The time to fix the bare spots was last fall. The common wisdom of times past was to seed in the fall. Well, the fall is a 3-month period that leads to very mixed results. Now we are trying to home in on late summer as the time to seed. Specifically, late August is the time to start. That gives the seed puh-lenty of time to get established so you can tell if you have thin spots, Then you still have time to add more if you need it. What kind of grass did you put in? If it was Kentucky bluegrass, it will never fill in to the shady areas. If you put in fescue, it, too, will never fill in to the shady areas. However, while KBG never has a chance there, you can seed new fescue into the shade and it will take. It just will not spread there by itself. Since it is shady, the other good news is that crabgrass will not like it there. If you do decide to seed this spring, you can expect crabgrass to come in where you are putting new seed...unless it is shady. Then it's a crapshoot. It might or it might not. Crabgrass is a warm season annual plant that spreads like crazy in the full sun. If you planted Kentucky bluegrass, it will slowly spread this season to fill the thin areas in full sun. Next year it will spread a little faster. In the third year it practically leaps out of the ground to spread. But shade is off limits for KBG. Many people will plant a mix of KBG and fescue to get the benefits of both.

Hard to know where to start. You did good by seeding in Sept. Don't know what went wrong with the sprinkler but maybe you have the wrong one. I recommend an oscillator type for even coverage over a pretty big area. The newer turbine oscillators are better than the old mechanical ones. If you don't control of your watering then you are doomed to having a weed lawn. You absolutely cannot trust Mother Nature to help you water new seed. It MUST be watered 3x per day, for 10 minutes each, at breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Nature will never get that right. If you are going to spend the money on good seed, you should commit to the watering needed to make it sprout. KBG takes 3 weeks to sprout, to it is a commitment. Rather than spraying over and over for weeds, I would suggest you wait until fall to seed again. Yes you made a mistake that got in the way of your seeding. Next year do it right and you won't need this forum!!!

yep same here with the cilantro! i got...maybe two small tufts of cilantro for all the seeds i planted....and now its spindly and flowers. a few weeks ago i just started some more and they sprouted fast. i think they will grow better with the later planting. its a little cooler here than there...but snow peas are defintely something i am planting now. this is a good time for them, but i can plant them whenever and they do good, or ok, any time of year. re: mulch - i have no idea if this will work better, but i am thinking it will. i think i let the sprouted carrots dry out, or??? idk exactly, but i have hard time with carrots, they are fussy. in general mulch is like magic and makes happy happy plants. =)thick mulch...freshy mulch, yeah plants really respond to this well. it also keeps it from drying out, holds in moisture, thats basically why i am thinking the carrots will like it. just to sprinkle the seeds on top. and totally with the staggered plantings, its for sure the way in this kind of climate. have keep it in mind to resist the temptation to start too many seeds of any one thing. i have a limited amount of space that is greenhouse like...so its always packed with plants.i move things around, outside and inside, and do some container gardening with that. this is the best way to get good peppers here and tomatoes.... i have a lot of potatoes in the ground, but i started some off in a big container and they are doing great. i might start off a couple of those....with different edibles. they are just plastic tub storage containers with holes drilled in the bottom. been throwing the potato bits in there as i use them, and the ones in the container are looking better than the ones in the ground. they are digging on the fluffy soil. and some of the stuff i plant would seem way out of season...i experiment a lot. and planting odd things at different times of year, some of it works and some of it doesnt. i dont always get as many sprouts but usually will get a few of each planting time (about once a month i start different seeds)...and then have some plants in different stages come spring. and i over winter whatever i can inside...get peppers ripening at variety of times.

I know lots of people disagree, but I really see no point to "babying" plants unless they have just sprouted from seed. I think they get a better start just putting them in the ground...that's where nature puts them. You are even in a pretty warm zone so they should do very well in the ground. Actually, I don't think I've ever had a plant not succeed by just plopping it right in the ground...and taking care of it, of course.