Punching holes in your grass now will make for a better looking yard this summer

If your lawn is looking less than stellar this spring, get it back in shape by aerating and overseeding.

Punching holes with an aerating machine breaks the compaction on the soil surface, improving drainage and allowing air moisture and nutrients to penetrate down to the rootzone. Overseeding will form a thicker, more attractive lawn, better able to compete with weeds.

Aerate your lawn during a relatively dry period when the soil is slightly moist but not wet. Start by mowing your lawn to about 2 inches high. Then rent an aerating machine (or hire someone to aerate your lawn) and punch about 12 gazillion holes in the turf. Apply a 50-50 mix by weight of perennial rye/fine fescue grass seed at about 2 pounds per 1,000 square feet and rake the seed into the aeration holes (seed that germinates on top of the sod layer rarely survives).

Fertilize with an organic lawn-starter fertilizer and water as necessary to keep the soil surface moist. Germination usually takes anywhere from 7 to 21 days.

Once the grass reaches three inches high, mow it to 2 inches. Your lawn will come back so beautifully that your biggest problem will be to keep neighbors from practicing golf on it.

Celebrating gardens at U Village

One of my favorite places to go to get ideas for container designs is University Village. The colorful combinations in the pots located throughout the mall are truly spectacular and include a lot of unusual plants.

On Saturday, you can also gain lots of fun new gardening ideas by attending the U Village's inaugural Village Green Garden and Patio event. Celebrate the first day of spring by meeting well-known garden experts who will share tips and tricks of spring gardening.

Speakers include Willie Galloway of Organic Gardening Magazine; Gillian Mathews, owner of Ravenna Gardens; and Adrianna Ruiz, the designer of the beautiful containers at U Village. I'll be there as well, sharing wisdom on everything from growing Brussels sprouts to attracting hummingbirds. There will also be plenty of activities for the wee ones.

The Village Green event runs from noon until 4 p.m. Visit www.uvillage.com/events.htm and click on "The Village Green" for a list of what's happening at the event.

Consider a rechargeable electric mower

One of the sure signs of spring is the sound of gas lawn mowers. You might be surprised however, to learn that 7 percent of the air pollution in our region is caused by those same mowers. In fact, most pollution experts agree that the number one thing home gardeners can do to help the environment is to get rid of their gas mower.

Unlike cars, gas mowers are not required to have anti-pollution devices. Mowing for one hour with a gas-powered lawn mower creates more pollution than driving from Safeco Field to the Tacoma Dome and back.

It is estimated that, nationwide, 17 million gallons of gas are spilled each year refueling lawn mowers. Do yourself and the environment a favor by purchasing a nonpolluting rechargeable electric mower. I've had mine for more than 5 years, and it still runs on the original batteries.

Electric mowers are much quieter, have plenty of power, and can mow well over an hour on a charge. Best of all, you'll never again have to store gas or perform oil changes. Visit http://your.kingcounty.gov/solidwaste/naturalyardcare/mower.asp to find out where you can recycle your gas mower.

Ciscoe Morris: ciscoe@ciscoe.com. "Gardening with Ciscoe" airs at 10 a.m. Saturdays on KING-TV.