First the good news. It's spring. Now the bad news. It's soon time to mow the lawn.

Since most of us don't have goats and sheep foraging around our house, it's up to us nibble away at the tasks that 1) will yield glorious lawns and 2) will create a healthier environment for our family and neighbors.

You may, though, have to butt a few heads, including your own. Some think it's a lot easier to achieve instant gratification by continuing to dump harmful chemicals on your lawn than it is to take the plunge and go "O" or organic. Before you go out and buy the non organic fertilizers, do check out Paul Tukey's website www.safelawns.org and see what much of the rest of the country is up to.

Then there's the virtue thing, highly underrated and underutilized, but just think how virtuous you will feel if you follow these steps and even work on your golf game at the same time!

1. Clear away winter debris.
2. Rake your lawn (no blisters, please, so wear gloves).
3. Put on your golf cleats and work on your golf swing as you aerate your lawn.
4. Order compost from a local seller and broadcast it onto your lawn (while you're at it do your garden too) and rake it in. (This helps the golf game by working out the triceps.) Any residual dirt seeps into the lawn within a week or so.
5. Spot-seed areas that need a bit more help; keep the patches moist to encourage seeds to germinate.
6.  Apply corn gluten as a weed suppressor.  This is an organic alternative to weed control.  The rule of thumb is to apply it when forsythia blooms, so wait until then.  A note of caution, don't spread it around grass seed or in areas where you want flower seeds to sprout.   
Mother Nature needs all the coddling we can give her. www.WoodstockGardenClub.org