With winter nearly over and spring just around the corner, the urge to plant grass seed is hard to resist.

Fall is by far the best time to plant seed, and spring holds a close second, but dormant season planting in February or early March can actually yield a hardy 75 percent germination rate.

As with most plants, cool season grasses require three things to germinate: dirt, sunlight and moisture. Too much or too little of any of these three things will result in a less-than-stellar grass-growing experience.

Dormant season planting in February or early March can yield a hardy 75 percent germination rate.

Step 1: If possible, use a good, stiff rake to loosen the soil in the seeding area. If the ground is too frozen, consider mixing the grass seed with a little soil or seed starting medium before sowing it.

Step 2: Sow the seed onto the loosened soil and rake it in to ensure that dirt is touching at least three sides of each grain. Sowing seed directly to the ground before a good snow will increase the chances of germination in the spring. Snow serves as an insulating blanket and protects the seed from birds and other hungry critters. As an added bonus, the freezing and thawing cycle of winter’s end will actually work the seed into the ground and provide an ample amount of moisture for successful germination.

Step 3: Once temperatures begin to rise and the ground begins to thaw, monitor the weather closely. Keep the top half-inch of the soil moist but not wet. Typically, melting snow and spring rains will take care of the moisture requirements, but in dryer conditions, a few weekly waterings may be necessary.

Step 4: When spring arrives and nighttime temperatures remain above 50 degrees for 10 days to two weeks, the dormant seeds will begin to germinate. Continue to keep the soil moist until spring is in full swing.

Step 5: Once the seedlings are 3 to 4 inches tall, adjust the mower height to ensure that only the top 1 inch of the grass blades will be removed during its first mowing. After that, adhere closely to the one-third rule: remove no more than one-third of the total grass height with each consecutive mowing. In other words, if the grass is 3 inches tall, remove up to, but no more than, 1 inch of the blade when mowing.

— Have a home improvement question for the Fix-It Chick? Email it to Linda Cottin at features@ljworld.com.