First a disclaimer, seeding in spring is not the best time to do so. You will be much more successful in late summer/early fall. In spring you will be fighting weeds, and your young grass will have to face the heat and humidity of summer as well as the lawn disease that can accompany it. If you choose to seed now, you were warned. Moss in your lawn typically means you get a good deal of shade, the area is damp, and your soil is possibly acidic. You say you had a soil test and your pH was around 7. I have a problem with this number. It is the rare soil in the east that is perfectly neutral unless it has been getting regular liming. If it is 7, then that's fine, and no liming is necessary, cool season turf actually prefers soil to be slightly acidic 6.3-6.8 is a nice range. Also your soil test should have included many more things, pH is only part of the problem. A lot of people think they have compacted soil. You might have it, but odds are it is just unhealthy soil that has an imbalanced Mg:Ca ratio, or very low organic matter, or a combination of things. Aeration is good for compacted soil, but it's not the end all be all. A lot of people prefer to use liquid aeration treatments that contain Yucca, surfactants, kelp, and a few other things. You can buy these solutions or make your own. If you do core aerate or don't, I recommend power raking your yard. If you core aerate, the power rake will break up the cores and fill in the holes to a degree with loosened soil. If you don't core aerate, the power rake will loosen up the top layer of soil, and remove thatch and the dead moss. Yeah, dead, you will want to kill the moss with Moss Out, which is a cheap and effective solution of ferrous sulfate, basically an iron solution. If you do core aerate you will likely bring up some dormant weed seeds, so be forewarned now. If you want to add organic matter there are many ways, one of the easiest is using Milorganite. Using it after core aeration will add it directly to the soil as it should fill up the core holes. The power rake will also help incorporate it. KBG and perennial rye is not a very shade tolerant grass in general. Tall fescue is probably your best choice, since it germinates and establishes fairly quickly, does better in the transition zone, and is the most shade tolerant of the three. It would be advisable to pick cultivars that do best in your area and in shade (the current NTEP trials have a shade trial and it takes place in fairly dense shade). You can use any starter fertilizer you want, I like to do half amounts at seeding, and the other half after the second mow. Also, if you can afford it, I recommend putting Tupersan down at the same time. It will prevent crabgrass germination, but it only lasts 4-6 weeks, so you will have to apply it a few times to get the protection you want. The most important part of the process is watering. You have to keep your seeds moist for at least 2 weeks, and your young grass well watered. This means lightly watering 2-3 times a day for the first two weeks. Then you can lessen the frequency as the grass gets older. Personally I think you are rushing the whole process. If you can live with what you have now till late summer, you will have more time to get everything squared away. A new soil test is in order if you can't find the results of your previous ones.

Lawns were created in europe (namely the UK). I dont have to explain the differences between the climate of Cali and the UK lol. The long and short of it is that lawns tend to need a massive amount of water. Even up here, where we never experience prolonged drought, grass can dry up a bit in the summer heat. They were also developed to show presteige, as in "look I have so much money I dont need all my yard for food!". A trimmed lawn says " even better, I can afford sheep to graze it, or pay someone to cut it". You can make a much more functional yard if you eliminate grass, and also help put more nutrients into the plants you want, not the grass surrounding the garden beds and trees... You will also inevitably help native insects and animals, giving them proper nector sources and shelter. And really, who wants to mow and water? lol

I've never read so much miss-information in my life. Most of the responses in this tread are by people who have no idea what they are taking about. that being said - here are some facts. I was extremely resistant to the idea of a "fake" lawn. I mean, I'm a grass kind of person. There are no synthetic lawn companies anywhere near me so I started doing internet research on the product. Talked to several companies. To make a long story short I ended up deciding to use a company called ProGreen to order my synthetic lawn (about 2000 sf). 1. you get what you pay for; if you buy the low-end grass you get a low end product. 2. Synthetic lawn is not cheap: $12-$14 a square foot if you have someone install it; About $4.25 a square foot if you do it yourself like I did. 3. It drains very much just like real grass. 4. Dogs and cats love it, don't chew it, and you clean it up just like real grass. 5. I roll around on it, play on it, and go out and lie in the sun on it just like real grass. I love it. 6. Todays syn grasses carry 8 yr warrenties, but will last 20. 7. The little rubber balls are not even required in the "good grasses" - read that thicker, longer grasses. 8. The syn grass gets a little warmer in full sun, but cools quickly in late afternoon 9. It's the best landscaping decision I ever made, looks and feels incredibly real. I hose or blow it off every couple of months. Most of the time it doesn't need it. I like it so much in front, I put some in back. My dog spends hours sleeping and playing on - never complainted yet :)

Boiling water kills weeds in my driveway, but it's more difficult in the grass as you don't want to kill the grass, too. You'll probably have to hand dig to remove the weeds, but it's easier after a soaking rain. This time of year might be difficult. A weed hound grips the weed firmly to remove the deep taproot, but the side of your palm gets sore even with gloves. One spring years ago I paid my 8 year old son per dandelion to finish up the last 100 or so left in the lawn. He eagerly prowled the grass after school & earned a good amount of $ because there were many hundreds still there. After you remove the weeds you'll need to spread grass seed, but it's easier in September after the rains come again. The weeds come back if you don't fill the space with something else. We've reduced the size of our lawns and created smooth curves for easy mowing, so is isn't hard to keep up. In fact our teen son mows the front in 7 minutes. I know because he timed himself to prove it's not too much lawn because he wanted us to keep enough turf for lawn games like croquet & bocce ball. On hot days it's nice to lay a blanket on the cool grass in the shade whereas it's not comfy to lay a blanket on wood chip or rocky paths or pavers. Plus the plentiful clippings in spring are useful in gardens as mulch once dried. Here is a link that might be useful: weed hound