• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary navigation
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Carol J. Michel

Award winner author of gardening humor books

  • About
    • Contact
  • Blog
  • Books
    • Shop
    • Gardening Humor
    • Children’s Books
    • New – The Halloween Hare
  • Speaking
    • Upcoming Speaking Engagements
  • Social
    • YouTube
    • Instagram
  • Gardening Humor
  • Children’s
  • All Books

May Dreams Gardens

Planting and Care of Lawns in 1931

August 29, 2011 By Carol Michel 10 Comments

I now have a copy of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Farmers’ Bulletin No. 1677.

Yes, that one. No. 1-6-7-7.  “Planting and Care of Lawns”.  Published in 1931, updated in 1935.

I now know the truth.

I know that in 1931, when this booklet was originally published, “A beautiful green lawn is the ambition of most home owners… but few are willing to expend the effort necessary for a successful lawn.”

Not much has changed in homeowner’s attitudes in the past 80 years. Too many homeowners want their lawn to look good, but  they don’t want to put forth the effort, or don’t know what effort to put forth to make it look good.

I now know that the recommended seed mixture in 1931 for lawns in the northern areas of the country was:

17 parts Kentucky bluegrass
2 parts redtop (probably Agrostis gigantea)
1 part white clover.

By weight.

It’s good to have the evidence that they  did put clover in lawn seed mixtures. Who took it out and why?  Of course, I know why. It isn’t completely green. But clover is good stuff.  I credit clover with keeping the rabbits out of my garden. Plus, clover is good for the soil.

I know now that they also recommended leaving grass clippings on the lawn 80 years ago,  unless of course you were mowing very tall grass and the clippings were smothering the lawn.

Why did someone invent lawn mowers with bags to catch lawn clippings?  I think I have two, maybe three lawn mower bag attachments up in my attic.  As a kid, I hated having to bag the lawn clippings as I mowed. That darn bag would fill up just as I got into the rhythm of mowing. It was disruptive.  It was like having a good song stop just as you had become one with the beat.

I now know that in 1931,  “the use of chemicals, thus far, has not yet proved a very effective method of controlling lawn weeds”. And furthermore, you just have to keep after your weeds to keep them in check. 

I knew you could keep weeds in check. Though I’ve not done a good job of keeping after my weeds, in the lawn or elsewhere,  I do believe in this 80 year old advice. Just keep after those weeds, and no matter what, don’t let them set seed.

I now know about lawn care in 1931.  And I like it.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: books, lawns

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Liz says

    August 29, 2011 at 11:14 am

    Hi,

    Wow, I'm thrilled to know that I've been using 1931 advice without even knowing it 🙂

    Clover = check
    Leaving grass clippings to feed the lawn = check
    Not using chemicals to kill weeds = check

    I must be old-fashioned at heart.

    Reply
  2. Helen Yoest @ Gardening With Confidence says

    August 29, 2011 at 11:26 am

    Good advice. I'm living the 1677 lawn way. But do they mention nutsedge and oxalis? H.

    Reply
  3. Fairegarden says

    August 29, 2011 at 11:41 am

    This is wonderful, Carol. It all boils down to your definition of weed. For me, there is only one, crabgrass, and it gets pulled up before allowed to set seed. In the garden beds, paths or lawn, crabgrass is the enemy. But those grass clippings added to the compost pile are sweet.

    Reply
  4. Gail says

    August 29, 2011 at 2:25 pm

    I love the 1931 lawn care regimen! But, there really aren't many weeds living in my lawnette that bother me….and I am thinking that I will plant more Lyreleaf sage, Wild Petuna and sedges to make it even more weedy! gail

    Reply
  5. Sarah says

    August 29, 2011 at 4:59 pm

    I have to say that unless it's a sticker bush, or a renegade poplar (from a neighbor's tree) we don't care about the weeds in our lawn. In fact, I sort of like them. We've got violets, buttercups, clover, some sort of spiky purple flower that I need to look up, and the ubiquitous dandelion. As far as I'm concerned, they add color to the lawn and spice it up.

    And the bees love them.

    Reply
  6. Calgary Garden Coach says

    August 29, 2011 at 5:01 pm

    Thanks for posting this! I had read in several places that clover was standard in lawns before the pesticide industry convinced us that it was a weed – but I'd never seen hard evidence or an actual reference before! This is very helpful.
    Thanks,
    Janice

    Reply
  7. Commonweeder says

    August 29, 2011 at 5:25 pm

    I also follow the 1931 techniques. I think it might have been Warren Schultz in his book, A Man's Turf, who explained that it wasn't until after WWII that all the chemical fertilizers and herbicids came into wide use because companies that had been making materiel for the military now needed a new market – the home market.

    Reply
  8. Mary C. says

    August 29, 2011 at 5:43 pm

    wow, it is really interesting that in less than 100 years the popular recommendations for keeping a healthy lawn have not only done a 180, they are starting to turn the full 360! Our grandparents DID know what they were doing 🙂

    Reply
  9. Shady Gardener says

    August 30, 2011 at 2:26 am

    I guess I hadn't given much positive thought to clover in my lawn… I've been hard at the crab grass, though!! Can't keep it all from going to seed, but I can do my best! 🙂 Yours was an interesting post.

    Reply
  10. Dede says

    August 30, 2011 at 4:26 am

    Of course it wasn't until about 1945 that your evil friend and mine, Monsanto, introduced the arsenal of lawn chemicals that forced the USDA to re-update the update to the 'care of lawns' bulletin. And life in suburbia was never the same….

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Updates from Carol Michel

* indicates required
Email Preferences

Categories

  • Blog (3,048)
  • Internal (2)

Blog Tags

annuals Blogging books bulbs dr. hortfreud embrace fairies fall family flowers fruits garden bloggers bloom day garden bloggers book club garden design gardeners gardening gardening geek gardens hoes holidays hortense hoelove houseplants humor indoor gardening insects lawn letters to gardening friends perennials rabbits reviews Secrets seeds shrubs spring tools trees vegetable garden vegetable gardening vegetables weather weeding weeds when a gardener wildflower wednesday winter

The Gardenangelists Podcast with Dee Nash

Gardenangelists Podcast

Footer

Gardenangelists Podcast with Dee Nash

Gardenangelists Podcast

Connect

  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • maydreams icon

Quick Links

  • Home
  • Contact
  • Books
  • May Dreams Gardens
  • Podcast

Updates from Carol Michel

* indicates required
Email Preferences

Newsletter Archive

Copyright © 2023 · CarolJMichel.com · Sitemap · Privacy Policy

Book purchase links are affiliate links and Carol earns a small commission if you make a purchase.

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Do not sell my personal information.
Cookie SettingsAccept
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT