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Show ( .. .. .: Home Gardening Hints by Grant Pett I don't wish to imply that a number of the crab grass killers on the market are not beneficial, but I personally prefer nature's way. I have followed it, and it works. "THE CONTROL OF CRAB GRASS" The first and most important thing to bear in mind in dealing with any garden problem is the fact that "the laws of nature are no respecters of persons." Your political standing is worthless. Cause and effect rule supreme. Crab Grass itself must obey tha lnwa nf nntnro anH trip nnlv . . ! cure that has proven satisfactory to me is the factor opposite to the demand of the crab grass itself. it-self. I don't know any "Hocus Pocus" trick that works as satisfactorily satis-factorily as the' rules of nature. Crab Grass lives just one year. It. dies in the fall and can be easily raked out then without pulling up the sod and leaving a big hole or bare spot (as it does if you try to pull it up while it is growing.) . After the seeds have sprouted the plant is a rampant grower, spreading out rapidly. On each joint of the grass new roots form, which accounts for the rapid spreading. If allowed to go to seed the plant soon runs out of control. So rake your lawn to pull up the loose ends and cut close during the fall to avoid the plant from seeding. Rake the lawn to raise the stems so they can be cut off if you have a catcher, use it at this time of the year, or else rake off all pieces for crab grass has the ability to root if allowed to remain on the lawn even after it is cut from the parent plant, . Now to prevent crab grass from growing is, of course, the best and easiest way to control it. "Crab grass seeds will not germinate in the shade. I want to repeat that. Crab grass seeds will not germinate in the shade. Nor will they grow in the shade." In' addition crab grass seeds do not germinate under 80 degrees temperature, which accounts ac-counts for the fact that you don't notice crab grass until mid-summer and then in hot sunny places. Have a thick enough stand of grass to cover all the ground. It will be necessary to sow extra to thicken up the turf if you have had a lot of crab grass the past year. Next and about the most important im-portant is to let your grass grow two inches high, and don't cut any lower than that from about the middle of May until the middle mid-dle of September. By doing this you shade the ground Where the crab grass seed is. The shaded condition keeps the temperature lower, and stops the seed from growing. Keep the ground shaded. Keep the temperature down, and help your lawn grow and feed itself during the hot part of the summer sum-mer by not cutting any closer than two inches. Remember that after the roots of any plant pick up the plant food it still has to go thru the leaves before it is any good to the plant, so to cut too close is to starve the plant. |