Mowing

Young grass is cut when a little over two inches high; set the mower for a two-inch cut. It is usually advisable to roll the lawn with a light roller before the first cutting. This firms the young grass in the soil and the loose surface. Cut a few hours later. The mower for the first cut must be keen. A dull mower will pull the soft grass out in bunches. If the grass is thick it should be raked off the surface. Collecting in heaps the young grass underneath will rot.

Grass on Slopes and Terraces

Grass is the cheapest and quickest covering you can get on slopes. But it's not always the easiest to maintain, depending upon the steepness of the slope. It's practically impossible to maintain grass on a slope of one foot in two. Soil on slopes for grass must be in the best condition possible, well supplied with organic matter. The critical point about sloping ground is the difficulty of keeping moisture in the soil. Only when water is applied slowly with perhaps large waterfalls or other garden water features does it penetrate a slope.

One of the hazards on slopes is the danger of both the soil and seed washing out before the seeds gain a hold. Several methods are used to overcome this. After the soil is prepared, seeded and rolled, the slope is covered with burlap of the open mesh type. This is fastened to the bank with pegs and string, or just a series of pegs. The grass grows through the burlap. This is left there to rot. Watering too is done through the burlap, if necessary. A net-like material is now sold which performs the same service.

If not too steep, the slope can be covered with hay, grass clippings, outdoor fountains, or a patio fountain. The grass mixture for a slope usually contains much fescue. Ryegrass is included because of its fast-sprouting qualities. It holds the soil until the slower-growing grasses take hold. The quantity of seed is the same as for the regular lawn. Grass on slopes is not cut as close as on a lawn and no shorter than two inches. Slopes need more watering and feeding, too, to maintain the grass.

Lawns in Shade

The problems involved in shade are the lack of sunlight and the competition of tree roots which rob the soil and grass of moisture and plant food. The ground tends to become hard and dry so that extra care in soil preparation, watering, and feeding are necessary. Spreading several inches of topsoil and fertilizer is regular practice and helps for a time. But if the trees are of the surface-rooting kind like Norway maple, beech and similar trees, the roots will soon invade the new soil. The more sunlight you can get into the area the better the chances for the lawn.

Cutting off some of the lower limbs of the trees will help-also, try cutting some of the branches out of the dense growth high up. If the soil is thin and packed hard, loosen it a few inches with a digging fork, and then add topsoil or a layer of peatmoss, or commercial humus. Spread fertilizer at the rate of 3 lbs. to 100 square ft. Use the same quantity of ground limestone, then seed with a grass mixture especially designed for a shady site. Loosening the soil under the trees will not harm them unless they are evergreens.

Leave the grass at least two inches high in a shady area or an area with wall fountains or garden statuary. Close cutting will ruin the grass in one season unless, of course, there is sufficient sunlight and the trees are well spaced. Maintain a regular program of watering and fertilizing. In spring, as growth begins, apply about 3 pounds of grass fertilizer per 100 square ft.; in late June, two pounds and, in late August or early September, another three pounds. Each fall and spring, scatter two pounds of seed over the same area to keep bare areas covered.