Have you just moved into a new house with no lawn? Resist the urge to grade and quickly seed or sod this spring. The reason for this is that the soil must settle or be compacted after grading. Each foot of soil moved could settle up to two inches resulting in a rough lawn in a year or two. Plus the topsoil will quickly settle around the pea gravel, dry wall, insulation, and other buried surprises (see the accompanying turf tip “Bumpy Lawn?”). To minimize future problems, have the lawn professionally graded now including the final finish grade. Then seed a cover crop like perennial ryegrass, which will limit erosion and weed infestation, but still allow the soil to settle. After irrigation and hopefully rainfall that will settle the soil all summer, kill the perennial ryegrass in late July, lightly till and/or regrade the areas that have settled, and seed or sod Kentucky bluegrass in August. You’ll be much happier in the long run by taking the extra time to do it right now.