I live in Austin and my grass is brown, too. It is because it has been so dry this winter. We haven't had a good rain since November 25th. It should start greening up soon and if we get a good 1" rain, it will really explode!

A good rule of thumb for fertilization is to apply after the second or third mowing, when the grass is actively growing.

As a general rule than fertilization would not be til April at the earliest but I have people coming in thinking because they heard the advert on the boob tube that they need to fert now. Ignore the tv it is not time to fert the lawn yet!!!!! Just because it is on TV don't make it true!
Happy Growing David

If your yard is green now, then it is full of weeds! Better to be brown.

The advice given for fertilizers applies to synthetic fertilizers only. Organic fertilizer can be applied any time.

Instead of using leaf blower to blow leaves away, use the lawn mower to mulch leaves down so nutrients can be recycled back into the ground. Please never bag leaves. Always mulch mow them. They will disappear soon enough.