COMMON LAWN WEEDS 



So that you may more easily know them by name, here are the 

 pests that cause most of your lawn troubles. For easy ways to 

 combat them, refer to the Weed Killer section on a later page. 



Composting 



No matter how much you may spend 

 on fertilizers, it will pay you to save 

 your garden wastes to make compost. 

 The compost heap is a "must" for the 

 permanent garden because it helps to 

 return to the soil what plants remove 

 from it. 



Select a spot that isn't too conspic- 

 uous and spread out your garden 

 wastes over this area to a depth of six 

 inches. Use weeds, old vegetable plants, 

 trimmings from shrubbery, tops of bulbs, 

 lawn clippings and the trimmings from 

 lawn edging. 



Between each six inch layer sprinkle 

 a little lime and a liberal amount of a 

 good general mixed fertilizer. 



Excellent bacterial and chemical prepa- 

 rations are also valuable to hasten the 

 process. Composting is a bacterial- 

 organic process, and if the bacteria are 

 to break down organic matter properly, 

 they must be fed. That's the reason for 

 the fertilizer, since bacteria are actually 

 miniature plants that require this type 

 of feeding. 



Next, cover the lime and fertilizer with 

 three or four inches of good garden soil. 

 Keep repeating this layer-cake process 

 — vegetable wastes, lime and fertilizer 

 and soil, until the pile is two feet high. 

 Wet down if rain doesn't fall, but don't 

 saturate so as to drive out all air. 



Within four to six months the whole 

 mass should be broken down into a 

 man-made "manure" that will go a long 

 way towards making yours a perfect 

 garden. Use this liberally over the en- 

 tire garden area in spring, or as a mulch 

 between the plants. 



You don't need to waste the area given 

 over to a compost heap because all the 

 vine crops — melons, cucumbers and 

 squash — grow to perfection on the rich 

 food they find in the compost. Plant 

 several seeds in shallow depressions 

 in the top of the heap. 



A sure way 

 to defeat the rabbit pest 



To shut out pests like rabbits, gophers 

 and pheasants, a good fence will pay 

 in the permanent garden where it would 

 have been too cosily for a temporary 

 plot. An attractive fence can be made 

 by stretching two-foot high close mesh 

 and planting hedge shrubs on both 

 sides. The wire will turn all pests that 

 walk, and flying pheasants rarely fly 

 over this type of hedge if it is closely 

 planted. If a wire fence must be used 

 because of space limitations, plan on 

 covering it with some woody vine. Do 

 not grow tender vines like sweet peas 

 on a wire fence because the hot sun 

 will heat up the wire enough to stunt 

 the growth of pea vine tendrils. 



Double digging 



The gardener who takes pride in doing 

 a first class job should consider trench- 

 ing or double digging his soil in the 

 way the old-time European gardeners I 

 did. To double dig, remove a trench of I 

 soil just the width and the depth of a 

 spade, and wheel this soil to the end of 

 the garden where you plan to finish. 

 Next, add a layer four or five inches 

 deep of compost or manure to the bot- 

 tom of the trench and dig it in. Then 

 dig the soil from the next row and 

 throw it on top of the soil you have 

 just dug over. Repeat this process across 

 the entire garden and you should have 

 a loose, well-drained soil with a rich 

 sub-soil. While this sounds unneces- 

 sarily complicated, actually it is quite 

 simple and is worth the effort it costs. 

 It is particularly valuable for root crops, 

 and where heavy clay soils need to be 

 broken up. 



To lime or not to lime 



Liming will help break up heavy clay 

 and will sweeten acid soil. But don't 

 use lime unless it is needed, since too 

 much lime destroys humus. Use only 

 when needed. We can supply a simple 

 test kit that shows if lime is needed, 

 and if so, how much. Litmus paper is 

 not enough: it only shows a plus or 

 minus reading. 



Cover crops 

 for the vegetable garden 



Save and improve your soil and plant 

 food supply by growing cover crops. 

 After a row of vegetables has been har- 

 vested (if you aren't planting a succes- 

 sion crop in this spot) sow some quick- 

 growing plant that will take up any ex- 

 cess fertilizers and store them in its 

 tissues. Plow under that plant just be- 

 fore the next crop goes in, and decay 

 will release that plant food just in time 

 to do the most good. Also, the rotting 

 vegetable matter produces humus, with- 

 out which good crops cannot be grown. 



Ask us for advice on cover crops for 

 the garden. 



Garden windbreaks 



Many gardeners who have experienced 

 failure with their summer plantings 

 should consider planting a windbreak 

 to slow down the force of the hot, dry 

 winds that suck moisture from the soil 

 and burn up tender seedlings. A sum- 

 mer windbreak should be located to 

 cut off the prevailing summer breezes, 

 usually to the south or southwest of the 

 garden. Because garden plots are small 

 and because garden plants are low- 

 growing, a hedge five to six feet tall 

 should be enough. This will not cut 

 off breezes from the house. A hedge of 

 privet or similar hedging should be 

 adequate. 



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