Sharpen Up: Beat the rush to the hardware store and get shovels, hoes and pruners sharpened to a fine edge. Splurge and buy a second mower blade so you'll have a new, sharp blade on the mower while the second is being sharpened. Turf mowed with a dull blade injures the grass and opens the door to disease and costly corrective action.

If you're putting in a new lawn, had problems last year growing your favorite vegetables or are putting in a new bed, soil testing provides the feedback to help you determine what fertilizers and soil conditioners are necessary for optimum results. Your county Cooperative Extension Service has done a lot of the work for you already. It offers information on what soil types are generally found in your area and can recommend plant varieties and turf management options. Contact them for soil test fees and procedures.

If you need them, contact commercial landscapers and landscape professionals early in the season to avoid the wait list. When putting in a new lawn, make arrangements early for sod delivery or be prepared to buy sod as soon as it is delivered to garden centers. Accept only moist sod rolls, rejecting any that have yellowed turf or dry roots. Make a resolution to keep notes on the garden and plantings. A small pad of paper kept in a plastic bag with the hand tools is all that's necessary to remember just which peony needed more sun and needs to be moved come autumn.

Try to jot down some of your successes and failures from last year. This information can be a valuable guide to this year's garden.

One last chore before you're ready: Sort garden chemicals and properly dispose of all the outdated or unused chemicals according to label instructions. Check the lock on your chemical storage area to assure that kids or pets have no access.

The Fun Begins: Hands-on gardening starts when the soil contains no ice crystals and a handful crumbles easily. No cheating here. Walking on or working in soil that is too wet causes compaction, driving the air out of the soil and bonding particles together.

When opening a new garden bed, dig it to about eight inches, removing clods and stones as you go. Add no more than 1 1/4 inches of organic matter (compost or aged barnyard manure) plus any other fertilizers or supplements that the soil analysis recommends, and dig in evenly.

Try hard to refrain from planting seeds or setting in early-spring vegetable or flower transplants for an additional week. Instead, lightly rake the soil each day to dislodge sprouting weeds.

To Plant or Not to Plant When is it the right time to plant? That depends on weather, soil conditions and what you're planting. Bare root shrubs, roses and trees can go in when the soil is workable. While the soil is cool, their roots begin to grow. These are generally less expensive than container grown plants. Buy top grade roses, trees and shrubs. They could be part of your landscape far after the mortgage is paid off.

Cold-weather loving plants, like spinach, peas (both the decorative and edible varieties) and ornamentals such as pansies, can withstand some frost. But hold off on putting in peppers and tomatoes without protective devices around them until there is no hint of frost on the horizon. Ask at the garden center or Cooperative Extension office when the last expected frost generally occurs.

Plan to prune early-flowering shrubs, like forsythia and lilac, as soon as blooms fade. Next year's flowers have set within 10 days of the end of the bloom, so timing is important. Some flowers either die completely or lose their foliage when warm weather arrives. The same thing happens in the kitchen garden. Spinach and lettuce make way for warm season crops like squash and corn. Set a plan early to incorporate changes, and the garden will be always useful and colorful.

-- by Catherine Fenner, reprinted courtesy of HomeAdvisor.com