Did you use the milorganite at the recommended bag rate? Because it looks like it hasn't been fertilized in a year. The dark green spots are likely where your dogs pee and turn the grass green. When it is properly fertilized you won't see those spots. During the summer, for the weeks you did not receive a full inch of rain, you should have supplemented the rainfall to get the rest of the inch. When the high temps are barely making 90, then you can go to once every 2 weeks. These water apps should be a full inch all at one time so it soaks down deep. The beauty of an organic regimen is you don't need a schedule. But as a minimum you should fertilize 3x per year. Once in late spring (Memorial Day is good), once in early fall (Labor day is good), and once in late fall (Thanksgiving is good). The normal application rate for a grain type organic fertilizer is 20 pounds per 1,000 square feet. Grain type fertilizers come from grains. SHOCK! Grains include corn and wheat but also beans like soybean and other plants like cottonseed and alfalfa. These are distinguished from the animal matter fertilizers including blood meal, meat meal, fish meal, and others. Another class of organic fertilizer is the animal byproducts like feathers and dung. These work completely opposite from each other but I've put them together just for classification here. Grain type ferts should be used at somewhere between 20 and 50 pounds per 1,000 square feet. Animal products should be used more like 5 pounds per 1,000. Feathers can go on at any rate as they don't decompose very quickly - at least until you have used them for a year or so. Something like poultry litter works well as an additive to other organic fertilizers. Use it at the rate of the other fertilizer schedule. Can you overdo organic fertilizer? No. One of the gurus on another forum wanted to increase the amount of organic matter in his soil, so he applied 50 pounds of Milorganite and soybean meal every weekend all summer long. The only thing that happened is his lawn became the best lawn on the planet for 5 months. Actually it was the best for 12 months because it remained green all through the year. So basically you and your wallet can come up with your own plan. I would use 3 apps per year as a minimum. Grain type organics will not burn so you can use them any day, or every day, of the year. I would get the grass fertilized and get the watering under control before doing anything about the weeds. Once the grass is greened up and the weeds, too, then you can spot spray the weeds with Weed-b-Gone Chickweed, Clover, and Oxalis liquid. That's the full name. After you get the weeds out, the KBG should fill in and help keep them out. The infrequent watering mentioned above will help keep them out. Mulch mow weekly at a minimum of 3 inches. I've seen KBG mowed at 4 and really like the look. Taller grass holds the water longer and has deeper roots to go get it. It also helps keep weeds out by shading the ground better.

I have a pretty nice lawn, yet I find grubs any time I dig into the grass. A lawn in reasonable health can support a lot of grubs without showing any ill effects, and the grubs in turn support birds, etc. Keep in mind that insecticides can be pretty toxic not just to grubs but also to more beneficial insects, birds, and even people. Why use an insecticide that isn't needed? Instead I would recommend that you fertilize. Each spring I apply a standard lawn fertilizer without any herbicides or pesticides (weed 'n' feed and similar products contain herbicides, insecticides, etc.) and the lawn stays pretty nice. Despite my very poor soil, the grass usually outgrows the weeds. This approach gives me a lawn that looks nive, covers the ground, and contains no harmful chemicals (except the fertilizer, which is used sparingly). I do occasionally pull a few weeds, or you could spot-treat the weeds as needed with a selective herbicide. This would get the job done while using a lot less chemical. Similarly, if you find you really have a grub problem, treat only the problem areas and see how that works. I think the goal should be to create a sterile lawn that supports only grass, but instead to have a nice looking lawn that still supports insects, birds, and maybe even a weed or two (as long as they aren't too conspicuous) without using excess chemicals. The world is already way too polluted with chemicals; I try not to make it any worse though blanket application of chemicals that aren't really needed.

Synthetics are things like Scott's or Vigoro (although both companies also make organic fertilizers). They're usually white or white with bright green bits, and generally get applied in the 3 to 6 pound per thousand square feet range. These fertilizers are (usually) salt based (although urea can also be used, which isn't a salt). Urea itself is a crossover. It's an organic molecule, but in use the amounts that go down and the general strength is more in the synthetic range. Blood meal would also fall into this range. Neither urea nor blood meal enhance the soil as classical organics would. Organics are Milorganite, grains, feather meal, and so on. Colors vary, and the amounts applied generally range from 10 to 20 pounds per thousand square feet. Which one to use is always an interesting argument. Properly applied, there's nothing wrong with a synthetic, but it's wise to keep a closer eye on your soil chemistry when feeding synthetically. They'll tend to deplete your soil a little more than organics will, leading to a see-saw effect. Organics are a lot more wide open, although soil testing is also a good idea. Although I gave optimal dates for correct feeding, there's really no wrong time to apply organics (except maybe on frozen ground). If you want to feed now, organic is your only option--it's too early for synthetics and they'd be an additional stress on the lawn. Overseeding is done when daytime temperatures are just dropping off their summer highs, to about three weeks later. For you, that's in a week or so, all the way through very early September.

1. WEEDING + Apply pre-emergent in Fall and spring a) ***can I address current spring weeds now any other way besides by hand pulling? Yes, you can apply herbicide. b) ***does a general herbicide attack crabgrass, dandelions, and some other weeds? Yes. For crabgrass, look for quinclorac in the ingredient list, not all herbicides have it. c) ***if an area is heavily weeded, should I additionally re-seed it? Not until Fall. Use RoundUp to kill them all in the summer. Water the area and kill whatever germinates again. Then seed in the fall. 2. FERTILIZING -fertilize in September a) ***is fertilizing advisable any other time of year/summer? Depending on your type of grass you should do another two rounds of fertilizer in the fall, one when the grass is still green but no longer growing and one in between. 3. MOWING -mow weekly, using a mulching mower set on high (height) setting, do not bag grass. Mow as often as necessary to only remove 1/3 of blade length in any mowing session. May be every 3 days or every 2 weeks. 4. WATERING -when 70s or below, water 1x per month, deeply (1-inch of water). -when 80s, water 2x per month, deeply -when 90s+, water weekly, deeply It's a good rule of thumb but neither the weather nor the grass are going to cooperate with that schedule. I would water deeply when the grass shows signs of drought stress and forget about the schedule. 5. SEEDING -seed bare patches as needed. a) ***can I do this any time of year? You can but shouldn't, seeding is best done in the fall. 6. ORGANICS a) ***it may be a good idea to mulch into the lawn the many oak leaves that we get in the fall instead of blowing/raking them. Correct? Correct