Yeah, IÂm going to do a lot of researching and I plan to really give my lawn a good workout in the fall. The front lawn is obviously a mess right now, but as far as my back yard goes for just moving in thereÂs really not a whole lot that I can complain about. ItÂs relatively thick and dark green, and there appears to be very few weeds, although IÂm not familiar if that remains to be seen as the season progresses. All that being said, as Âdecent as the yard currently is, I feel thereÂs a lot more potential in there. The previous owner of the house was an older gentleman, and the neighbor took care of the yard for him. I gather from conversations with the neighbor that it was cared for, in a half-assed sort of way meaning that while it was occasionally seeded and fertilized, it was also mowed low, clippings were always bagged (for the neighbors own personal compost heap), and weeds were Âtaken care of by dumping spot-shot type chemicals. He definitely seems the nosey type, so heÂll probably be critical of every damn thing I do to it now that I own it, whatever. But anyway, just not knowing exactly how the lawn was maintained, IÂm curious as to how it would look after a few weeks of work. A few things I have in mind are core aeration and overseeding with a cool-season blend in the fall. ThereÂs a blend on there right now, which really doesnÂt bother me IÂm not particular about mis-matching grass, other than a few spots of fine fescue that look out of place in open areas. IÂm also very interested in learning more about and incorporating organic lawn care rather than being a slave to Scotts. Furthermore, I plan to get a soil sample tested by the extension office to see what exactly IÂm working with. As for now, IÂm just trying to get my feet wet by at least mowing down to only 3 1/8" and of course, trying to make my front yard look somewhat presentable! Thanks again guys, I can tell I have a lot to learn, but IÂm really eager to! Just so excited I finally have a lawn to take care of, haha

+1 Everybody KGB hands down for where you are for its stronger recuperative powers and enjoyment of bright sun. Overseeding in fall and/or patching the spots with small pieces of sod (in whatever month as long as it's not late fall or winter) will work well. KBG fills in, but we are talking about filling in 2-3" spots in a year - even under favorable conditions. Roundly true. In a given worn spot, not all the grass usually dies. Plus you get spreading from each point on the outside of the circle inwards. Somehow I managed to get a two foot incursion of bluegrass in two months (far exceeding the 3" per year given). I think I had more in the middle than I thought. Plus I have to cut six inches away from the gardens twice a year. The ground there tends to stay damper and cooler, and it gets fed very regularly from whatever runs off the gardens. Treat a worn spot well (keep it watered, fed, and as protected as possible) and you can get tillering far beyond the average and well into optimal territory.

When we put up our deck, we rented a motorized sod remover to tear out the sod so we coudl lay a stone bed. This was some of the best sod in our entire lawn. So I went to areas that weren't looking all that great, pulled up that sod and replaced it with the good stuff from where my deck was going. I had to water it every day until the roots took and held the sod in place. Now you really can't tell I did anything to the lawn except fix it. There are a few little valleys along the edges of the sod. For those areas I filled them in with compost prior to overseeding. They did still fall down a bit, but they look better. I figure I'll be leveling that gradually over time. I'm glad I did reuse the sod. The entire project was completed in an afternoon. I must say, the sod remover was a GREAT tool. Very easy to use and very quick. In any case, good luck with whatever you choose to do.

You want to get something that matches your existing lawn as closely as possible. Since we don't know what that is, an advice is going to be a complete guess. With that said - here is my guess :) I'd go to a store like Home Depot and look at the really big name companies - like Scotts. Pick one of the bags that are a blend of Kentucky Bluegrass, Perennial Rye, and Fine Fescue. That is the generic lawn mix for the northeast and will be your best bet. Do not follow the advice on some of the overseeding threads about finding the highest quality KBG on a mail order site. That would be great if you were redoing a whole lawn, but if you have the "average" lawn, you want the "average" seed to patch it with.