New homeowner...overseeding questions?

[tashit]

I’m a new homeowner and I want to do something this fall to help my lawn. Overall it looks decent. There are a couple areas that are almost all weeds and a couple bare patches. The two weedy areas are roughly 75 sq ft and the bare patches 15-20 sq ft. There’s also a 100 sq ft area that’s low and very thin. The lawn is a total of about 12,000 sq ft.

My plan is to mow and bag the clippings on the lowest setting followed with a good raking of the whole yard. I will pull up all the weedy areas, add some top soil and seed. I also want to overseed the entire lawn, filling in any low areas with a thin (1/4” I think?) layer of top soil. I will then immediately go over the entire yard with starter fertilizer going in two directions. Then water 2-3 times/day.

Does this sound like a good plan? I really don’t want to put a lot of money into this right now but I want to do at least something to help my lawn, especially the weedy and bare areas. The rest of it isn’t too bad but I definitely want to thicken it up in the long run. It’s already into September so I don’t think I have time to get a soil test beforehand as recommended. I will try to post some pics tonight.

Also I apologize for not searching more. I’ve done some searching on this HSOforum and others and that’s where I came up with this plan but I just don’t have the time to keep looking and I think my time is running short since it’s already September. Thanks for the suggestions!

[18 inch Crappie]

Sounds like you are on the right track, most then some people will do.

[LwnmwnMan2]

Yep, you're good to go.

Whatever doesn't come up this fall, you're already that much farther ahead for next spring.

[tashit]

I got a good start on it this evening and I'll finish up this weekend...thanks for the replies!