How-to Have 
The Right Start for New Lawns 
You can establish a successful spring lawn with 
little more care than a late summer or early fall 
lawn generally requires. Lawn seed must have 
good soil to grow fast and sturdy. Unless there 
are 4 to 5 inches of good topsoil on your 
grounds, apply about one ton of well-rotted 
manure or about half that quantity of peat moss 
per 1,000 square feet. Work it into the top 3 or 4 
inches. Most soils will be improved with the ad- 
dition of lime. The usual amount is one bag (80 
pounds ) of ground limestone or one bag (50 
pounds ) of hydrated lime per 1,000 square feet. 
At the same time that you add lime and or- 
ganic matter to your soil, apply 3 or 4 pounds 
of GroLeaF 5-10-5 fertilizer evenly per 100 
square feet, the higher amount on poorer soil. 
Apply half before spading or plowing and half 
afterwards. Rake the fertilizer into the top two 
inches of soil. Roll the ground in both directions; 
then rake to form a good seed bed. » 
In buying seed for your lawn, a mixture of 
grasses is usually your best choice. For most of 
the G.L.F. territory, use G.L.F. Sunny Lawn 
mix for sunny areas and G.L.F. Shady Lawn 
mix for shady areas. In New Jersey, use one 
of the G.L.F. New Jersey mixtures. On Long 
Island use the Farmingdale mix. Seed at the 
rate of 3 to 4 pounds of seed per 1,000 square 
feet. To insure an even distribution of seed, sow 
half in one direction and the other half at right 
angles to the first. Cover the seed to a depth of 
Ye” to Y4” by careful raking. Then roll lightly 
and follow with a gentle but thorough watering. 
From this time on, until the grass is growing 
well, do not allow the ground to dry out or the 
seedling may be injured. With spring seedlings, 
it is a good idea to cover the lawn with burlap 
or a thin covering of straw to hasten germina- 
tion. Remove the covering as soon as the 
ground shows green. 
When the grass is about three inches high it 
may be mowed. 
Care for Established Lawns 
A smooth lawn that will take the heavy use of 
summertime activities is not hard to keep with 
regular care. As soon as the frost is out of the 
ground in the spring, use a heavy roller to 
smooth the lawn and press the roots back into 
the soil. Fertilize in the spring, using 20 pounds 
of GroLeaF 5-10-5 or 7 pounds of Soluble Gro- 
LEAF per 1,000 square feet. Repeat the fertiliza- 
tion in the early fall. Water well after applying 
fertilizer to avoid danger of fertilizer burn. Lime 
should usually be applied-every 2 or 3 years 
at the rate of 50 pounds of limestone or 30 
pounds of hydrated lime per 1,000 square feet. 
Mowing is important whether your lawn is 
new or old. Ideal mowing height is about 1% 
inches. Closer mowing weakens the grass and 
favors the encroachment of crab grass and 
other weeds. 
Among common problems in caring for lawns 
are thin turf, rough lawn, shady lawn and lawn 
moss. 
Making a Lawn in the Fall 
Many people start lawns in the fall. That is the 
best time to renovate an old lawn. If the lawn 
is more than 50% dead, it should be spaded up. 
Remove all weeds, spade and rake the bare 
spots, apply 75 lbs. of ground Magnesium lime- 
stone and 25 pounds.of 5-10-5 or 5-10-10 per 
1,000 square feet. Rake these materials in well 
and reseed with the adapted seed mixture. Cov- 
er the seed, roll and water, as described above. 
