27th Year No 131-PS How To Know Good Seed 1. Ryegrasses. IF YOU ARE building a new lawn this spring, or renovating an old one, there are a few facts about grass seed you should know. "When you choose the seed, you choose your lawn" is a maxim that lends importance to your selection. The right choice now can save on upkeep costs later, as well as provide the enjoyment and pride of ownership a good lawn affords. LAWN CARE tries to guide its readers around the pitfalls that have cost some homeowners un- happy experiences. Avoid experimenting. It's costly when done on your own lawn. Many folks have found this out the hard way, especially in the last two years when there was much appealing but pre- mature publicity on untried grasses. The good grasses for lawns, proven by years of experience under a wide range of conditions are these: 1. Kentucky Blue grass. 2. Poa Triv- 3. Che wings 5. Bent- ialis (Rough Blue grass). Fescue. Colonial Bent grass. 6. Highland grass. 4. Creeping Red Fescue. Some of the cheaper, less desirable grasses with tendencies toward coarse- ness or bunching after maturing are: 2. Meadow Fescue. 3. Orchard three 4. Timothy. takes a scientific blend of 3. Redtop. Grass. It to five compatible grasses to grow one of those smooth, uniform, picture lawns. "Token" amounts of the basic turf building grasses are not enough to make the high standard of lawns west- erners are demanding. So be careful what you sow into your soil. The labor of preparation is the same whether you plant good seed or bad. You can afford to be particular because it costs less in the end. the in a pound, The more seeds less pounds are needed for a good lawn. Generally speaking, the cheaper seeds are larger and so have to be sown at a heavier rate to obtain the same num- ber of plants. For that reason the cost of a new lawn can not be reduced by planting inferior seed. On the con- trary, it may even be increased because of the difficulties and dissatisfaction that are sure to develop later. Total about seed cost of seed the same whether good seed or to plant a given is used, because of difference in area is inferior coverage. If one keeps in mind that soil and labor are the biggest items of a new lawn and that seed and fertilizer are the smallest, then it is easy to see that seed is a poor place to pinch pennies. You simply can not save enough to justify the disappointment. Suppose you were planning to build a new lawn on 5,000 square feet. The very top grade ingredients would cost you as follows: 55 lb bag Scotts Turf Builder @ $7.50 bag 20 lbs Scotts Lawn Seed @ $2.35 lb $7.50 47.00 $54.50 (or 1-1/10c sq ft) Now look what happens when cheaper ingredients are used at their recommended rates: 200 lbs Ordinary Fertilizer @ $5.00 bag $10.00 50 lbs Cheap Seed .90 lb @ 45.00 sq ft) (or 1-1/10c $55.00 As you develop your new lawn, bene- fit from the experiences of others who have done it before you — follow the suggestions in LAWN CARE. They represent the pooled judgment of thousands of western lawn owners as well as Scotts world famous Lawn Research. Send a postcard to Scotts at Palo Alto, California or Salem, Oregon and ask for bulletins about building new lawns or maintaining established lawns. No charge. Tips April — May Lawn FEEDING. If an early spring bolstering with T U RF BUILDER w as m i s s e d, by all m e a ns get it on as soon as possible. Consider d o u b l e - a c t i ng W E ED & FEED as an a l t e r n a te if bread-leaved weeds are present. MOWING. Height of cut should rise with temperature. Best cool season heights are: Deluxe Lawns—1 inch; Good Lawns—1 to to 2 inches. 2 inches; Utility Lawns—lVi Raise these mowing heights Y4 to l/2 when heat sets in. Meanwhile frequent mowing is best because on both old and new lawns not too much of the plant should be removed in any single clipping. WATERING. May need to be started earlier than people realize. A few days of warm sun and wind is apt to dry the upper layer of soil quite severely. Restoration of surface moisture by sprinkling may conserve the moisture deeper in the root zone. It is better to replace moisture before the grass shows signs of wilting. WEEDING. If Dandelions, Plantain, Thistle, Japanese Clover, Bur Clover or other broad- leaved weeds are a problem, eliminate them the easy way. Apply 4 - XD or double acting WEED & FEED. If there is much new seed- ling grass in the lawn, the weed control program should be delayed until after two or more mowings. ANS—Use it in the very beginning. Always put fertilizer in seedbed of a new lawn before sowing seed so first roots will have a supply of food within reach. Gets new lawn off to good start. Simply spread Turf Builder using 1 pound on each 100 square feet. Rake it in. Do I have to wait until hot weather to use 4-XD or Weed & Feed? ANS—No. Use anytime weed growth requires them. Action may be slower in cool weather but ultimate results are just as favorable, with but few exceptions. Be Kind To Your Trees Y o u ng trees in new tract areas are often small, spindly things. They are additionally hand- icapped in having b e en p l a n t ed on a low cost basis rather than what's best for the sap- ling's future. Con- sequently there is a h i gh m o r t a l i ty among these trees. Those which don't p a ss o ut m ay show little or no progress so they fail miserably to offer the shade or decora- tion intended. Y ou can hasten the healthy develop- the little them nourished ment of your trees and enhance value of your property with a kindness. with T u rf Builder. Do it this way: Just keep Around the base of the trunk cul- tivate the soil feet in diameter. This cultivated area allows water to get down to the roots. in a circle 2 to 4 l/2 inch diameter of T h en scatter T u rf Builder over the for cultivated circle using one cupful each trunk. Thus a young tree measuring about 2 inches in diameter would need about 4 cupfuls. Cultivate the T u rf Builder into the soil and then water well for a few minutes. the Feed this way two or three during the spring season. Y o ur will respond and best on the street. likely become times trees the If I fed my lawn last fall do I need to do it again this spring? ANS—Yes, it will pay dividends. More and better roots to withstand drouth; greener, thicker, more weed resistant top- growth. All lawns should be fed each spring, summer, fall. Best ones are Turf Buildered each month. Once a lawn is planted to sow grass seed again? is it necessary ANS—Yes. Many new lawns, especially tract lawns, are planted with quick, low cost temporary grasses that need to be re- placed. On any lawn a light overseeding each spring (1 to 2 lbs of Scotts per 1,000 sq ft) acts like a transfusion and strength- ens any vulnerable, weak spots. My lawn under a large tree is thin and scraggly. What can I do? ANS—Tree roots are competing with grass roots for food and water. Feed the lawn oftener. Supply Turf Builder at only 5 pounds per 1,000 square feet once each month under the tree. Why do some lawns look so smooth & uniform, almost perfect as a rug? ANS—First requisite is a seed mixture containing only 3-5 varieties of grass, all of which have similar texture. Uniformity is seldom achieved with a wide variety of many kinds of grasses. I feed my lawn and it looks beautiful for a little while then it's right back where it was. Why? ANS—Perhaps you are using a quick- acting "spectacular" fertilizer that is com- pletely water soluble and therefore quickly dissipated. Correct way to feed lawns is frequently — with a mild, long lasting food like Turf Builder. Costs less, gives better year round lawn beauty. I used your seed back East with wonder- ful results. Is it also good for out West? ANS—Scotts know-how is nationwide. Scotts grass seed sold in the West is espe- cially formulated for the West, produces the best Western lawns. I plan to plant a new lawn. How soon can I use fertilizer? Should You Own a Spreader Just three basic tools are required to insure efficient maintenance of most home lawns: 1. Mower. 2. Sprinkler. 3. Spreader. A good mower, sharp and well ad- justed, is needed to cut grass clean at the best height, and give a lawn that well groomed look. A quality-built sprinkler is man's supplementing Nature's method of shortages of rainfall. A Scotts Spreader applies the newest labor saving lawn aides that modern science now provides. T he spreader makes B E T T ER LAWNS. It distributes evenly which enables uniform results. As just one example — there's none of that streak- ing that so often shows up after hand broadcasting of fertilizers. It enables the products you use to give their best performance for you because they can be applied at recom- mended rates — neither too much nor too little. Due to the ease of applica- tion, treatments are more likely to be made at the right time because there is no longer the inclination to "put it off." lawn work EASY. Set for proper rate. Then pour the material into the hopper, and mer- rily roll the little two-wheeled cart across the lawn in slightly overlapping strips the same as with a mower. That's all there is to it. The spreader makes The spreader saves TIME. A thou- sand square feet of turf can be "spread" in less than 10 minutes. The versa- tility of a Scotts Spreader makes it adaptable for all lawn treatments — Turf Builder lawn food, weed controls, insect control and seed sowing. Most lawns can be treated with any of these in less time than it takes to brew a pot of coffee. With a Scotts Spreader you can have a good lawn and still have time to enjoy it. The spreader also saves MONEY by saving material. Hand broadcasting always takes more fertilizer, more seed, or more weed control and the excess represents waste. Add to this saving in materials the tremendous savings in time. If you are hiring the work done by the hour, time is a major factor these days and it exceeds the cost of the materials. If you are Scotting it yourself, your own time is priceless. it takes Spreaders nowadays are loaned or rented by most leading garden supply stores. However, time and gasoline to go get one and then re- turn it so others can use it. One of your very own, hanging on the wall of your garage is always ready and in good working order whenever you want it. Scotts precision Spreader will truly earn its own way in only a brief span of its many years of usefulness. Clover Without These Ugly Patches Ever since the announcement of CLOVEX in the last Lawn Care bulletin, folks are writing in about this new product. CLOVEX is a mixture of lawn quality clover seed combined with an organic carrier to give adequate bulk for broad- casting by hand. Or it can even be sown with a Scotts Spreader set at Mark No 4. It's the easy way to blend Clover into a lawn evenly so you don't get the patches so common heretofore. O M S C O TT & S O NS C O. S c o t f o if M A R Y S V I L LE - - O H IO PS- 1 2 5 - 4 1 5 54 <£) EVERY PACKAGE OF SCOTTS LAWN CARE PRODUCTS BEARS THIS TRADE - MARK AND IS SEALED FOR YOUR PROTECTION