SOME COMMON 
YELLOW FOXTAIL 
LAWN WEEDS 
~ To Save Weeding © 
A big help in reducing the amount of 
weeding necessary is the use of a green 
manure mulch on any patch of soil ‘not 
being used. Whenever you remove one 
crop from your garden plot and won't 
use it again for at least several weeks, 
sow that spot with winter rye, Winter 
tye is not to be confused with rye grass. 
The right cover crop to use is the regular 
cereal grain—-winter rye. Plant about 5 
lbs, to 1,000 square feet to produce a 
thick stand that will crowd out weeds. 
‘This green mulch or cover crop will take 
up any unused fertilizers in the soil, and 
ill stote them in the leaves of the rye. 
en the following spring when the rye 
is plowed under, this fertilizer returns 
to the soil and can be used by the suc- 
ceeding crop. If the ground lies unused, 
most of this plant food will be lost down 
the drains, And because a heavy stand 
of rye will crowd out weeds, you should 
have a cleaner garden with less work the 
next year. 
24 
Notes On Mulching | 
Sometimes half-truths are as good as whole 
ones. The furor created by the book, 
“Ploughman’s Folly,’ which advocated a 
trash mulch at the surface, made sense as 
far as the mulch was concerned. By plowing 
or digging in the conventional way and 
then mulching, the home gardener can take 
advantage of good soil preparation, plus 
the very real saving in labor that comes 
from using a mulch. 
With the right mulch, there is no need to 
“weed, no need to stir the soil, and once 
that mulch is applied, the needs for water- 
ing (at least in normal seasons) is all but 
over. This should save hours of valuable 
time, 
Clean straw or dried grass used as a mulch 
under tomatoes will keep the fruit clean, 
and in addition will save the labor of stak- 
ing. 
Most gardeners wait too long to mulch. 
The soil should be moist, but not wring- 
ing wet. If spring rains have made the 
ground soggy, wait until you can cullti- 
vate without packing, and then apply, If 
the ground is dry, soak the soil thoroughly 
before mulching. ~ 
Proper Tools Can Save 
You Time and Labor 
You cannot do good gardening with poor 
tools, There are so many good tools to be 
had today—in various sizes and for all pur- 
poses—that the selection of one’s tool kit is 
a necessary and pleasant step toward se- 
curing best results. 
There are many grades of tools on the 
market, but it is only a matter of time until 
you learn that it pays to buy only the 
best. The cheap tool is stamped out of thin- 
gauge sheet metal, so that it usually lacks 
effective weight and adequate strength, It 
is ordinarily not a one-piece job, and the 
parts being riveted or welded together, 
soon work loose. The handles are often 
made of inferior wood or are not thorough- 
ly seasoned, and therefore, tend to break 
or warp. 
it is to be considered as a cutting tool, 
Draw the sharp hoe blade toward you so 
the top half-inch of the soil is sliced off. This 
will uproot or cut off all weeds which may 
have started, and get under the crust which 
may be forming in the soil. It will not dis- 
turb the plant roots, or stir the soil deep 
enough to cause the top iayer to dry out. 
For deeper cultivation, the five-pronged 
garden cultivator with long handle will do 
practically everything a wheel hoe cultivat- 
or will, though not as rapidly, It is the 
logical tool for the smaller garden. It should 
not be used too late in the season, however, 
after plant roots have begun to spread out 
between the rows. 
For breaking up heavy clay soils, many 
gardeners like a spading fork. The tines 
go in easier and the clods tend to break 
easily when pried out. 
The choice of a digging tool is a matter of 
personal preference, but those who have 
not used the long-handled, round pointed 
shovel should try this tool. Because of its 
long handle, it gives greater leverage, 
which means less work for the back and 
arms of the digger, While it is called a 
shovel and can be used for shoveling loose 
soil, it is equally good for spading and 
turning over the soil. 
ALL 
