27th Year Ifs Time to Refresh Your Lawn F F T A A KE A TIP FROM MOTHER NA- X TURE — seed your lawn in the Fall." With that still-sound advice, LAWN CARE began years ago, advocat- ing fall fix-up of lawns. It's a wonderful opportunity to ac- complish things with grass. Most any lawn will generously respond to a simple beauty treatment now. Soil is warm because it has been ab- sorbing the sun's rays all summer. This is helpful to good germination of seed. Days are warm; nights are cool. This combination encourages grass to tiller out and form a sod instead of all "going to top" and making a spindly growth. Dews are heavy. They are Nature's therapy, soft and refreshing. Hit the Weeds. Weeds should not be ignored lest they continue to spread and cause further damage as well as clutter up your lawn. One of the very first steps in the easy fall program is to let chemicals do your weeding for you. Most of the common lawn weeds can be purged without a bit of harm to lawn grass. Just wheel out the spreader and make an easy application of 4-XD, or use WEED & FEED, the double duty lawn treatment. It kills the weeds while it feeds the grass to help fill in the spots which weeds vacate. Crabgrass growth is subsiding. It can if desired. be stopped completely Double-rate ScuTL-ing does it and puts an end to any more Crabgrass seed pro- duction this year. Cool Weather Mowing. After weeds have been dispatched, the mower can be adjusted for closer cutting. As the days grow shorter you can cut grass shorter. One inch is a good height for fall. Comb the Turf. In the milder locations of the West, the longer growing season causes excessive accumulation of grass clippings. These harbor disease fungi and retard moisture penetration. Such mats of decaying vegetation should be vigorously raked out. Rake out accumulated thatch of clippings and dead grass. This lets lawn breathe. FOR WESTERN LAWNS r - Eliminate competition of Dandelions, Plantain, Chick- weed and most other lawn weeds with 4-XD or W E ED & FEED. -rtcrjr Cut close, to 1" and catch and remove clippings. s } r r 7V Pe rf °r a te hard, compact spots with spading fork. Build up low areas with good soil. Scarify the ground in thin spots. Feed entire lawn area with TURF BUILDER. The SCOTTS SPREADER applies it evenly and spreads average lawn in 20 minutes. Sow good seed in bare or lawns weak spots. Thin should get an overall seeding at light rate—no mulch is needed. Copyright 1954, O M Scott & Sons Co of bare Successful or thin spots in a lawn requires loosen- ing of the surface soil. Only shallow working is needed and several tools are handy for the job. seeding A spading fork or flat spade can be utilized to advantage. T he wheeled tool shown is actually an edger. Used in bare places it will open up shallow grooves in which seed can find good lodging. A half moon turf edger is also good for compact spots. If the grass is very thick and matted, rake vigorously and mow close to thin it out. Strange as it seems, some lawns get too dense and the grass plants bleach below the tips. Thinning aerates such it greener. Development of new growth is encouraged much the same as in thinning other garden plants. turf and eventually makes Brown areas are often helped by per- forating so air and moisture can enter the soil. This is easiest with a spading fork or one of the soil aerators available in most garden supply stores. If there are low spots where water is likely to stand in winter, build them up by spreading topsoil. High spots which get scalped with every mowing should have the sod rolled back and some soil removed to lower the surface. Rough Up the Soil. Thin and bare spots need scarifying to provide lodging for seed. Use a claw-type garden cultivator, or one of the tools illustrated above. Food Important. Before sowing seed be sure to provide food on which both old and new plants can subsist. Every lawn needs a meal of good nourishing food in early fall. Another, a month later, would be well worthwhile. Your lawn can make extra good use of this fall food and will respond with new vigor and color. The object of lawn feeding is not to make a lot of hay that has to be mowed but rather to promote healthy, deep rooted grass. So avoid overstimulating it. Use the mild, longer lasting SCOTTS TURF BUILDER. Spread the whole lawn, including the thin and bare spots, cultivated for seeding. it over Next sow seed in the spots. It can be mulched with a little sifted soil, or a little peat, or even left without cover- ing at all. If entire lawn is thin an overall seeding will be beneficial. Tract Lawns. The complete fall program is the greatest need of tract lawns which were carelessly planted with "hurry-up- but-don't-stay-long" grasses. The make- up of these lawns can be improved by close cutting, feeding with TURF BUILDER and overseeding with 'good r e p u t a t i o n" grasses like SCOTTS "SPECIAL" seed. Starting a New Lawn? If you have a new lawn to build, take advantage of all the good things about Fall when Mother Nature is on your team. Late August ideal period. into October is the To be sure your lawn gets off on the right foot and without regrets, write for LAWN CARE bulletin 126-PS " N ew Lawns Simplified" and 131-PS "How to Know Good Seed." Both are free. Just send a postcard to Scotts at Palo Alto, California or Salem, Oregon. Grub Warning in Fall Treat - Evidence of grubs chewing on the underground portion of lawns appeared earlier than usual this year. One reader reported large pieces of her lawn were rolled back each morning — the result of nocturnal forays by a skunk or ra- coon, attracted by the grubs. Another homeowner found his lawn turning brown. When he pulled back the sod, he found many baby grubs feeding on the grass roots about an inch below the surface. Such early activity indicates grubs may be about in sizeable numbers this year. If so, making an application of SCOTTS LAWN & TURF PEST CONTROL will be time well spent. Grubs have two feeding seasons — Fall and Spring. Treating in early fall will not only reduce damage during the current season but also next spring. You get multiple benefits by applica- tion now. Spread it on your lawn just as it comes in the package. It's easy. By leaving it on top of the lawn for a couple of days it also helps control lar- vae of Skippers and Lawn Moths. After 48 hours water thoroughly. This carries the control down to the feeding zones of grubs and cutworms where it goes right on working for you and protecting your lawn. Blackbirds have suddenly taken a lik- ing to our lawn. Why? ANS—Grubs, cutworms and other pests are strong attraction to birds. Better use SCOTTS PEST CONTROL. Some places thin, the ground scum. What can I do? in my lawn where grass is is covered with a green ANS—That's Algae, a scum-like growth resulting from surplus moisture because of poor air and water drainage. One or two normal rate SCUTL-ings will usually clear up Algae but the growth will re- is not corrected. appear is My neighbors the cause if say a fungus disease right? Is that spots. causing the broibn ANS—Could be. Fungus is most active in the presence of generous moisture, either summer or winter. SCUTL is an effective, easy-to-use control for this. Our new lawn weeds. We need full of all sorts is help. of ANS—Keep calm. Many will succumb to regular mowing. Most of the others are easily killed with 4-XD applied after the grass has matured a bit. be used? late can weed controls How ANS—They can be applied anytime but results are slower in cool weather. Best time is before weeds go to seed. SCUTL can be used on dichondra lawns but since di- chondra is not a grass it will not tolerate 4-XD or W E ED & FEED. for Seed Fall Planting A good looking, permanent western lawn is the reward of sowing tried and true perennial grasses. The two Scotts seed mixtures are made up entirely of the best perennial grasses, carefully se- lected and scientifically blended for the specific requirements of western lawns. They are also top quality in growing ability and freedom from weeds. In the blend called SCOTTS LAWN SEED, the predominant grass is depend- able Kentucky Bluegrass. It is supple- mented with just the right ratio of Poa Trivialis and Colonial Bentgrass to produce a truly deluxe lawn in full sun or moderate shade. Its brilliant color and smooth, uniform ^texture is in- tended primarily for beauty. Its use is suggested on the better soils in con- junction with generous feeding and watering. proportion of choice Bluegrasses and Bentgrass for sparkling color and good sod forming qualities. Since the Fescue seeds are larger, it is necessary to plant Scotts Special Seed at a heavier rate. Even so, four pounds of this good seed is ample. Seed for Shade. Trimming trees to let in light and air is helpful in almost any tree shaded condition, but frequent feeding and watering are essential. Careful mowing and keeping the leaves removed are also important. If the tree lawn can be kept reasonably moist, then Scotts LaWn Seed is suggested. If it's apt to be quite dry, use Scotts Special. For further suggestions on growing grass in shade, ask f or LAWN CARE Chapter 13. New Spreader A light seeding of Scotts Lawn Seed will produce an excellent stand of grass when the seedbed is well prepared and fertilized. Only two pounds per 1,000 sq ft are needed — less than a third or fourth of what is planted of ordi- nary seed. There are approximately three million seeds in each pound so a uniform seeding at the two pound rate will mean 40 seeds per square inch. Spreader low rate of two pounds per 1,000 sq ft of SCOTTS LAWN SEED it is better to make two runs over the lawn, one crosswise the other. T he SCOTTS SPREADER to setting at scale mark No. 4 will distrib- ute it at the one pound rate. To apply Setting. the Some conditions of soil and lawn use need sturdier grasses — ones that can better tolerate the poorer or drier wes- tern soils, and provide wear-resistant turf for patios and play yards. SCOTTS SPECIAL SEED provides a strong base of fine bladed Fescues with just the right Every lawn benefits from the profes- sional care of a S C O T TS S P R E A D E R. It provides easy accurate feeding, seeding, weeding or pest con- trol. When not in use the spreader is easily hung up out of the way in the garage or tool room, always handy. This new spreader is a beauty and a model of efficiency. Positive on/off con- trol is instantly reached and stays put. It has a new principle of rate setting, easy to read and regulate. Flow control does not jiggle on rough ground nor move out of adjustment. O M SCOTT & SONS CO. S c o t t &L M A R Y S V I L LE - - O H IO P S - 3 00 8 1 6 54 E V E RY PACKAGE OF S C O T TS L A WN CARE P R O D U C TS B E A RS T H IS T R A D E - M A RK AND IS S E A L ED F OR Y O UR P R O T E C T I ON