i was wondering about regional options... so i am glad.. my shotgun attempt hit something .... lol ... my point was ... OP is in a box .. of FIXING WHAT IS THERE ... i asked him to step out of the box ... and think along other lines ... depending of course.. on budget etc ... and immediacy of goals ... if i had crumb munchers... and i wanted a green lawn for them to play in.. i would not waste a year or two.. trying to renovate this alleged lawn ... there are times and places for checkbook gardening ... and if lawn is supremely important ... then spend the money ... it would be no different.. in a new house.. as updating a kitchen counter.. or replacing carpet ... just think of it as outdoor carpet ... and finally ... you could end up spending a heck of a lot of money trying to save this stuff ... and maybe.. end up spending more than sod will ever cost you .... good luck ken ps: of course.. if you are the pick up the gauntlet.. and this will not defeat me .. and i will die trying to overcome it.. good luck.. i am just playing off your need.. as you stated.. of walking around barefoot ... in the very near future ...

To hot to plant in bare spots now, wait until late August/Labor day and drop turf type tall fescue seed, setup sprinklers and water 3 times a day. If you can't wait that long, get sod and install it yourself if on a budget. Also needs frequent watering when new. How much shade do you have? Does it get 6-8 hours of sun (full) a day? How many square feet? While you wait, this summer, practice good technique. Mow high (4 inches+), Goto home depot and buy a 1-2 gallor pump yard sprayer buy Ortho Weed B Gone concentrate, mix according to instructions and spray the weeds. Wait 7 days, if not dead or dying, spray again.

Agree. How much do you love that sycamore? Does it add value to the house or did it overgrow the lot and become an eyesore? There are three kinds of plant killers. The Weed-b-Gon and Weed-b-Gon Chickweed, Clover, and Oxalis Killer target broadleaf plants like clover, dandelions, thistle, and even shrubs and trees. It only works when you spray it on the leaves of the target plants. These herbicides leave grassy plants alone. Another type of plant killer is like Grass-b-Gon. It kills grassy plants in the garden and leaves the broad leaf plants alone. Another type of plant killer is RoundUp. It kills all living plants. There are some plants that need special treatment with one or more of these herbicides. We can't know if you have those without pictures. Adding pictures is pretty simple with the tools in the posting window. Click the Photo button and attach the picture. The hardest part is getting the picture onto your computer from your camera or phone. I use Dropbox. If you want grass in the back yard you could use the WBG as Becky mentioned. Keep in mind that plants drop seeds so repeated applications will be needed if the old seeds germinate and take root. What I would do in the back is mow it down, spray WBG, and hope for the best until next fall. Fall really is the best time to seed cool weather grass. If you take care of a weedy lawn like it was grass, it will at least look decent until you can fix it. That's what I'm doing with my new house. I have the kind of grass that spreads about 10 - 15 feet every year, so I'm patiently nursing that process along. In the mean time I love my weeds for keeping the dirt out of the house. As Becky said you are basically on the wrong track for seeding a new lawn. You don't need to aerate or bring in topsoil. The topsoil you have likely needs work. Any topsoil you bring in will need work, too, so you may as well save yourself the extra time, money, and effort and just fix the soil you have. I suspect it is pretty good, though. As long as you have lots of roots in the ground, that's a big step toward good soil. And a diverse crop of weeds does that quite well.

First of all, what happened to your sago palms? Did they freeze? Looks like not all the rye is dead yet. What happens with overseeding rye is the shade from the cool rye grass shades out the bermuda and delays the awakening by several weeks. You don't need seed. You need patience. Any bermuda, centipede, or St Augustine you already have in there will come back once you start watering properly. If you have any St Augustine it will dominate the other grasses. Here's how to water. 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. So if your temps are in the 80s now, then you should be watering deeply once every 2 weeks. Bermuda needs fertilizer every month to make it look good. Are you willing to do that. St Augustine needs fertilizer in late spring, early fall, and late fall. Centipede needs fertilizer every few years. Mowing: if you mow low it will discourage the St Augustine and encourage the bermuda and centipede. The mix of those three grasses will always look weedy. If you mow at the mower's highest setting it will encourage the St Augustine which will completely wipe out the other grasses. All three need the same amount of water.