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Fertilizer For Lawn Preparation. In the preparation of a lawnarea the problem of correctly fertilizing this area is an importantone. On the less fertile and poor types of soil a liberal application ofwell-rotted manure together with lime should be spread. Manureshould be used at the rate of one cubic yard for each five hundred squarefeet and lime should be used at the rate of between twelve and twenty- five pounds to each 1,000 square feet. On the heavy types of soil thismanure should be of a light texture containing sufficient straw, while onthe sandy soil this manure should be of a heavy texture containing aquantity of humus. If the preparation of a lawn area is undertaken atleast one year previous to the time that the actual seeding of the lawn isto be done then the heavy types of soil can be made more fertde andmore porous by the development, during each spring and fall, of a covercrop of clover, cow peas, vetch, or rye. The deep roots of these plantsand the frequent cultivation caused by plowing them under will domuch to produce a mellow and friable condition of the soil. On thevery heavy types of soil the frequent mistake is made of spreading aheavy coating of well-rotted manure over the surface of the proposedlawn area and plowing this under to a depth of ten inches to twelveinches. On the average lawn this is a great mistake, and a consider-able waste of time and money. Such lawns should be plowed thor-oughly, the soil made loose, and the surface pulverized as much as ispractical with a disc harrow. A heavy coating of manure at the rate ofone cubic yard to one and one-half cubic yards to each five hundredsquare feet should then be applied and harrowed into the soil. By thismethod the available food in the fertilizer is within reach of normal rootgrowth of grass while under the other method such portions of the ma-nure as are plowed to a considerable depth (ten inches to twelve inches atleast) are beyond the reach of normal root growth of lawn grasses andsoon become imbedded in a heavy soil impervious to root growth. |
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