SHADY SPOTS 
Growing grass in the shade need not be any more 
of a problem than growing it in a sunny area. It merely 
involves the proper choice of seeds plus a little more 
attention to watering and fertilizing. 
In FAITH SHADY LAWN~ GRASS SEED. the 
proper choice of seeds is eliminated as a source of trouble. 
Years of experimentation have produced a fine blend of 
shade-loving grasses—Chewings Fescue, Poa Trivialis (the 
blue grass of the shade), Red-top, Rye Grass, and smaller 
amounts of Kentucky Blue Grass) FAITH SHADY 
LAWN GRASS SEED will produce under shade condi- 
tions, a permanent, velvety turf which will match in color 
and texture that produced by FAITH LAWN GRASS 
SEED in sunny areas. 
Much of the difficulty in maintaining a shady turf is 
due to the failure to recognize the need for more atten- 
tion to watering and fertilizing. The root system olf 
grasses under shede is shallow. This is due in part to 
the strains of grasses that will thrive in the shade, and, 
in part, to the natural growing conditions. The shallow 
roots must absorb moisture and plant food from a thin 
layer of soil. This, plus the heavy demand on the area 
by the shade-producing elements, trees, bushes, shrubbery, 
etc., for moisture and plant food necessitates added 
watering and fertilizing. 
Even during periods of minor drought when the grass 
in sunny areas does not seem to be suffering from a 
lack of moisture, the shady areas should be well soaked 
at least once or even twice a week. 
More fertilization does not mean to use more fertilizer 
in shady areas, but to fertilize more often. Rainfall and 
soaking cause fertilizer to be leached down into the soil. 
In the shady areas this leaching process causes the fer- 
tilizer to go deeper into the soil than the roots can reach, 
thus the need to keep available plant food at reasonably 
high levels. 
Two applications a year, one in the Spring and one 
in the Fall, of FAITH LAWN DIET at a rate of ten 
to fifteen pounds per thousand square feet of lawn area 
will supply ample plant food for the sunny areas. The 
shady areas should be supplied with two midsummer 
applications at the same rate. 
TOP DRESSING 
Top-dressing is an essential for established lawns when 
it is desired to either thicken the turf or to improve the 
soil. All lawns should be top-dressed as a maintenance 
procedure every second or third year. 
Top-dressing consists of adding a good source of 
organic matter to the soil. This may be in the form of 
barnyard manures, dehydrated manures, humus, peat moss, 
compost, spent mushroom soil. From the standpoint ef 
economy and as a source of organic matter, barnyard 
manures are excellent, but their inevitable weed content 
makes them unsuitable for turf use. Humus, because of 
its availability and relatively low cost, is widely used. 
Top-dressing on a good loam soil merely consists of 
spreading the humus or other organic material over the 
lawn surface to a depth of from one-eighth to one-quarter 
of an inch. 
On hard clay soils, the humus or other source of 
organic matter should be mixed with equal quantities of 
builder’s sand and applied at a rate of from one-quarter 
to one-half inch in depth. On light, sandy soils, the 
humus or other source of organic matter shoul |! be mixed 
with equal quantities of clay or heavy top-soil and applied 
at the same rate. This treatment will materially affect 
the texture of the soil 
Top-dressing should not be confused with fertilization. 
Top-dressing is a conditiot.er for the soil and while it 
does contain plant food elements, top-dressing without 
added fertilization is a waste of time and money. 
Top-dressing should be followed by seeding, a light 
raking to cover the seed, and rolling. 
WATERING 
A lawn should never be sprinkled—it should be 
soaked to a depth of at least six inches. Light sprinkling 
during the Summer is only of benefit to the weeds. The 
turf grasses blended in FAITH LAWN GRASS SEED 
are hardy and drought resistant. If they have been 
properly fertilized and mowed, they will resist long periods 
of drought. 
Water only when the lawn is suffering from lack of 
moisture and then thoroughly soak the lawn. During 
periods of extended drought a thorough watering every 
ten days will be sufficient. Grass in the shade should 
be watered every five days. 

| SHADY SPOTS e¢ TOP DRESSING e¢ WATERING 

