Mowing in February can give you the first green lawn in the neighborhood

KANSAS CITY - Many of your neighbors are going to think you're crazy out mowing your lawn in the middle of February. But the difference between a good lawn and a great lawn begins with this important step right now.

That brown grass all over the top of your lawn is not dormant as a lot of people believe - it's actually dead. This layer of dead grass is like throwing leaves all over your lawn and covering the new grass from the sun. By mowing off this top layer you are exposing wonderful green grass to sunlight and opening things up to get the soil warming up on our nice days.

Drop your mower height down to 1.5 inches and mow your lawn. Be sure to pick up the clippings so you're not just leaving them all over the top of your grass again. It will shock you how green the turf is underneath - and your neighbors will be jealous of our little secret!

The good news is you won't have to mow again for another month or so – that will leave you plenty of time to get that spring tune-up for your lawnmower before the mowing season begins. See you next week!