26th YEAR No. 125 fèarly starters get better lawns! IT'S L A WN T I ME A G A IN tiller-out as Summer drouths are not unusual. Last year's dryness was worse than us- ual over most sections of the country, however, because fall rains failed to materialize. Soils generally went into cold weather deficient in moisture. Turf vigor was reduced because the grasses could not they normally do in late fall and winter. This early spring program is more important than ever. Now is the time to make plans. Outdoor activity on the lawn is a rewarding challenge and a fine spring tonic. Does your lawn need lime? Likely not, if you live west of the Mississippi, though there are exceptions. If farmers use lime to any extent in your vicinity (ask your county extension agent, he is probably located in the Court House or Post Office) then a soil test is suggested or a light application every two or three years— 25 lbs raw agricultural lime- stone per 1000 sq ft. In practically all of the eastern and southern seaboard states, lime is needed every year or two. If you want to be sure as to frequency and amounts, write to Scotts, Marysville, Ohio, regarding Soil Test Service. Your lawn does need FOOD! An early breakfast in bed is a good idea. Put Turf Builder in front of the grass be- fore it awakens. It can use the root strengthening Phosphates, the growth stimulating Nitrogen, the tonic of Po- tassium as the grass begins to stir and stretch. Grass feeds on soil nutrients even before it starts to green up in spring. As a matter of fact, grass roots are being regenerated whenever the soil temperature is much above freezing. Apply Turf Builder as early in the season as you wish, such as on a light snow. Just wheel out the Scotts Spreader and take a walk over the lawn. Sweep up debris. Better do this before the spring seeding. Get rid of matted leaves and trash that smother grass and (Continued on page 4) Acres of test lawns at Marysville, Ohio Lawns Come In Three's, Too! Good, better, best. Standard, special, deluxe — These adjectives may well be used in describing lawns as well as cars and refrig- erators. The determination of lawn quality depends upon— a) environment, character of the soil and growing condition the care given it, and b) c) materials used to make and maintain it, particularly the seed Deluxe Lawn— for the picture lawn, the the home with ultimate enhancement of reasonably good soil—it is Scotts Lawn Seed. By seed count ratio, the components are approximately three parts Kentucky Bluegrass, two parts Bentgrass and one part Poa Trivialis. Since this blend contains nearly three million seeds per pound, a light seeding of 2 lbs per 1000 square feet (easily possible with a Scotts Spreader) results in depositing about 25 viable seeds the square inch of ground. Good Lawn — is developed with the new Bluegrass Blend, composed largely of the traditionally beautiful Bluegrass, famous since earliest Colonial history, for lawns and parks. The other component is Poa Trivialis, also called Danish Bluegrass and Shade Bluegrass. It is now feasible to use Bluegrass by itself since Scutl can be used to control the main enemy of Bluegrass—the organism causing Leaf Spot and root rot disease. Here- tofore, thinned Bluegrass stands in late spring attacks. fungus has severely this to Lawn—Suggested Bluegrass alone makes excellent turf but not quite the rich, deep cushion of a deluxe Scotts Lawn. Bluegrass is especially attrac- tive in spring and fall. Utility where the pic- ture lawn is not practicable at least not in initial stages of lawn development. Possibly the soil condition is so poor, or slopes so steep that the finer turf grasses are not adaptable. Then too, planting may be made in late spring where it is not feas- ible to water regularly in dry periods. Or, it may be that a more rugged type of turf is needed to withstand the activities of the neighborhood children. the Maintenance Definitions & Guide Feeding —Turf Builder per 1000 sq ft Standard — 1 0 lbs, cool season rate Half Rate — 5 lbs, hot weather Double Rate — 20 lbs, work into soil preparation of new lawn Very short — 3^ inch Mowing Short — 1 inch Medium — 1 % inches High — 2 inch Very high — 2 to 3 inch Frequent mowing is advisable, preferably after growth of not more than 5 0% of normal mowing height. Lawn cut at one inch should receive next mowing after not more than V2 inch growth. SCUTL Light—Early control; pre-emergence of weeds, new lawn rate Normal — Early and mid-summer Crab- grass control Double — Late summer control of ma- ture, wiry, matted Crabgrass season disease Watering Constantly Moist—Requires replacement of moisture as surface soil dries. Possibly need to start in May and water estab- lished lawn two or three times weekly. High Level Moisture — Water as soon as soil is dry to depth of inch or so, before grass shows signs of wilting. low Level Moisture — Water only enough to keep grass alive, not expecting it to grow vigorously or remain bright green. Soil Reaction — Lime Needs pH 7.0 or above — Neutral or alkaline soil. Lime definitely not needed. pH 6.2 to pH 7.0 — Moderate range, not apt to need lime. Half Rate occasionally may help grass. pH 5.5 to pH 6.2 — Moderately acid — may need lime at Half Rate yearly. Lime Rates — basis finely ground raw lime. Use lime. less of hydrated 1/3 "Special" Seed. In such cases, it's probably better to plant Scotts In many circum- stances, it is a good idea to plant Scotts Special in the spring with the plan of over- seeding with Scotts Lawn Seed or Bluegrass Blend in the fall. Normal Rate — 50 lbs per 1000 sq ft (Maximum rate to established lawns) Half Rate — 25 lbs per 1000 sq ft Double Rate—100 lbs per 1000 sq ft (this rate only when mixed into loose soil) Choose Your Lawn Goal — Depending Upon Your Desire Related To Conditions AAA Deluxe Lawn Scotts Lawn Seed AA Good Lawn Scotts Biuegrass Blend A Utility Lawn Scotts "Special" Seed Soil Condition Lime Needs Feeding Watering Mowing Type of Mower Clippings Removed SCUTLing be S h o u ld g o o d' Pr e f e r a b ,y not gravelly r e a s o n a b ly i°amY* Practically any soil except sands and gravels, will do well in heavy clay if care- ful preparation before Will tolerate most anything that passes for soil, but the better the soil, the better the lawn Tolerates mild acidity. Lime needed in most Atlantic coastal states, in general east of Ohio Except in area where far- mers never use lime, should be applied to keep soils near neutral range Tolerates acid soils and ab- sence of lime Spring, Summer & Fall Spring & Fall At least once a year S h o u ld be k e pt m o i st throughout growing season Once established, tolerates drought but benefits from summer watering If grass gets started, this lawn will thrive on min- imum amount of moisture Cut short except weather grees) then medium in hot (above 85 de- Medium height or cut short in cool weather; high in mid-summer High cut in hot weather. Medium cut in cool sea- sons Reel type, sharp, well ad- justed Reel p r e f e r r ed a l t h o u gh good rotary all right Reel or rotary adjustable to at least 2 inch cut Y e s, unless mown very frequently Optional except a heavy mat should be removed Seldom necessary, unless clippings very heavy As n e e d ed to s u b j u g a te Crabgrass, otherwise one series in Late Spring — to control disease Early season schedule for disease control. Continue in summer if necessary to subdue Crabgrass M ay be n e e d ed in new lawn to k e ep C r a b g r a ss within bounds. More likely in wet season Weed Controls G e n e r a l ly once a y e a r, either spring or fall Use as n e e d e d. O n ce a year should be enough af- ter lawn is established A p p ly w h e n e v er broad- l e a v ed w e e ds a re objec- tionable Color of Grass Should be brilliant green through g r o w i ng s e a s o n, good color in winter D e ep g r e en s p r i ng a nd f a l l; d u ll in h o t, d ry weather. Good in winter Good color spring and fall. Fair in hot weather. Brown in drought and in winter Wearing Quality Fair, if allowed a recovery period after abuse Good. Cut higher if lawn receives considerable pun- ishment Excellent. Absorbs the pun- ishing tumbles and skids of the playground Early Spring Late Spring Summer Early Fall Satisfactory Fair No Excellent NEW LAWN PLANTINGS Satisfactory Questionable No Excellent Satisfactory Good Fair Satisfactory TIME AGAIN—Cont. LAWN from page 1 prevent contact of seed with soil. A broom rake uproots fewer plants. Cold weather is not harmful to good seed. To the contrary, alternate freez- ing and thawing, melting snow or soak- ing rain help imbed the seed. Here again, it's a simple job. Put the seed in the Scotts Spreader, set rate mark according to directions in the package and walk over the lawn. Are grubs or moles apt to bother? If so, make early season application of Lawn and Turf Pest Control. This can be put on anytime, before or after other ma- terials. Scotts Pest Control, a practical and efficient compound for use on grass, contains 9% active Chlordane. Chlordane is recognized as the best of modern insecticides for control of ants, grubs and other insects. Since moles live on grubs and the like, they work elsewhere when their food sup- ply is destroyed by Pest Control. Weed Controls are best applied in late spring when the weeds are growing ac- tively. One exception is Wild Garlic or Wild Onion. It's a good idea to hit it as it appears in late winter, repeating a time or two during the spring. turf NEW A new member of the Scotts Seed family called Bluegrass Blend is described on page 2. This is not a new strain but an offering of bluegrasses to be seeded alone and not part of a lawn mixture. Suggestions for the maintenance of this good lawn variety are con- tained in the chart. As indicated, Bluegrass Blend is best planted in early spring or in the fall. Comment of 4-year-old Bobby Feenstra as his father loaded his Spreader with Turf Builder—"Look, Daddy is going to make g s^ a s r IN THE NEWS Wild White Clover the past fifteen years regarding Rather extravagant claims have been made over the merits of W i ld White Clover. Country-wide observation during this period indicates no particular value in clover (wild or tame) in "preventing" crabgrass beyond the fact that any covering of the soil will have some deterring effect on crabgrass germination. Ordinary White Clover is as good as the so-called W i ld Clover; domestic-grown seed as good as imported. A fancy price for Wild White Clover is justified. Those who buy it expecting not miracles will be disappointed. Chemical Coating of Seeds the LAWN CARE has reported on Scotts Lawn Research testing of chemicals for seed treat- ment since first were proposed some fifteen years ago. Such tests are continued year after year so that users of Scotts Seed may have the benefit of any and all new developments in chemical science. To date no advantage has been shown in treating seed with fertilizers, colored lawn establishment in fungicides, hormones, dusts, or what have you. True, there are still seeding failures but these mainly result from improper planting and care or unfavorable weather. Seed treat- ments overcome neither. Chemical Mowing The use of chemicals to retard growth of grass is again being publicized. Continued tests indicate that the advice in LAWN CARE No 113 to keep the mower sharp is still sound. tests, In contrast Where exactly the right quantities have been applied to some grass varieties, cut at lawn height, the rate of growth was slowed to this effect on perceptibly. than desirable grasses, weeds grew better In all too ever because of less competition. touch and many Scott it has been go whether the grass slows down or just withers and dies. Happy Birthday, Dad! . .. I am sending you a dollar for a loose- leaf binder of LAWN CARE. May I have it right away as it is for my Daddy's birthday. Erie, Penna JUDITH F GOOD Mom — a Scotts Spreader is an ideal gift for that man-around-the lawn. O M S C O TT & S O NS C O. ( S c ô t tÙ M A R Y S V I L LE - - O H IO EVERY PACKAGE OF SCOTTS LAWN CARE PRODUCTS B E A RS THIS TRADE - MARK AND IS S E A L ED FOR YOUR PROTECTION