Step 1: Watch an Overview Video

Step 2: Learn When to Feed the Lawn

At minimum, feed your lawn in early spring and early fall. It's also good to feed the lawn in late winter and midsummer. Each feeding serves a different purpose in helping grass to grow. Spring feedings help to build tillers or side shoots that help fill in bare spots in the lawn.

Midsummer feedings make a lawn more drought resistant. Fall feeding helps grass build more side shoots and underground stems to thicken up the lawn. Late winter feeding aids the lawn in early greening and building roots.

By far the single most important feeding of the year is in early fall.

With minimal effort and seasonal care, soon your lawn will be the talk of the neighborhood!

Step 3: Select a Spreader Based on Yard Size

For average sized yards, a drop-type spreader (image 1) that deposits materials directly onto the lawn works best.

For larger lawns you want a broadcast-type spreader (image 2). This type spreads a nice wide swath, but be careful to avoid spreading on garden beds, as you don't want to kill any delicate bedding plants.

Next, select a quality weed and feed product that clears out the weeds at the same time it fertilizes the grass. Be sure to use a time-release type product. These prolong feedings and won't burn the grass. Weed and feed products vary according to application season.

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Step 4: Choose a Weed Control Product

Because weed-control products work through the foliage, the more granules that actually stick to the weed's leaves, the better the control. So make sure you choose a product made up of tiny particles, like that in poly-form fertilizers.

Try to avoid products with large granules because they will often fall off the leaves onto the soil -- and that won't control your weed problem.

Before applying your weed and feed product, take a look at the application instructions. Some products work best when the lawn is damp, while others work when the grass is dry.

When it comes to nutrition, be sure to feed your lawn with a weed and feed at least two times a year -- in the early spring and in the early fall, although once a season is best.