otill length ways and crossway to get the humus and fertilizer Well distributed m . Landscape firms do custom work with rotary tillers pays to do a Complete Job of for basement clays subsoil areas spread four Bales of add to Sou to a depth of inches or More in crease the humus and fiber. Final Rake removing All bumps and lumps so that the largest granules Are the size of a Grain of Barley. Water Well. This will Settle the Weed free soil taken from the up per six inches of a. Productive Grain Field Garden or Rich cattle pasture will Benefit most areas to be seeded or sodded. However soil from the Woods bog or Marsh is not Worth the Effort lacking sub stance. Topsoil runs into Money. Be sure it is Worth the Cost. Pro Bably As near the Ideal As we can get is a pile of rotted Sod the Sod having come a year or two before from a Lush cow pasture. There is much trash sold to uninformed Home makers. Included is Black but stiff Sticky Clay often threaded with quack grass which Means permanent coarseness and mottling and Black Fluffy bog that will be practically useless and ready to blow away when it dries out. Buy no. 1 Choice seed. One of the Blu grasses will do nicely. Use Only two or three pounds per 1000 red fescue runs Only seeds per Pound or less than needed four to five boo8 Flower Box m mews preserve summer Beauty did you Ever try dry ing Flowers Here is an easy Way a Sam pling of summer blooms for fall and Winter Range ments. Straw Flowers Are the easiest to dry but you can Experiment with whatever is available including some foliage pick Flowers just before Tull Bloom and tie Sev eral together Heads Down. With a clothes pin clip several Bunches to a wire scat Hanger. Hang where there is air circulation but no sunlight. After a week or two sometimes longer Flowers should feel dry and Crisp. Re move immediately and store in tissue paper until ready to use. . Divide the seed in two sowing one half length ways and the bal Ance across. Rake gently with the tips of the Rake so. The seed has a covering of one eighth of an Inch press the surface with a Light roller to bring seeds in Contact with soil particles. Water Well with a Fine sprinkler. Birds May eat a few seeds but this is not significant there Are millions. White Clover its presence makes for mottling and a Patchy appearance Sugges Tive of strewing broadloom with scatter rugs. Merion has some advantages Over Kentucky but also some disadvantages. Either is a 53 Choice use rescues in shaded Corners. Should begin when grass is three inches or a Little longer. A reel Mower is preferred. Have it real Sharp for the tender grass and have Mower set not lower than w. Inches any weeds that look unsightly Are pulled through t h e fingers to avoid pulling up Young mowing will Likely be All that is required this season. Syi August 13 at in the agricultural building fruits vegetables August 14 Orna rentals. Or. A. C. Ferguson and his staff of researchers will be present on both occasions. Every Gardener in the province will Bene fit from looking and listening to interpretation of the plantings in Garden Borders and next week gardens. If your Lawn has Back into if to r my. Out snot of loft control pests and perennial nuisances like Craft. Grass cock Weed and Moss. Manufacturer say tace Rentko formerly used for commercial purposes Only Are find no a Creasman consumer demand because their Mvi Orafina produces nearer soil conditions Greener thumbs by Joyce Smith August Flower scented geraniums can be a Garden Hobby All its own. Dozens of varieties Are available in Basic scents of Lemon Rose mint fruit spice and pungent. Specialized dealers offer wide Choice of plants. Handsome to of d e n roses so much admired and used in permanent arrangements started life As morn my glories the Ceylon morning glory Ipomoea tube roses Are dried seed pods. Try planting a few seeds first notching hard surface. Rarely successful but fun to try. Junior s hair Brush or a soft complexion Brush is Ideal for dusting and cleaning the foliage of african violets and Sim Ilar plants. These plants have breathing pores called stomata which do not function if clog ged and can inhibit Plant. T t ;