Questions on how to get my lawn in shape

[triple digit golfer]

My wife and I are new homeowners in the Chicago area. Our lawn has several bare spots and the backyard in general is very thin.

I have several questions:

1. I will wait to overseed until the fall since I believe that's when seeding is generally recommended, but can I use a product like Scotts EZ Seed in the spring with success? Say mid-April? Or should we just deal with a thin lawn this season and do ALL seeding in the fall?

2. If the answer to #1 is that it is okay to seed the bare spots in the spring, I assume that it is recommended to use a starter lawn fertilizer with crabgrass preventer shortly after seeding. Is this correct? If so, when is the best time to do this? Immediately after seeding? Two weeks later? Can I use the starter lawn formula over my entire lawn for my first fertilization treatment of the season, or would I need to buy two fertilizers, one for the fresly seeded bare spots and one for the rest of the lawn?

3. Assuming that I do seed the bare spots in the spring, can I still use weed n feed fertilizer for my next treatment? I believe that it is safe as long as I've mowed the new grass spots at least a few times.

I've been doing my research but there is a lot of conflicting information out there! Basically, I have a lawn that is pretty thin and has bare spots. I'd like to seed the bare spots, take care of the entire lawn over the season, then aerate (if necessary?) and overseed in the fall around Labor Day.

Any advice and answers to my specific questions above is appreciated. Thank you!

[Pway]

Welcome to the forum! Others who have far more experience than me will chime in but I'll toss out a few thoughts. Most here recommend you decide your goals and how much you want to put into a lawn. A soil test from Logan Labs is a good first step if you have moderate or higher goals. Yes you can spot seed in the spring but as you point out, late summer is generally thought of as the best time to seed for cool season grasses. Most wouldn't use EZ Seed but again it depends on your goals. You can use a starter fertilizer with mesotrione and seed at the same time but other crab grass preventers will also prevent your spot seeding from germinating. Most feel weed and feed or combination products such as a fertilizer and herbicide don't work as well as separate applications. Most do not favor core aeration since it disturbs the soil and can bring up weed seed that has been dormant.

By the way, are you triple digit golfer of Bogelhead fame? If so, there are some real experts here akin to Livesoft. If not, sorry, disregard! There is a ton of good information in the article and threads on this site. The search engine is very good too and will help you build your knowledge in this area.

[Pennstater2005]

I don't know if you read this yet TDG but it is a good start. A nice lawn maintenance schedule.

http://aroundtheyard.com/index.php?opti ... Itemid=117

[Pennstater2005]

Bump for visibility and maybe some more veteran input.

[HoosierLawnGnome]

Dang I love the username, and totally relate.

Pennstater has good input - you're a veteran, no?!

Thin? How thin we talking? Tiny bare spots here an there the size of a softball? Pet damaged golf ball spots? Or when you say thin are you saying bare spots a foot in diameter, etc?

If it's just thin, or thin with a few spots here and there - thicken it up with a good fertilizer and watering program this spring. By memorial day you'll be amazed.

So - find yourself a good deal on milorganite. Apply at bag rate monthly April, May, June - or as often as your budget allows. Every two weeks would be even better - regular light doses of fertilizer is what I'm looking at.

Apply pre-emergent seperately from this when the forsythia blooms. Skip any bare spots bigger than a baseball you need to seed. Water it in with .25" or before a good rainstorm.

Get some nomix seed and bale of peat moss at the store for bare areas. Toss seed directly on dirt (not thatch), top dress with peat moss. Do this as soon as you want right now. Keep the spots moist - nice rain system coming through Indy the next week, maybe Chicago is the same.

Water that turf and inch a week all at once when mother nature doesn't oblige.

Mow it regularly - never more than 1/3 off at one cutting - keep it lower at the start (2-3") and let it out some towards summer. You might have to cut it twice a week for a month, especially since you'll be feeding it.

For the next level, get a soil test per the soil forum here and read up on the triangle approach to kill weeds .