Fun in the Sun -- Well not really, but . . .

There are only 24 days until Spring.  Although you can't go out and do a heck of a lot in the yard yet, you yearn for all things summer (including the yard work at this point).
There are a few things you could and should do.  The lawnmower should be inspected.  Check the oil, if it needs to be changed, do it now.  Sharpen the blade or have it sharpened.  If it's a little old, you could give it a fresh coat of paint.  Check the tires, and axels.  Lubricate moving parts, check cables and wires; if it is self-starting, you could get a charge in the battery.  Check under the lawnmower and see if you can remove any built-up grass there from last summer which can cake up on the underbelly of the thing.  Check all nuts and bolts -- make sure nothing is loose.   Although it seems like an oxymoron, you'll enjoy mowing your lawn (for the first time at least :-)   ) with a clean, mean, mowing machine.

FEED YOUR ROOTS
 Those numbers in Fertilizer -- what do they mean -- and should I fertilize my lawn now?
I think of an ice-cream Sundae (which is always good after mowing the lawn on a sultry day).  N-P-K
and although the letters don't match the word, the mnemonic device I use is "NUTPICKER"
That said,  nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium  {{remember high school chemistry:  symbol for potassium is "K"}} are the three elements of a fertilizer.  The three numbers on a bag of fertilizer will not add up to 100% because there are trace elements of other nutrients in all fertilizer, minerals, and filler products are inherent.  The first number "N" (nitrogen) helps your lawn produce more chlorophyll which makes for a beautiful green lawn.  Right now, "N" is not the number you want to be high.  You want to concentrate on the roots at this point.  The "P" (phosphorus) is the key element in root nutrition, but is also key to bloom development -- this is for establishing plant -- but the "K" (potassium) also helps in many ways to the development of the root system.  So in a nut-picker shell you want to apply a fertilizer that is low in nitrogen.  
Check out your lawn and if there are bare spots or sparse areas, now is a good time to set some seed.  Do not use a weed-and-feed fertilizer at this point because it will kill your new grass you planted in those problem areas.  Get ready for that first cook-out!  :-)

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