To answer "Have you fertilized yet this spring?" question. I did not explain this in my original post; but I was trying to go the organic route. So since last fall I have been using Alfalfa, SBM and applying compost tea etc. This season I have applied two application of CGM at 10 lb/1k. First one when forsythia just started to bloom and second one after 9-10 days when forsythia was in full bloom. Based on what I have read, CGM does work as a fertilizer, it just takes 3 weeks to go into effect. The results also depend on how good soil biology you have got. Since I just started following organic practices last year, its very much possible I don't have good balance in the soil yet. I guess after going through all this, I have kind of concluded that for a new lawn, at least for first year you should take help of chemicals and once you get thick turf established then you gradually move into organics. I think "gradually" is the key. If you have been following organic practices since long time, then its different story. I hope this is not going start some big debate.. Having said that based on Auteck's suggestion I am going to give it a quick dose of nitrogen. I am hoping that boost will give some more strength to grass to help win the battle with weeds. Bestlawn, yes I do want to overseed this fall. In fact I have enough leftover from last year to do this overseeding. While googling, on Dowagro website I read 'one application of Dimension will give 120 days of control'. On another website someone had posted a label from a bag and it said you can do overseeding after 8 weeks. So It seems ok to put Dimension. Worst case I will have to do overseeding in Sept instead of Aug. I will have to ask Lesco guy when I go to buy it. Anyone has a bag who can answer this here? I will keep those pic at Picasa. No problem. Thanks.

I'm in NJ as well and when my house was completed my builder seeded grass with rye/fescue/kbg mix. It didnt fill in that well and I liked the way KBG looked so in the front of my house I kept reseeding with just KBG mixes and the back of my house with rye/fescue/kbg mix. So I think I was exactly in the same boat as you. My front looks great and it was a good thing that it was originally seeded with the mix because there is one area in the back that gets a lot of shade and KBG didnt take there but fescue did and it looks great. The rest where there is more sun fades from fescue to mostly KBG but the transformation from one to the other is unnoticable from the street. My neighbor across the street got his house built after mine and my front yard looks better then his $2000 sod. Now my backyard was originally seeded with rye/fescue/kbg mix and reseded with that as I'm still trying to get it as thick as my front yard. It looks fine but nowhere near as good as my front yard. It also doesnt require the amount of maintenance the front does and it seems to be more resistant to kid abuse. I guess what I'm trying to say its all relative to your situation and what you are trying to do. I wanted my front to be mostly KBG as it looks better but it took forever to establish and it takes more work to maintain. Not a problem for me as a like working on it. The existing mix that was seeded might not be a bad base as it will cover any places that are shaded where kbg wont grow (I dont know your yard so thats really up to you) but it wont be as uniform as the pictures posted by pure KBG owners. Tall fescue stands out in KBG and you will definitely notice it. Now my backyard didnt have to be nice but more drought and abuse resistant. Thats exactly what it is plus it doesnt require as much work. So it all worked out well for me and I got what I wanted. I have nice lawn in the front and decent but resistant and low maintenance lawn in the back. Everyones situation is different and you have to take it all with a grain of salt and decide on your own. I dont know what your lawn looks like now, how much time and money you want to spend and what kind of final quality are you looking for. Either way good luck and I hope it turns out good.

Jen, I don't think you're going to have a problem. You may have an ulcer, but not a problem with the lawn. Here's the deal: once you get grass seed onto dirt (good soil to seed contact), it's pretty hard to get that stuff NOT to germinate. Same with weed seeds, when you think about it. They'll sit there, and pick up some moisture, and bingo! We have germination. And after germination, the grass will likely grow, assuming some sort of fertilization, some sort of moisture, and a lack of traffic on the lawn. It just plain happens, and it would be hard to prevent it from happening. Oh, you want it NOW? Oh, you want it to happen more or less immediately? Gee, that's a little tougher: you'd have to 'optimize' that seeding process, and get almost all of the seed into contact with the soil, and then moist, at the same time, all of it. Oh, you want to be able to prevent the seeds from accidentally drying out, and thus losing a few? Oh, well, then, you'd have to either get lucky with mother nature, and the moisture thing (July should be avoided, eh?), and you'd have to be careful on your watering (NO puddles. NO puddles), or you'd have to put a little something down for a mulch, to try and keep things moist, keep things from evaporating quickly. Oh, you want things to move along, more or less as you planned? No intermittent problems, those things that always seem to come up, with any huge project? You wanted a small project? Well, that's not what you started. Nope. As you figured out, a lawn renovation is a HUGE project. So small-project expectations will not apply. (Hah! In SPADES, babe.) And then there's the Rolaids. Not really needed. Patience helps. A lot. So does keeping the kids, dogs, hoses, and other traffic off those seedlings. But let's work on the "attitude" or "expectation" thing for just a moment, in hopes that I can convince you not to worry. As much. 1. The seed is there, and it's more or less evenly spread. 2. It's getting some moisture, and hopefully no puddles. None. Do not let that sprinkler system make puddles, float the seed, and thus kill the seed. There's no root yet, to hold it in place, as the root hasn't yet grown. 3. We don't have to put up with July, nor August, heat, and September, with it's occasional heat, is gone as well. 4. We will resolve to stay off that lawn, even when the FIRST seedlings are an inch or two high, because the REST of the seedlings may come along a little more slowly. We know they're there. They will come in. 5. We're going to lose a few seedlings. By the way, even if you had done the job in the manner you now perceive as 'perfect', you'd STILL lose a few, now wouldn't you? 6. If you perceive that there is a CLUMP, a one inch thick chunk of compost, likely to smush just about anything down, feel free to walk over there and pick it up gently, and get it outta there. Don't re-distribute it, just get it outta there. This little bit of tuning is about all that's needed now, other than the patience thing. So, to sum up: it's gonna be fine. You did the right things, if all you want is a million fine bluegrass seeds, sprouting, spreading out, turning dark green, and filling in. You don't need it to all come in at once, kinda like installing a carpet. Think about it. Think about it while staying off the lawn, please. But it's gonna be great. Let us know how it turns out.

A "pack" is usually offered by labs as a pre-paid soil test which includes a bag for the soil sample and a box addressed to the lab and sometimes postage paid. Laboratories that offer (most do) a "pack" will mail it to you after you order and pay for the desired service. Alternatively, you can print off an soil test order form and enclose it with your check for the test using a soil sample in your own zip lock bag and in a box which you can get at the post office. Before doing anything, may I suggest: Proper and consistent soil sampling is a must in order to reduce inconsistencies and get the most accurate results possible. Proper: When digging the samples, use only high quality steel tools. Use only plastic buckets for holding and mixing the samples. Avoid brass, galvanized or other zinc coated utensils. Otherwise, the sample can be contaminated. If you do not have a soil sampling tool (auger or probe), insure that your soil sample is an even thickness vertical slice and not a wedge shaped slice. Take 8 samples, evenly dispersed, from each 60 x 60' area. Try not to sample any sooner than 30 -60 days after an amendment application. Consistent: Take all samples to the same depth (4" for turf) and do so each year of testing. Use the same "range" of soil for each sample and from year to year. e.g. soil from the 0" depth down to the 4" depth (preferred, but remove the soil surface and any fertilizer prills it may contain). or from 1"-4", or the 2" to 4" depth, etc., if so suggested. Stay consistent. Take the samples in the same month each year. Use the same lab each year. Use an established professional or university lab that offers a broad menu of testing processes, reports results in ppm or lbs/acre and at a minimum, reports CEC/TEC, Ca, Mg, P, S, K, Na, OM, Mn, Zn and Cu. Verify that they offer ammonium acetate cation and buffer pH testing and that their fees are reasonable. Verify if they use Mehlich III (unless otherwise recommended) as their default extractant and extra points if they offer Bray and Olsen too. Do the vinegar test on a small sample. If it fizzes, request that an ammonium acetate test be performed. If it doesn't fizz, either ask for or be prepared to request that (if the test comes back with a soil pH less than 6) a buffer pH test be done. For labs, in addition to those you linked to: There are a number of alternatives by region. e.g. A&L Eastern located in Virginia or the Carolinas for the S. E. and N.E. Another choice for the N.E. is Agro-One which is associated with Cornell (http://dairyone.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Form-T.pdf). Spectrum is used by a large number of farmers in the Eastern U.S and Mid West (but their default is a buffer pH calculation for lime, not a buffer pH TEST, so make sure you request an additional buffer pH TEST when sending the sample to them), but any lab that does Mehlich III is good for Midwest soil testing. West of the Mississippi, I'd say probably A&L Western located in Cal. or Oregon. Last I checked they all offer recommendations, but verify that a buffer pH TEST (Not a calculation) and results are included (or at least is available at a reasonable cost) in the report before you order. Post back with any questions, I'll try to answer them this afternoon when I get back.