This is what I am doing after I over seeded this fall. I used starter fertilizer at the beginning. After the first mow I will apply starter fertilizer again at half the recommended rate. This will provide rapid acting NPK to the new grass as most of the first starter has been used/washed away. This is how the University of Connecticut applies their fertilizer to new plantings. At the end of October I will apply a full rate of normal fall fertilizer that contains both rapid and slow release nitrogen.

annpat - I have used newspaper several years ago around my tomatoes with straw over it. It worked pretty well. I probably could have overlapped more and put down thicker layers for a better result. I also have a large collection of newspaper, so I may do that in some areas as well. I have well over an acre of veggie garden and like a fifth acre of flower garden. There's plenty of area to experiment.

The weed n feed combined products are difficult to use and the results are usually unsatisfactory. I think all the forums will tell you that if you need to fertilize, use a fertilizer. If you need to kill weeds, use a herbicide (spot spray with Weed b Gon of WBG Chickweed, Clover, and Oxalis Killer). It could be the plantain needs the WBG CCO. It's a different bottle of stuff. Read the bottle label to see if 3 weeks is enough time between spraying. You should not get into a ritual of spraying it every few weeks, though. That's asking for trouble. You seeded at a bad time of year. Why? Because now is the time crabgrass seed is germinating. Also because tender new grass shoots will not have sturdy enough roots to live through the summer heat. Fall is THE time to seed northern grasses. As to fertilizer, the grass needs nitrogen. Whether it needs phosphorous or potassium, you can't tell without a soil test (Logan Labs, $25 - best soil test in the country by far). Having said that, you can apply an organic fertilizer like soybean meal, corn meal, alfalfa pellets, Milorganite, or corn gluten meal at any time without fear. These materials feed the soil microbes which, after 3 weeks, will feed the plants. Watering: Deep and infrequent is the mantra for watering. This is for all turf grass all over the place. Deep means 1 inch all at one time. Put some cat food or tuna cans around the yard, and time how long it takes your sprinkler(s) to fill all the cans. Memorize that time. That will be the time you water from now on. My hose, sprinkler and water pressure takes 8 full hours to fill the cans. Your time will likely be less. I like gentle watering. As for watering frequency, that depends on the temperature. With temps in the 90s, deep water once per week. With temps in the 80s, deep water once every 2 weeks. With temps in the 70s, deep water once every 3 weeks. With temps below 70, deep water once a month. Note that you have to keep up with quickly changing temps in the spring and fall. This deep and infrequent schedule works in Phoenix and in Vermont, so it should work for you. The reason for deep and infrequent is to grow deeper, more drought resistant roots and to allow the soil to dry completely at the surface for several days before watering again. If it rains, reset your calendar to account for the rainfall. Mowing: Mulch mow at the mower's highest setting for all lawns except bermuda, centipede, and creeping bentgrass. Those should be mowed at the lowest setting. Fertilizer: As indicated above. Dates are Memorial Day, Labor Day, and about Thanksgiving. Note that these dates do NOT match the dates you will get from TV commercials, local radio stations, and newspaper and magazine articles. These dates are the historical dates used by professional grass farmers and ranchers and have been adopted by the lawn community gurus as being the most appropriate for chemical fertilization. If you use organic fertilizer, you can do that any day of the year, or every day of the year. You cannot go wrong with organics unless you bury the grass in it. Spray on fertilizer is good for a few days up to a week. Grass needs pounds of nitrogen to last from season to season. All you get with a spray is fractional diluted ounces of nitrogen.

You're cool. The forsythia should be up in a couple weeks anyway, and it just means you're covered earlier rather than later! Besides, the action that wears away at the layer is bacterial, which isn't very active in cold weather. So the next two weeks don't count as much. I effectively consider the clock stopped from late November through mid-March, so my September application is actually active through June. Experience bears that out. Weed sprout, if any, will be minimal in spring.