Just a little care now can make a big difference later in the season.
STEP 1: Aerate
Compacted soil is hard for water, air and roots to penetrate, and that makes it hard for grass. A core aerator is best and can be rented for about a half a day and should cost around $40. This machine resembles a large tiller and uses steel tubes to take plugs of soil from the lawn. Aerating once a year reduces compaction and increases the vigor of your lawn.
Warning: This machine is self-propelled and strong, which makes it a little hard to handle.
STEP 2: Mow the old grass low
Those with cool-season grasses (bluegrass, fescue, or perennial ryegrass) can skip this part. But those with warm-season grasses (Bermuda, centipede, St. Augustine, or Zoysia) need to mow that old, brown grass low at the end of winter to remove thatch, an accumulation of dead stems and leaves. Heavy thatch prevents water and nutrients from reaching the roots and promotes disease.
STEP 3: Weed prevention
As the temperatures reach 70 degrees, seeds of lawn weeds sprout. Stop them by applying a pre-emergence lawn weed preventer, such as Scotts Halts Crabgrass Preventer. When watered in, it forms a barrier atop the soil to keep weeds from sprouting (don’t aerate after you put down the chemical, or you will break the barrier).
However, if you are sowing grass seeds this spring, don’t put down any weed-preventing product. Weed preventers keep grass from coming up, too. Spring is the best time to take care of the grass you already have and to control weeds. If possible, hold off on seeding until fall. This is the best time to grow grass. Spring-sown grass usually cannot root well enough to get through the hot summer.