PAGE 6, APRIL 1976, BROUWER'S SPRING GARDENI How to Plant... BURLAPPED PLANTS: Always carry nursery stock at the burlap and not on the branches or stem - an undisturbed soil bail promotes continued growth - so . . DO NOT bang the ball down, place it down. In single plantings, make the hole for the nursery stock at least 21/2' wide and 2' deep (see ROSES, Preparation of Rose Bed). Use good soil (not clay) - with 20% peatmoss and fertilizer (manure, bonemeal or a controlled chemical fertilizer in the soil, in addition to the initial watering with a trans- planting fertilizer). Do not remove the burlap (un- less it is in a plastic-type, light coloured burlap), but cut it away from the stem if it is wrapped around the stem several times, only when you have the plant in place, before you cover it over with soil. Plant ail nursery stock with the top of the burlap level with the lawn and mound up the soil and peat- moss mixture to cover the burlap by 2". Fertilizer, as per its instructions, can be placed on top of the soil around the plant and when watered, will mix and go down to feed the roots. Never place fertilizer next to the burlap, always have at least 2" of soil - to prevent burning the new tender roots that will grow out of the burlap. Always press the soil down quite firmly around the bail making sure that it is covering the burlap. Do not over water - but give good soakings at intervals as weather conditions suggest. Do not let the ground dry right out. If yu are planning a bed of evergreens or shrubs it is advisable from the start to dig aIl the clay out and replace it with a good topsoil, digging down at least 2'. POTTED PLANTS: The pots of small potted plants (geraniums, begon- ias, ivys etc.) that come in a clay, plastic or heavy compacted cardboard pot, are tapped on something hard until the soil comes away from the pot, and the roots with the soil intact are put into a prepared hole, the surrounding soil pressed down firmly, and then watered in with a measured amount of trans- planting fertilizer added, or with a frrtilizer that is mixed into the soil, and then also watered in. BOX PLANTS: In each box there are usually several plants, from 2 to even 12: each plant is broken from the others, inbetween like a chocolate bar that has indenta- tions - each piece that is broken off has the roots of that plant and it is then planted in a separate hole in your flowerbed - the soil pressed firmly around the roots to support it, watered, fed . . (as per potted plants). CONTAINER PLANTS: See "ROSES" planting instructions. (Page 4) NG . . m Fertilizer 1) Introducing the new Sulphur tilizer by C.I.L., which is used whole range of fertilizers: Golfgreen 18-6-9 Lawn Weed Doctor 18-6-9 Lawn Insect Doctor 18-6-9 Crab Grass Doctor 18-69 Coated Urea fer- as the base for a Grow-All 12-18-12 Tree and Hedge Feeder 18-4-6 Winterizer 6-12-24 Winterizer/Weeder 6-12-24 Weed and Feed 18-6-9 C.l.L.'s S.C.U. contains 32% nitrogen, and pro- vides an initial release of 10 to 20% of the nitro- gen which is readily available to the plants during the first 2 - 3 days after application. This is fol- lowed by a steady, gradual release of the re- maining nitrogen each day. Consequently the amount of "free nitrogen" in the soil at any time after the initial release is never in excess of plant needs. All the nitrogen in S.C.U.-based fer- tilizers becomes available for plant growth, un- like some slow release nitrogen fertilizers where a substantial proportion of nitrogen may not be available to the plants in the first growing season. It is, therefore, a highly efficient fer- tilizer. S.C.U. resists leaching because of its controlled release feature, even under conditions of irriga- MARLEEN HUININK bulb collection. checks sto;k of our spring Lawn Care . m . tion or heavy rainfall. The soil must be moist for nitrogen release to occur, but very wet condi- tions do not markedly accelerate the release of nitrogen from S.C.U. The rate of nitrogen release from S.C.U.-based fertilizers is only moderately affected by temperatures within the normal ranges for plant growth. Unlike some polymer- ized forms of slow release nitrogen, soil tem- peratures are not critical for effective nitrogen release from S.C.U. 2) 1 NITROGEN 2 PHOSPHORUS 3 POTASH Any type of fertilizer has its own number - Golfgreen 18-6-9: Vegetable Grower 10-15-20: Evergreen Food 10-3-6. The order in which they the written is as above, #1 is always the nitrogen content, #2 phosphorus, #3 potash. 1 - Nitrogen for GREEN. Nitrogen is a major element in plant nutrition. It is responsible for producing leaf growth and greener leaves; len- gthening the growth period tends to increase set of fruits. Deficiency causes yellow leaves and stunted growth; excess delays flowering, makes stems spindly, reduces quality of fruits, causes lodging of grain, renders crops less resistant to disease. 2 - Phosphorus for ROOTS AND BUDS. All growing plants rieed phosphorus. It is important for a strong root system, for brighter, more beautiful flowers (buds) and for good growth. Phosphorus hastens maturity, increases seed yield and fruit development, increases resistance to winter kill and disease, increases vitamin con- tent of plants. 3 - Potash for GENERAL STRENGTH. Potash, the third major nutrient, carries carbohydrates through the plant, helps form strong stems, helps fight disease. It improves the colour of flowers, the colour and keeping quality of fruit, provides starches, sugar, oils, and decreases water needs. Potash promotes vigorous root systems, is essen- tial for best root crops, corns, tubers etc. It increases disease-resistance, reduces winter-kill, is essential for cell division and growth, aids plants to utilize nitrogen, balances effect of ex- cess nitrogen or calcium, and reduces boron deficipncy. Corn ears may fail to fill out when potash is low. As with human diets - balance is important. Now you can have a general idea of what foods you need where and why. If, for instance, you had an evergreen bed in which you also plant petunias and geraniums - what then? Your evergreens need a fertilizer higher in nitrogen, but your flowers will give a better show with extra phosphorus. In this case, use two fertil- izers. E.g. In early Spring dig over your evergreen bed and work manure (dehydrated manure is 2-1-2) - and later in May when you plant your flowers, add a 'side-dressing' of a chemical rose and flower food 11-22-11. TO SEED OR NOT TO SEED? Just how do you go about seedin Is it possible for the inexperienced 'never before garden- er' to do a good job? We think the answer is YES and here is an easy guide for you to follow, GRADE AND DRAINAGE There are not many garden shrubs, trees, evergreens or seeds that can grow in a waterlogged location, and your lawn is no exception. A healthy lawn re- quires good drainage. If, even in the summertime, your lawn stays wet and soggy the grass roots cannot get the air they need. In the winter months the excess ice and snow can also damage the grass. So . . . for good drainage, your lawn area should slope gently and evenly away from your house. If natural drainage is poor, install drain tiles to carry away the water. SOIL REQUIREMENTS Your lawn needs good, and enough topsoil. Check this by digging down at least 5" - 6" - if you do not have this amount, add the amount that you need. Spread out the additional topsoil evenly keeping your eye on the grade. FINE RAKING AND PREPARATION FOR SEEDING The· whole area should now be fine raked (with a garden rake) breaking up any lumps of soil. You can now lightly roll your lawn with an empty roller- and check for any dips or small bumps: if necessary, reLake to makethe area flat, and re-roll. SEEDING Grass seed is not expensive - so always buy enough or a little extra. Each mix of grass seed covers a slightly different area, but in general, 1 lb. covers 200 sq. ft. - we have the sarne grass mix for sale that we used on our lawns. To encourage the germination and then the root and leaf development of your grass seed you must fertilize - this can be applied before, with or after seeding your seed. As grass seed is very fine and slippery it can be mixed with the fertilizer and spread with a cyclone spreader, or mixed with some fine dried soil, or finely crumbled peatmoss. It can also be scattered by hand (like the farmers do!), and just the fertilizer put on with the spreader. Now that you have fertilized and seeded, check to see that there are no heavy patches of seed, nor any bare spots. The whole area can be re-raked and the seed distribution checked. WATERING Water the earth regularly with a fine spray until it has been well watered, but do not flood it; keeping the soil moist during the germination period. This germination period depends on the type of seed and the weather conditions - but within three weeks there is usually a lot of growth (sorne seeds take 6 weeks to germinate). WHEN TO MOW When the grass is about 21/2 - 3" cut it to a heigth of 112 - 2". This length is recommended for most lawns - grass needs a reasonable leaf area to produce its food, and if cut too short - your lawn will burn in the heat of the summer. WHEN TO WEED Most people go into sorne kind of panic of they find a weed growing in their new lawn. However, if you do see weeds - do not worry. Firstly, if you pull them out you will certainly disturb some of the new grass seed - and any weed killer will kill your grass seed, as this is part of its job. It kills weeds and seeds from germination, so wait until all your grass seed has germination - allowing at least 8 weeks (sometimes 12 weeks), and then use a fer- tilizer with a weed killer in it, or just a weed killer. NEW LAWNS OVER OLD Perhaps your lawn is not looking too good and you fee lyou want to re-seed. 1. Rake the lawn thorough- ly after cutting, to pull out dead grass and work up the surface. 2. Apply fertilizer and sow the seed evenly. 3. WWater in the usual manner to keep the earth moist. If vour lawn is in very poor shape, you may decide to re-do t, .u'i'vow the grass as short as possure 2. Rake hard to loosen the soil. 3. Fertilize the are with a complete lawn food. 4. Cover the entire are with a thin layer of good topsoil. Rake lightly an roll ligthly. 5. Sow your grass seed at the full reconr mended rate on the bare areas'and use half this rat on the better patches of lawn. Rake and roll lightl 6. Sprinkle regularly to keep the new seeds mois promoting good germination conditions. If the underlying soil is known to be really poo it might be better to start over as if for a new lawn - if the soil there is not too bad but the lawn ju never responds to good treatment, you might ha, to rototill the entire area, bring in new addition soil and in this way aerate to a depth of about 5 inches, check also for drainage. 1I nir