I can't agree, depending on what it is you're asking...... All of my friends, above, have recommended KBG, because you have insisted that you want a lawn. You don't. A lawn is something (for the purposes of this discussion) that one of the ladies of the church might walk on, if she steps off of the sidewalk, on her way to the front door. Oh, my! You want something else entirely. You want something that will withstand kids. Thank you for not saying 'active kids', because if it were active kids, geeze, it would be an even worse situation. Then you mention a dog. That makes it worse. Actually, you mention 'dogs', plural, which makes it even worse than that. Thank you, for not saying 'and by the way, the kids interact with the dogs', because then you'd have about the worst situation possible. Unless you were to add "and after that, the dogs interact with the kids, and then the kids do their best to get even, and before you know it, everybody's chasing each other, and things can get a little crazy around here...." Geeze, thanks for not adding all of that. You are going to want to look up 'athletic field', or look up 'golf course', but you are surely not going to want to look up 'lawn'. (Church lady. Steps off of sidewalk. Forget it). When a two hundred pound guy grabs another two hundred pound guy, and drags him around in the dirt, on Sundays, in front of a crowd, and somebody applauds, and all these guys are running up and down the field, and they're knocking each other over, it's a little tough on the groundskeeper, and he's got to get it all repaired, by six days from today. Or a golf course, where these guys are swiping those clubs, and a little patch (called a 'divot' gets whooshed out of there, and there's a bare spot, two hundred times a day, and the groundskeeper has to make that bare spot repair itself, quickly, it's a little difficult. But one can change the line of approach to the fairway, and while the left side is repairing, we'll all play on the right side. But yes, it's a little difficult, to make it work. Those patches of grass (on both 'athletic fields' and 'golf courses'), difficult as they are, can repair themselves, because those patches get a little rest. A little break. A little down time. But not your place, babe. Nope. Is it three dogs and two kids, or is it three kids, and two dogs? No down time. No rest. Your magic word for today is "fertilizer". You might toss in 'water'. But the point is, you can't just add KBG to the yard, and figure you've got it knocked. You don't, and never will. KBG will repair itself, grow, spread out, rejuvenate, if it has a lot of fertilizer, and that does not mean a little bit of fertilizer. You could go over there, and ask the athletic field guys, or ask the golf course guys, for advice, but after you say 'three dogs and two kids', they're liable to be asking YOU for advice. Your place will have much more wear and tear than theirs will. They will be very interested in how you solve your problems, and theirs will be rather small, in comparison. You get the point: after some wear, the lawn needs the gumption to recuperate. It needs to have the energy, the FERTILIZER, to make that happen, and happen quickly, because more wear and tear is going to happen, coming right up, thank you, and even MORE is going to happen, right after that. So yes, you need KBG: it will repair itself, it will spread out, it's durable. But you need even more, FERTILIZER, to keep all of that happening, non-stop. Just like a sod farm: those guys take bare ground, every year, and from seed manage to fertilize, and the shoots grow into a dark green carpet of healthy lawn. It's the fertilizer, it's not the choice of seed. Lots of fertilizer. Light doses, fairly frequently applied. Grow, baby, grow. Non stop. You need three parts fertilizer, to one part Kentucky Blue Grass. Maybe four parts fertilizer, to one part Kentucky Blue Grass. Keep it growing, non stop, because that patch of ground is not going to get any rest. And go ahead, go over there to the golf course....you can say, with admiration, 'two hundred golfers, with a thousand spectators, and a week later, it looks this good?'.....I got news for you: that guy is going to look at you, with admiration, and he's going to say "Did you say three dogs, and two kids, or did you say three kids, and two dogs?" Good luck with it.

The broadleafed weed killer should have done in the vine you speak of. Since you don't know what it is I suggest you dig some of it up and take to your local garden nursery to better identify it and what best treats it. There are a number of vining weeds that bear reddish flowers....bindweed and black medic among them. No doubt you may have creeping charlie somewhere in the mix too. Creeping charlie is something that is difficult to be rid of but the most effective way is to pull it up by hand and overseed, letting the grass around it grow taller and shade it out. If this is a "new" homesite, then you may well have a soil under your lawn that is not particularly suited to its growing well. Most construction sites bury all kinds of things not conducive to growing plants in. You might dig up the area of the graying grass, feel the soil there, does it feel as though water has been given it. Many times a combo grass seed may grow one of the mixes moreso than the other and may show up a different color, different texture. Maybe you can just overseed the area after laying down a 1" cover of compost or topsoil. It is fast approaching the time that grass grows best with temperatures that are falling. Since you reside in a Home Ownership Association enclave, you might consult with neighbors who may have experienced the same difficulties you are experiencing.

I believe that is one of bic9's golf greens. That is nice!! Modern organic fertilizers have no salt. Bic9 may be under the influence of the old style (Rodale school) of fertilizers made from composted cattle dung or even uncomposted cattle dung. That's not the case anymore, except for the Rodalians still clinging to compost. Modern bagged commercial organic fertilizer is practically salt free. If you buy raw ground grains at the feed store, those might have salt added to make it palatable to livestock, but not enough to make a difference. A few years ago morpheuspa tried to overdose his lawn with organic fertilizer by applying, if I'm not mistaken, 50 pounds per 1,000 square feet every week for the entire growing season. He has not mentioned any salt build up during that time, but it would be an interesting question to ask him. Definitely time to mow the tall bermuda. You'll scalp it at first, but that's okay. Take it down gradually, one notch lower every 3-4 days until you're at the bottom notch. Then raise it up one notch. Shampoo is used to soften hard soil. Core aeration is also used to soften hard soil. The difference is that core aeration seldom works, but shampoo seems to work every time. It works by breaking the surface tension of the water allowing it to soak in deeper and faster into the soil. The deeper moisture extends the time for evaporation which keeps the soil a little cooler over a longer time. That cooler and moister soil is the perfect environment for the beneficial fungi which do the work of softening your soil. It takes them a few weeks to repopulate the soil, but when they do, they redevelop your soil structure opening up bazillions of microscopic pores for air and water to penetrate. They swell when moist to push the soil particles apart. They shrink when dry to allow air and water in more easily. You asked, so sorry for the biology discussion. Shampoo is not a trick. Surfactants have been used for generations only on sports fields, because the only surfactants thought to work were very expensive. Well, when you boil it all down, shampoo is a surfactant almost identical to the expensive ones. Shampoo only costs you a few cents to try it. The rate is 3 ounces per 1,000 square feet. Use any shampoo you can see through. Apply the shampoo and follow up with 1/2 to 1 inch of water. If it is not soft the next time it rains or you water deeply, apply it again. I applied to my lawn twice in 2011 and it still gets almost too soft to walk on after it rains. If you want to check how hard or soft your soil is, try sticking a screwdriver into it now, before you spray, and a couple weeks after you spray. If you do that before and after core aeration you'll find no difference, but with shampoo you'll definitely see a difference.

Don't do any of those things. Let the grass that has germinated continue to grow. Cut back on the watering frequency but start increasing the volume per session. You want to slowly start transitioning to watering only once a week (and watering for a long enough time to put down 1 inch of water as measured by a rain gage or tuna can). Cut it when it's 3 inches tall to a height of 2 inches; make sure it (and the soil) is dry on that day! After the first cut, raise your mower blade height to the highest setting (ideally 3.5 to 4 inches). That is the height you want the fescue to be maintained at. Never cut off more than 1/3 off at once (so cut when it's about 5 inches tall). Because your lawn is new ... And because you made the big mistake of planting in the spring, you WILL get weed pressure. Resist the urge to apply any herbicide. Your grass will weaken as a result. Resist the urge, resist the urge, resist the urge. Fall is the ideal time to plant fescue, but what's done is done and you will be throwing money away by spraying herbicide. Resist the urge. On Memorial Day, think about putting down an application of lawn food. I wouldn't recommend any Turf Builder or other synthetic fertilizer until the fall, but organics are great. I like Milorganite personally because it's safe for kids/animals and won't burn the lawn. Give it another dose of organic lawn food on July 4th. Once the lawn your put down has established, you might be surprised how well the bare spots will fill in. (Even with fescue.) deep and infrequent watering + mowing high and often is the recipe for success. For any bare spots that you are still unhappy with come September, save yourself some trouble and just buy a jug of Scotts EZ Seed. It should match the Scotts tall fescue that you put down already. It's meant for patching and it's kind of goof proof.