P U B L I S H ED IN F E B R U A R Y, M A R C H, A P R I L, A U G U ST A ND S E P T E M B ER BY O. M. S C O TT & S O NS C O. M A R Y S V I L L E, O H IO Sixteenth Year Number 74 G A R D E N I NG F OR V I C T O RY IN K E E P I NG with the times L A WN CARE is glad to do double duty and help spread the gospel of home gardening. By now most families realize that they should grow some of their own food if a suitable piece of ground is available. The mistakes of the home gardening campaign of the last war should not be repeated, for much seed and fertilizer were wasted where soil conditions, shade and moisture supply precluded any possibility of even moderate success. Many other grandiose "February arm-chair" gardens were failures because too much was at- tempted and the manpower for mainte- nance was lacking. It must be admitted that weeds, insects and diseases were all that thrived in many a garden. It is said that Great Britain had a simi- lar experience in this war. The first urge was to tear up the lawn and try to utilize every bit of space around the home. The result was often failure, and the gardener lost his enthusiasm for home vegetable raising either because he had attempted too much or had made his planting in the shade or in poor, compact soil. For Amateurs Only Almost every suburban neighborhood has at least one old-time gardener who knows the right technique for his vicinity. His advice should be sought because he is the one who must carry the torch in this food production crusade. Beginners may tax his patience but still he will lend a helping hand wherever he can. The Victory Garden Committee of the U. S. Department of Agriculture is asking for 20,000,000 home gardens. If these are worked intensively, they can produce a tremendous quantity of vitamins, miner- als and just plain good eatin'. A king COPYRIGHT BY O. M. SCOTT & SONS CO. never ate better fare than a platter of Golden Bantam fresh from the garden. Headliners For Victory Foods The Department of Agriculture urges the planting of those vegetables that are richest in minerals and vitamins. In their Victory Garden Bulletin No. 483 they sug- gest growing what is most enjoyed but they also emphasize the greater nutritional value of certain crops. Green Leafy Vegetables are considered of greatest importance. They should be available in a succession of plantings from early spring to freezing weather. Varieties include chard, collards, kale, turnip greens and green lettuce. Tomatoes and Beans are widely adapted, easy to grow and easy to can. Tomatoes are considered one of the best sources of important Vitamin C. Every family, even apartment dwellers, should find room for a few tomatoes if nothing else. Last year families living in an apartment utilized the space beside the garage to grow a gen- erous supply of luscious quality. Cabbage Beets, Carrots and Onions can be stored as well as used fresh. Parsnips and Sal- sify can be left in the ground all winter. is easy to raise but only a few plants per person should be grown, as it will not stand long after heading. A sur- plus can be made into sauerkraut or heads of the Danish type can be stored. Potatoes foods but and Corn are among the best energy require considerable space. Golden Cross Bantam is an im- provement of the famous Golden Bantam sweet corn. There are other new and excel- lent hybrid varieties of sweet corn. Edible Soybeans have begun to appear in the American diet. Special varieties for humans have been developed, includ- ing Bansei, Funk Delicious, and Willioni. They are rather easy to grow, but rabbits like them too, so a good fence is necessary to avoid trouble like Mr. McGregor's. Although the department does not in- clude it in the list, Broccoli deserves a plug. Like it? A lot of people say no, but maybe it is because they never had any fresh out of the garden, properly prepared and cooked. Broccoli is easy to grow, starts yielding in early summer and keeps on through heavy frost until deep freezing weather. It is very nutritious, excellent for quick freezing and canning. Feed It To Feed You The energy value, vitamins and miner- als in garden crops are taken from the soil. Most soils are deficient in these ele- ments, so they need to be fortified by using manure, or even better and more conveni- ent, commercial plant food. Although there is a shortage of some chemicals the government has realized the importance of fertilizers for the home garden and allocated the necessary materials for a Victory Garden Fertilizer. We are glad to utilize our facilities to manufacture Scotts Victory Garden plant food and make it readily available for its intended use—food production only. Probably the easiest way to feed the garden plot is to make a broadcast appli- cation before any seeding or planting. Then follow up with at least one other feeding to the rows in mid-season. Some Basic Facts START EARLY—Spade as soon as the ground can be worked. Don't cultivate heavy soils when they are saturated. LIMIT THE AREA to what you can prop- erly care for. A successful garden requires favorable soil in full sun, well away from trees and tall shrubs. Use a good lawn area only if no other space is available. Even that is questionable since the turned under sod will continue to try to re- establish grass and this will be strong competition to the crop. SUCCESSIVE PLANTING is the secret of large production from small space. Follow the example of commercial gardeners, use fertilizer, cultivation and planning to get repeat crops from the same ground. TIME THE PLANTINGS according to tol- erance of crop to early and late frosts. Some crops may be planted while the ground is cold, but others require warmth. Consult Government Bulletins Your own State Agricultural Experi- ment Station can supply you with bul- letins that will help you to success with your garden. Many seed catalogs contain a wealth of help, particularly cultural information. The Office of Information, U. S. Department of Agriculture, Wash- ington, will send their excellent VICTORY GARDENS, Bulletin No. 483. Although we do not handle vegetable seeds, we are told that there will be enough to go around if none are wasted. Buy only what you need and take care of what you plant. Salt on Walks A frequent question is whether adja- cent grass is injured when salt is used to melt ice and snow on walks and drive- ways. One LAWN CARE reader reports that it does not seem to in his case, even though he uses it frequently because he is a custodian of a public building: His thought is that when the crystals dissolve the concentration is so weak that it does not harm the grass or soil. Have any readers had experiences to the con- trary, either with salt or calcium chloride? — ® — Crabgrass Rakes Last year quite a few LAWN CARE read- ers bought the special Crabgrass Rakes described in LAWN CARE NO. 7 0. These proved so popular that the supply was sold out before summer. Of course no more can be made until after the war. We still get requests for them from people who have observed the success of their friends or neighbors in using this rake to pull Crabgrass out of their lawns during late summer. There is no way of supplying these people unless possibly some who bought them last year have no further use for theirs, and would care to return them to us. If you have Crabgrass Rakes that are not needed or that were found unsuitable, we will be glad to buy them back at the full purchase price. They may be returned any time charges collect to O. M. Scott & Sons Co., Marysville, Ohio. — © — Snails Impede Grass SIRS: My that lawn has been a great success with the exception of a space two yards square. We dis- covered last September why this particular spot has not responded to my tender care. Inspecting the lawn at night with a flashlight, I looked at the sparse growth of seedlings in this space and discovered the ground was covered with dozens of shell-like snails or slugs. These snails were munching away at seedling blades until they fell off one by one. I picked up all the available snails then and there and dis- posed of them. Checking up a couple of nights later, I found a few scattered snails which I likewise removed and feel that the mystery of the sparse growth has been solved. the tender Binghamton, N. Y. HENRY R. MULTER Sweeping the snails into a dust pan with a stiff broom might be less strenuous. Farmers, Take Notice! In 1870 O. M. Scott was running a country elevator eight miles from Marys- ville. He dealt extensively in farm seeds and became known far and wide as the pioneer in recleaned seeds. His merchan- dise was enough better that farmers braved mud roads and snow drifts to make sure that the seed they bought was free from noxious weeds. Throughout the years intervening Scotts Seed has been living up to that reputation. Discriminating farmers from all over the eastern half of the country send to Marys- ville, Ohio, for farm seeds. Most State Experiment Stations rely upon it for their test plots. This Scott Farm Seed Department issues a bulletin of the Lawn Care type. If you farm a hundred acres or more you'll want on our mailing list. The last issue discussed in interesting fashion the subject of stable manure and its value in soil building. The next tells the absorbing story of Hybrid Corn. These subjects do not sound exciting to outsiders but the man with farming interests will find them most absorbing. Another Ivy Eater A lively discussion has continuously followed the publication of bulletin No. 57 which featured the irritating subject of Poison Ivy. Latest comment is from a physician who supports the immunization theory of Indian origin which many oth- ers have questioned. Writes Dr. H. F. Curtis of Wolfeboro, N. H.,: "As a brash kid I always claimed that Poison Ivy didn't hurt me—I can eat it. And I did often eat the small tender leaves. Never, even in recent years, have I been troubled by Poison Ivy. In build- ing a trolley line near Webster, Massa- chusetts, many years ago they had much trouble among the workmen with Ivy poisoning until a local physician advised having the men eat of the small leaves. It seemed to give perfect immunity. After all the Indians were pretty smart. They ate liver, too, long before white men knew of its value." — ® — W e ed —or Grass Substitute In L A WN CARE N O. 54 we discussed various plants which have from time to time been offered as substitutes for grass. Among them were Camomile, Sandwort, Turfing Daisy and Pearlwort. Their claims to fantastic merit in requiring no water- ing, cutting or feeding were examined and disallowed. They were to be valuable as ground covers under certain conditions, but to be entirely unsatisfac- tory for general use on lawns. shown So many Lately there has been quite an attempt to exploit a southern California plant for lawn use. inquiries were directed to the Greens Section of the United States Golf Association that they published an article about it in Turf Talks of August, 1942. We quote in part: "Considerable publicity has been given repens as recently to the use of Dichondra a substitute for grass. One large mail order house is selling it in flats under the name Dew Drop grass. repens "Dichondra is a low creeping plant related to the morning glories but superficially resembling white clover. The leaves, however, are kidney shaped and may be as large as an inch in diameter. It spreads rapidly by means of runners, and is difficult to destroy. "It has been generally considered as a weed in turf. Its general adaptability for building lawns has not been established, nor has its general use in the replacement of grasses for turf purposes been justified." — • — SIRS: Better look further into your tar paper fight- ing of Crabgrass (Lawn Care 73). I made the same discovery about ten years ago. That year I found three days long enough to leave the cover- ing on in August, but the third year I tried it the grass was killed there was It is a good some difference in the conditions. idea to experiment to find if the methods can be safely used. too. Probably FRANK J. DAWSON Columbus, Ohio — ® — Lawn Care Binder This durable, loose- leaf ring binder, con- taining all issues of LAWN CARE and with capacity for five more years, will be sent for $1.00 p o s t a ge paid which represents our a c t u al investment. These binders belong in every garden library. Hundreds of L A WN CARE readers have presented them to friends as gifts and to public libraries and garden clubs. One seldom if ever finds such a complete file of useful lawn data. The same complete set of bulletins in stiff paper binding is 25c. O. M. SCOTT & S O NS CO. MAR YS V I L LE • • O H IO EVERY PACKAGE OF SCOTTS LAWN SEED BEARS THIS TRADE-MARK AND IS SEALED FOR YOUR PROTECTION