Organic matter and overseeding

hello,

I'd like to introduce more organic matter into my lawn by spreading compost. I was thinking of renting an aerator and running that over the lawn first, then spreading the compost. I know that it probably won't properly aerate the lawn, since I'm filling the holes left by the machine with compost. But since the lawn is very deficient in organic matter, I was thinking maybe that was the best way to really get the compost into the soil. Is that a good way to do it?

Once I get the compost down, I was planning on overseeding in the fall and I'm trying to figure out the timing of spreading the compost and dropping the seed. Do I need to wait a while after composting and before seeding? Is it OK to spread the compost now? I was thinking of doing the overseeding sometime near Labor Day weekend.

Any help is appreciated and thanks for sharing your knowledge with the rest of us!

Ways of getting compost into the soil:
Most Permie/least destructive - fling on top and have worms bring it down
No worms? Can't wait?
Most destructive/quick - fling on top and till it in
Middle-of-the-road - Core aerate and fling compost

If you have good finished compost, you can core aerate, sow seed, then fling compost as a mulch and to add organic matter.

Hope this helps!

-Jeremy

My wife and I have an agreement of sorts, she uses commercial fertilizer on the front lawn, and generally manages the front yard so it is all pretty and landscaped like my neighbors would want. I handle the backyard in a much more permaculture fashion. This year I spread a thin layer of well composted steer manure on the back lawn and it was greener and nicer than the front yard. I will probably do another application for the fall. Worked out really well, was cheap and easy!