The winter weather curse of the groundhog is about to expire. It's March. There is hope.

Establishing new lawns is one of those tasks best done early if that is on this spring's agenda. The best time to start grass seed is the fall. The next best time is as soon as the ground is fit in the spring.

If the budget permits, and mine won't, laying sod is a great path to a new yard. You can get an almost instant lawn and, with the availability of water, you have a much wider window on the calendar to work.

Most of us will resort to seeding. Before you get to the seed, think about pH, fertilizer and soil condition. Most grass thrives with a pH of near 6.5. That is an easy number to hit in this area. A soil test would be a good idea. If it's low, add lime and incorporate before planting.

Unfortunately, great lawns are heavy consumers of fertilizer. Again, let the soil test be your guide with fertilizer. A leveled, raked, rock and weed-free site is a prime consideration.

When you are ready to seed, think about seed selection. I use a not-too-distant seed store and usually go in equipped with the sun/shade and wet/dry description of the site. I return with a seed mix right for my conditions.

Usually it is best to get a seed mix. I will continue with a brief overview of the seeds typically found in seed mixes for our area.

I'm a big fan of perennial rye grass. It's stands up to foot traffic and heat. It usually germinates in less than a week and fills in well. Normally it comprises about 20% of a typical grass mix except for shady locations.

Kentucky bluegrass is another persistent and attractive lawn grass. It spreads well forming a dense mat. It also recovers well from weather stress. In a mix, it frequently is about one half. Over-seeding thin spots with perennial rye grass also works well.

Several drawbacks with bluegrass is that it does not like short mowing, is rather slow to germinate and is of quite variable quality and habit in the trade. That's a good reason to shop carefully.

There are a number of fine fescues for the shady sites and as part of a general mix. This component of a good mix is best in shade, low traffic areas and away from heavy moisture. Often it is about a third of a mix.

Seeding rates vary with the variety or mix selected. Herbicides need to be avoided.

Once the seed is on the ground, a very light raking followed by a light rolling is beneficial. The important word here is light and I admit I usually get good results skipping this step.

A very light mulch of straw will also hold moisture and speed germination. That's another step I usually forget without many problems.

Don't get in a hurry to mow a new seeding and set the mower a bit higher until the new planting is well established. Keep the blades sharp.

I had great success with some very late seeding last fall. Hope to do a bit more and fix up a few spots (where I was too late last fall) within several weeks.