W Gill

Thank you for your advice, James and Renate. I failed to mention that we had mechanically aerated the day before, so we're good in that respect. You are right - I do need a soil test, however, we are very alkaline in Utah. I'm pretty sure there's not much "soil" left in the lawn area - just dirt. This is part of the reason I'm worried. That and I know how much synthetic fertilizer, 2-4D, etc. were applied for the first 8 years we lived here. D: There are 2 areas where the grass was killed out from a tetherball stand several years ago and neither grass nor weeds have filled in. DH is applying milorganite right now (we can't use the chicken manure due to my life-threatening allergies, so I hope this is a good 2nd choice). I think I'll wait and see if any of the seeds sprout (2-3 weeks???) and then (either way) apply a layer of compost and seed again. I'm doubtful they'll sprout because they probably won't even make contact with the soil/dirt because of the layer of cut grass. So, maybe I should just go ahead with the compost and reseeding now. Hmmmmm..... Meanwhile, I will get a soil test. I would love to hear your opinions/suggestions.

I am determined not to use chemicals in our yard/garden at all. My husband not so much. Our lawn looks terrible. I mowed high and left the clippings last year, but the turf is full of a thick bladed grass that grows in clumps and makes the lawn very bumpy and uneven looking. It's also very thin in several large areas. There are really not many 'weeds' in the lawn otherwise. My husband was a traditional landscaper for years, so not having a golf course looking lawn makes him crazy. We agreed to try overseeding as opposed to using the bags of synthetic fertilizer in the back of the shed. However.......we had a misunderstanding (my fault) on the mower height adjustment before seeding and now our entire lawn has been scalped. It is so short! The cut grass was not bagged, so the super short grass is piled on top of the turf. I would say there is about a 50/50 mix of brown and green cut grass. I went ahead and threw the seed on the grass clippings because I didn't know what else to do. Any suggestions at all?