Yes. When you apply a pre-M it is essentially creating a soil barrier where any seed is either already coated or will come in contact with soil that has been coated (say if blown in from a neighbor's yard). Think of it like a blanket. Now when you go and pop holes in that blanket you potentially expose new weed seeds that were dormant under the soil (and not in contact with the pre-M), and more importantly you now leave pockets in the lawn that weed seeds could enter from the air. Basically you're partially negating the purpose of the pre-M. I think not doing a pre-M would be a very bad idea. Thin areas WITH poa already present (ie producing seed shortly or already) are just asking to be completely taken over. Remember that compost IS a fertilizer (in a sense). While not a large dose of nitrogen like a chemical fertilizer, it does provide benefits to the soil through the biological organisms it houses (break down of thatch if present, better environment for the grass by reducing moisture loss, etc.). So no I would not fertilize until 5/12 to attempt to reduce the propagation of poa. But we're seriously talking 2 weeks here. Split the difference and do it next week (5th)! As mentioned before seed is not for you so the idea of planting plugs (sprigs) is exactly what you should do, after you aerate the compacted areas, plant the plugs (look up the proper way to prep the ground for plugs), and then apply a thin layer of compost. Then keep those newly planted areas from drying out.

Ok so we had rain Thursday last week... by aerating time on Sunday.... things were REALLY dry. I did it anyway and was not happy with the depth. So I went back and watered some areas in the time I had, but mother nature helped out! :) I got rain Sunday night and Monday a very hard rain... and a bit Yesterday. So I drug the aerator back out last night and had another go at it. AWWWW... so much better depth. I had already threw out 10 bags of Lowe's topsoil... so i went back for 18 more bags at Home Depot. Threw them out on the ground last night. So I have 28.... 40LB bags of soil tossed out on an aprox 15,000-20,000 sq foot yard. Whew! Now I had some 28-0-4... because of the rain it says i have to hold off for 1-2 days and not have it rain for another 1-2 days.... UGH! So I'm thinking can just a straight fertilizer go down w/o the water restrictions. What about a straight preemergence? I could take back the 28-0-4 and get the other stuff??? Whew it better green up after all this work! Thanks!

Have you heard of using corn gluten meal (CGM) as a fertilizer? Works great on Bermuda hybrids. Also if you can get your hands on some chicken poop, spread it around the yard before it rains... yields good results, worth it. Keep your mower blade sharp when cutting. If you feel like getting some exercise, you could get a non-electrical mower (what are they called!? I can't remember the name, sorry). Those work the best, the blades stay sharp, grass stays green even when mowed on hot days, and you can get a pretty low cut on them. Mow in different directions every time, it encourages growth.

Some of the answer depends on where you live and what kind of grass you have. So in your next reply, please give us a little more info. Also how much of the lawn is under trees or in the shade? We can fix your newbieness. Here's a start. 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 daytime air 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: Most grasses get mowed at the mower's highest setting. Bermuda, centipede, and creeping bentgrass are the three exceptions. Those get mowed at the mower's lowest setting. Once you get some grass under your belt you can work on mowing heights between 2.89623546 inches and 2.862346545 inches. Some people are crazy about mowing height, but it's basically high or low. Fertilizing: 3x per year. First time on Memorial Day, second time on Labor Day. Last time around Thanksgivingish. For the last one wait until the grass has stopped growing but has not gone full dormant yet. Unless you live in Alaska, then October was too soon for the last one. What to do in April? DO NOT SEED. DO NOT FERTILIZE. And you likely do not need to dethatch or aerate. If you are following the watering, mowing, and fertilizing plan above, you likely won't need to do much else. In the spring (April is fine) use a preemergent herbicide to help prevent crabgrass. But if you are only watering once a month in April, you might not get any weeds. Weeds need frequent (2-3x per week) watering to sprout. Weed and feed products don't do either one very well. There are a couple reasons for that, but to get to the point, it is much better to feed with a fertilizer (May, Sept, and Nov) and kill weeds with a herbicide (April and October). Where do you live? What kind of grass do you have? How much shade?