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Show Work or Pleasure Good, Healthy Lawn Results From Proper Growing-Mowing Habits By Phil Durt Mowing the lawn may sound fairly simple but it is a definite step in the cultivation of fine bluegrass lawn. Done properly, it spells the difference between "wonderful" and "so-so." By following the rules you actually actu-ally make the job easier. Proper mowing practices help thicken the turf and give the grass a chance to thrive and fight weeds on an even basis. Bluegrass, incidentally, inci-dentally, is its own best weed and crabgrass killer. Sowing of permanent grasses in a good seedbed with proper fertilization and weed control measures is the beginning but the lawnowner should fully consider the nature of each type of seed contained in the mixture he used. Kentucky bluegrass and the red fescues are the permanent grasses that will eventually take over the lawn but their germination germina-tion may take almost a month. For this reason a small amount of nurse or cover grasses are added to give a quick growing cover to the lawn, preventing wash from rains or the scattering scatter-ing of the seed by winds. Careful and regular mowing at one inch for the first two months can prevent the nurse grasses from smothering out the blue-grass blue-grass and fine fescues. The lawn should be cut often to check the weeds and not set back good grasses all at once. Sunlight reaching the bluegrass leaves Will make food and promote expansion. expan-sion. At the end of this time the bluegrass will have caught up with the nurse grasses and you can allow your lawn to grow to a height of two to three inches. Keeping bluegrass at about three inches until the middle of .june helps shade out many crab-grass crab-grass seedlings. No more than a third of the leaf surface should be cut off at one one time since bluegrass is constantly con-stantly using its leaves to help store up surplus food against the time of hot weather dormancy. Bluegrass and fescues thrive at two inches, perhaps higher southward south-ward and a bit shorter northward. Short cutting removes the food- manufacturing capacity and reduces re-duces hot weather hardiness. The same rule of cutting no more than a third of the leaf surface at one time applies to the spreading grasses, bermu-das bermu-das and zoysias. They are kept shorter and fast growing Bermuda Ber-muda must be cut more often than Kentucky bluegrass and the fine leafed fescues. Do not buy a mower that cannot can-not be raised to three inches. Grass under trees does not produce pro-duce food as fast as that in the sun and should be kept higher. To measure the cutting height of your mower, place it on the sidewalk side-walk or floor and measure up to the cutting bar or blade. Most lawnowners check the height regularly reg-ularly and sharpen the blades at the same time. Clippings can form a moisture holding mulch and they do supply nutrients. If thick enough to trap hot, humid air, and excellent climate for disease, take them off. A suburbanite, his wife and four children were about to leave for their usual Sunday afternoon outing. The woman started for the door. "This time, dear," she said, "you put the children's coats and hats on. I'll sit out in the car and blow the horn." |
