Planning a fall overseed on 10k square feet of my lawn in Leslie, MI. I have a limited budget and am trying to get this accomplished for about $300. Not looking for perfection. Also, I am not interested in applying RoundUp to the whole yard and starting over. Just wanting to get your thoughts on how sound the plan is before moving forward much farther. I do have a few questions at the end.

The idea:

-Level several bumpy areas of the lawn by filling in low spots.

-Correct soil pH.

-Add organic material to the lawn.

-Improve soil composition slightly. (Currently all brown sand, very little "top soil")

-Kill off a few patchy areas of weeds.

-Over seed with KBG/TTTF mixture found HERE

The plan:

1) Currently I am top dressing the low spots of the yard as often as possible to flatten out the grade a bit and reduce bumps. This is working great, but it is a slow process. A few key areas I plan on leveling out with topsoil just before I put down the seed.

2) Currently my soil has a pH of 5.5. I realize it is slow release, but I have a 50# bag of dolomitic lime that I am going to be spreading to help correct the pH. I am not shooting for perfect so it may not raise the pH level enough.

3) This week I am applying Milorganite to the entire lawn.

4) In late August about 2 weeks before the over seeding I plan to spot spray the patchy/weedy areas with Weed B Gone to reduce the competition and open up the area for grass seed.

5) Labor Day weekend the day before over seeding I plan on scalping the lawn in two directions. I do not have a bagger so I can not pick up the clippings. :( sadface.

6) On the day of over seeding I am going to apply another round of Milorganite, broadcast the seed (two different directions and with a high app rate in the bare areas), then top dress the yard with top soil and/or composted manure from the landscape supply place. Roll the yard if I can borrow a roller from a neighbor or just drive the lawn mower around the yard a bunch. Selectively spread straw over the bare areas and then any leftover straw to the thin areas.

7) Water, water, water.

The questions:

1) Is applying Milorganite during seeding a good idea? Should it be spread on the ground first before seeding and top dressing? (Hoping it will cut down on the smell a bit) Or should it be applied last after seeding and top dressing?

2) Will Weed B Gone work on the dormant weeds or do they need to be actively growing? This year has been dry so far, so even some of the weeds are suffering in my sandy soil.

3) How much dolomitic lime must I apply to 10k sq feet to raise the pH from 5.5 to say 6.5?

4) Is there an easy way to apply the powdered dolomitic lime to the soil?

5) Would it be best to top dress the seed with straight top soil or top soil/compost mix or straight compost? If a mixture, what is a good blend?

The budget plan:

50# of seed shipped to my house ($130)

5 cubic yards of top soil and/or compost delivered ($125)

Straw (guessing about $20)

Milorganite ($30)

Water (Free from well)

Beer (Wife is supplying this to get me to fix up the yard)