Fall is the only time to seed. To improve the germination you should roll the seed down with a water roller after putting it down. Then water 3x daily as best you can.

That's a lot of acres to have in grass. Looks like you have some profile to it instead of just flat. There's nothing less interesting that 3 acres of perfectly flat grass.

2 acres is a lot of fescue. Why not put some KBG into it?

Best soil test in the world is Logan Labs in Ohio. Their $20 test is better than the $100 tests at the universities. There aren't any good soil tests you can do yourself. But first I would worry about fixing the soil. The best way to fix questionable soil is to get grass growing in it. Next best way is to apply expensive compost ($35 to $80 per 1,000 square feet) or inexpensive organic fertilizer ($2.50 to $5,00 per 1,000 square feet). Alfalfa pellets (rabbit chow) are my favorite organic fertilizer for 2013.

If this is a situation where you will have trouble keeping it watered, maybe you should be looking into some local prairie grasses. Plant them right and mow them and they look just like a lawn. The good thing is they need much less water, mowing, and fertilizer.

Thanks for your response. The reason I have Fescue is because it was recommended by the hydro-seeder for its drought tolerance and holding up in our acreage life style. I will say the grass we have going has done great through the drought. When all the neighborhood turned brown our lawn still looked decent where we had good grass. It also seems to have a longer active season.

I don't know that much about grass varieties but have avoided mixing grass because I did not want color/style variations throughout the yard.

As far as fertilizer even your cheapest method is not really cheap. At $5.00 (high end) per 1000 SF that's $400. If its successful I am OK with that but sure can't afford to do it several times per year :)

I have the north part of land growing pretty well. Just trying to kill all the weeds. The only part I am really worried about now is the acre around the house. I can only run 3 sprinklers at a time so its an all day deal to water. But watering an acre of grass is easier than watering an acre of dirt with grass starting. Any where the dirt shows the sun cooks the moisture out of the dirt. That said its getting easier as time goes on.

I cant see that sending soil away to have it tested is not an option for me. As I said the dirt is going to be totally different every 20' around here.

So for now I just think I need to really commit to growing grass in the fall and work hard at it and work in some fertilizer as you mentioned. I will check out the pellets.