The Goderich Signal-Star, 1974-05-09, Page 33Keep. blades s
In some parts of the country lawns will already' be
showing..the benefits of your early fertilizing and weed ,
prevention a4 tivities.. In other areas you'll still be witt-
ing for the lawn t assume its best- appearance. But
to keep it that way .you have to remember two rules.
One is, to keep your lawn well watered during dry
weather. The other is that the 1awn,,,sbould not be
cut ..as short as when growth is more vigorous.
Your .lawn , mower blades
must , be sharp. If not, the
ends. of your grass will have
a brown cast because the
blades are tearing rather than
cutting. To keep the, machine
ill good operating . condition,
d n't forget to oil • it as
The. manufacturer recom-'
mends and to occasionally
wipe the blades with a good
grade of machine oil ,to avoid
rust.
The secret in mowing to
mow often but not too close-
ly. The grass blades should be
long enough , to prevent' the
roots from being starved and
short ,enough to tie •attractive.
If yofr do this, neighbours, ex-
cess leaf -growth is prevented,
fertilizer loss :will .be limited,
and problems such as weeds,
insects and coarse grasses are
reduced.' And best of all, grass
assumes a dwarf ,habit and the
production of extra shoots is
stimulated. So make grass cut-
ting "a "ritual",:and your lawn
will love you for it.
Catcher in the grass
One other suggestion. Buy
a grass catcher 'to fit your
lawn mower. This will not
only catch the cut ends but it
will also prevent weed seeds,
if there are any weeds grow-
ing, from being scattered
throughout the lawn.
By the way, you can empty
the grass catcher bag on the
compost- pile to use in the gar-
deiL, when it's broken down.
In this wag you'll do two jobs
with one effort and your lawn
and garden will both benefit.
If weeds are actively grow-
ing. I like to apply by hand
some Vigoro Weed and Feed
on the hroadleaved weeds, or
the new Vigoro Dandelion
Killer, if you're "plagteed with
the &ow -over seeds from a
lazy neighbour's garden.
Plant clean up
Iris beds and iris plants in
flower beds and borders
should be cleaned up as soon
as possit'le. Remove debris
and dead leaves which have
,and
over the winter
period. At this time a dressing
such as Pink Vigoro, a com-
plete. spring bahnced fertiliz-
er, should be given.
Iris plants will attain a
great deal of their growth in
the next six to eight weeks
t and therefore ' will ' benefit
from plant food applied now.
Give them about 2 pounds
per 100 square" feet of area
anduhoe or till it into the sur -
.face of the soil.
Rock gardens
'and baskets
ways some place to let a bas-
ket hang. It could be hung
from an unused ,camera tripod
,or a bracket f ixed, to the wall
of a divider.
When you visit'the nursery
to .buy plant materials, you'll
also be able to get the basket,
the sphaghnum long fibre
moss, a small bag of soil, and
the plant material you'll want
to use. I like the cascading be-
gonias, ' the new cascading
GODERICH SIGNAL -STAR, THURSDAY, .MAY 9, 1974—PAGE 58
rp and �er towtng.
tall and "leggy". The plants
should be moved to full light
in early August to promote
bud setting., Stop feeding by
September 1. and move them
to a cool, dark storage area
before' the frost. Although
they require • little water in
• storage at 45'F, they should
be kept moist. The ,foliage
will drop off while in storage,.
and should be moved to 'pre-
vent mildew. '
For Faster bloom, the hy-
drangea should' be take =gout
of storage soon after hrist-
mas and placed in a t mpera-
ture of 60°F. When new
shoots have developed, com-
mence feeding as mentioned
above. For Mother's
p1Dn s
'flowering, bring
out of storage about January
15.
petunias and geraniums, and
some Dusty 'Miller or alys-
sum.
I like, the colourful and
there are lots of plants with
good. colour available. Even
'the dwarf marigold makes a
good bunging basket plant.
The Picotee cascading begon-
ias are a 'delight and you'll
. enjoy the beautiful bicolour. I
haye even seen leaf lettuce
growing in a hanging basket
as well as Sweet Basil acid
carrots!
,eft to last
The florist's hydrangeas are
very popular gift plants for
Mother's -Day. A few growing
tiffs will help you •keep 'this
plant for a good long time.
Place the plant in a well -light-
ed location but, shade the
blooms from the hot sun.. �.
Hydrangeas thrive in a 'tem-
perature of 60°F, but they
w,i1T°`tolerate higher tempera-
tures. If the room is • very
warm, ` the plant may require
watering twice a day, but they
should not be kept saturated.
To carry the plant over for
next year, tut it back halfway
after blooming. Keep it in the
Bight and continue. to water it.
After the danger of frost is
over, plunge thepot to it's
ring outdoors in acid soil or
peat in partial shade.
Do not allow the plant to
dry out. During tfie summer
tnonth's feed it with a complete
fertilizer every two weeks and,
with 'iron sulphate (1 ounce to
2 gallons of water) on alter --
"nate weeks, In early July the
new growth may .have to be
pinched off if the plants are
• Rock gardens should also
be cleaned up during : the ear-
ly spring. This is important
because the accumulation of
dead leaves and other debris
may smother small plants.
Plants that have been heaved
.by frost should be carefully
pustied•back into the soil. The
whole area will benefit from
a top -dressing "of loam, leaf
mold, and sand. Attention
should be given to the specific
requirements of different, spe-
cies. Primulas, for .instance,
will benefit from an applica-
• tion of well -rotted manure.
Peat may be added to the top-
dressing for acid loving plants,
and agricultural limestone
will be beneficial for plants
preferring an alkaline soil.
O0 NOT add more than 'h'
inch of top dressing •on the
area. This is considered suffi-
cient and will not smother the
young, growing plants.
Many of my readers will re-
member the Imaging baskets
on the: porch that Grandma
had. For' some reason the
hanging basket went out of.
style for a' few years but,* is"
' coming `Back and coating on
strong. I think the main- rea-
son is that apartment dwellers
have such limited 'space to
prow plants. But there is al -
Snapper
V -Series
Also See our Lawn Boy Mowers