3 Steps to a Great Spring Lawn

Step 3: Stop weeds.

As the temperature reaches 70°, seeds of lawn weeds sprout. Stop them by applying, in late winter, a pre-emergence lawn weed preventer such as Scotts Halts Crabgrass Preventer, Vigoro Ultra Turf Pre-emergence Crabgrass and Weed Control, or Green Light 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'll break the barrier.)

However, if you're sowing grass seeds this spring, don't put down any of these products, since weed preventers keep grass seeds from coming up, too.