Yes . . . . . , I know you're frustrated by how bad your lawn looks right now!



However, it's not realistic to expect it to appear emerald green, below, this early here in Central New York. In fact, your lawn can't really start looking better until it actually starts growing - which could easily be the end of the month.

Also, more importantly, it's quite possible the reason it looks so bad is that year, after year, after year, after year, you do the same things - apply weed n' feed, overseed with a lawn patch product, below, then apply dandelion weed killer - over, and over, and over again, IN THE SPRING!



STOP IT!

Spring is never a good time of year to fertilize your lawn because the fertilizer will stimulate excessive top growth at the expense of root growth - which is the opposite of what you want at this time of year.

Also, when you apply fertilizer plus weed control products, eighty to ninety percent of the herbicide (i.e., "weed killer") is applied to parts of your lawn where weeds are NEVER a problem - so you end up paying for stuff you don't need!

Finally, the Kentucky bluegrass and fine fescue seed you sow this weekend won't germinate until almost Mother's Day. Then, by the time the resulting seedlings really start to grow, it'll be Memorial Day weekend, which is soon followed by hot, dry weather in June that will KILL most of the grass seedlings!

Therefore, much of the grass seed you sow now will never result in vigorous grass plants - which will doom you to sowing more grass seed, i.e., WASTING MORE MONEY, next spring!



The only thing you should be doing right now is getting your mower tuned up and its blade(s) sharpened, above, so that it's ready to go as soon as your lawn reaches four inches in height. Do not cut your lawn short the first mowing as this will allow more sunlight to reach the soil surface that, in turn, will trigger more weed seed to germinate!

You may think I make this stuff up, but it’s the same message turf experts at Cornell University, Purdue University, the University of Minnesota and others have been preaching for years!

For month-by-month instructions on how to care for your lawn, click here to download copies of my "Central New York Lawn Care Guide," my "Recommended Lawn Care Product Guide," my "Lawn Seeding and Renovation Guide," and my "Terry's Best Sunny and Shady Lawn Seed Mix" fact sheets.

You may have heard Joe Galuski and I kidding around earlier this morning regarding garden hoes, not . . . . . . . . !

To clarify, Joe mentioned how the landscape weed barrier fabric that he had put down while installing some new landscape plantings a few years back, wasn't doing a very good job of keeping weeds at bay. After chastising him for not listening more closely to me on the "Weeder's Digest," I explained how landscape fabrics are absolutely one of the worst possible landscape/garden products ever introduced!

These fabrics are not cheap to buy, they're expensive to apply, and they plain DON'T WORK! (Can you tell I'm getting a little worked up?)

Rather, among the various options for managing weeds in landscape and garden plantings, I suggested that Joe invest in a diamond hoe!



Along with my pair of Felco handpruners, 6" folding pruning saw, and perennial spade (all topics for future posts), this is an absolute must have tool! If you keep all four edges sharp with a mill file or Dremel-type tool, you can weed very large garden beds in a relatively short time without killing yourself!

For more information on this outstanding tool, click here to go to a page devoted to this tool on my website. And, click here to watch an episode of my TV show, "Garden Journeys," right on your computer where I'll show you exactly how to use a diamond hoe!