Well you need calcitic lime and epsom salts as your pH is low, and your Ca and Mg levels are deficient. Use calcitic, not dolomitic. High bag rate of calcitic lime or Cal Turf Pro, and 2 lbs per 1000 of granular epsom salts now and again in 90 days. P and S levels are fine. Potassium is on the low end of optimal, so use a high K fertilizer in the fall, or pick up some potassium sulfate (can be hard to find). If you get potassium sulfate apply monthly at 1-2 lbs. per thousand every month till October. Boron is low, but I don't mess with that as too much can be toxic to grass. Your CEC tells me your soil can hold a lot of resources, so raising nutrient levels and pH is going to take longer than most people, but your soil also holds water well. Probably a silty, clay loam. Fertilizing organically, and mulch mowing including your leaves will raise your OM % which is actually pretty good, but more would be better.

He's talking application rates per thousand square feet.

Thanks for the follow up, guys. Based on your feedback, here are a few more questions...

Sounds like I need to:
1. Add calcitic lime. What is a high bag rate? Do this now and again in 90 days?
2. Apply 2lbs per 1000 sq ft of granular Epsom salts. Now and again in 90.
3. I'll be planting new seed in the fall, would you still recommend a high K fertilizer then? I'll look for potassium sulfate as well.
4. Fertilize organically and mulch mow.
5. I should start all of this now in preparation for a fall renovation, correct?

Thanks again.

1. The bag will say to add at 3-5 pounds per 1,000 square feet, or words to that effect. The high bag rate would be 5 pounds per thou.

2. Yes.

3. I just use organic. Tiemco may do something else.

4. Always a good idea. You can use as much organic fertilizer as you can afford. For a rookie I would not use any fertilizer if you are in the serious heat/drought that most of the country is in. Otherwise, monthly is better than 3x per year and weekly is better than monthly. Find the Organic Lawn Care FAQ either on the Internet or in the Organic Gardening Forum FAQs. That will give you an orientation to the modern approach to organic lawn care.

Always mulch mow. Most grasses do well at the mower's highest setting (about 4 inches). Bermuda, centipede, and bentgrass do best mowed at 1 inch.

5. Yes. And please post your renovation plans before you lift a finger. We can help you avoid some huge mistakes that people seem to make every year.

3. I like to use starter fertilizer when I seed. I put down a half application at the time of seeding, the other half after I mow the grass for the second time. New grass has very short roots, this splitting of applications ensures that the new grass gets plenty of the nutrients it needs. Starter is usually a high K fertilizer, so you can consider this one of your K applications.

4. I wouldn't mulch mow for your first few mowings due to the tenderness of new grass. Also new cool season grasses should be mowed when they hit 3 inches. Personally I think 4 inches is too high for cool season grasses, and I have never seen any university recommendation or scientific study to support this mowing practice.

In comparison to David's lawn pictures, 4" is scalping.

Appreciate all the info, guys. Here's my renovation plan, per dchall's request. I'd love any thoughts/feedback (zone 5, HOT midwest).

First week of August:
- Scalp lawn
- Apply roundup to kill grass/weeds

Third week of August:
- Add calcitic lime and epsom salts now and in 90 days

First week of September:
- Bring in dirt to address a few grade issues and dips in yard
- Verticut and rake dead lawn debris
- Plant grass and apply starter fertilizer (not sure what type of grass yet)
- Rent and use sod roller
- Cover yard with straw and organic matter to keep seed intact (unless there's a better solution)

Early October:
- First mowing of new grass and second application of starter fertilizer

That's it so far. Still need to figure out the idea grass type for my area, but overall that's the plan.

Also, I have a dog, so I'm planning on trying to keep her off the new lawn for the first three weeks or so, but it'll be tough. Anyone have experience with renovating with dogs?

You don't want to scalp first. RU works by being taken in through the leaf/blade. Get your lawn well watered and greened up, then RU and once the lawn is dead, scalp and bag before the lawn gets matted down. You also better ask tiemco for the best way to apply the eqsom salts. You don't need to verticut to remove debree--the dead roots and crowns makes a good bed for the seed and will help reduce erosion. You can use a fixed blade verticuter in the seed planting. Spread the seed and go over the lawn with the verticutter set between 1/4-1/2 inch depth--poor man's slit seeding. You better get your seed soon, due to this drought, seed suppliers are selling out of many cultivars. I'm sure tiemco and dchall will expand and will hit the other points.

One caveat. If you have thatch, you will want to run the verticutter to remove it. Otherwise just a good raking after scalping and bagging should remove lose debree, but again, I wouldn't suggest the use the verticutter with the goal of trying to remove the dead roots and crowns.

I would add the calcitic lime and epsom salts now, why wait? You can apply granular epsom salts with a regular spreader. The waterings you do prior to round up will dissolve and work in these amendments (the calcitic won't totally dissolve, that takes time. If you use Cal Turf Pro that dissolves faster).

If you are going to topdress your seeds dried compost works well, as does peat moss. The only straw I would use is shredded straw, not baled straw. Shredded straw can be spread in a thin layer, prevents erosion to a degree, and decomposes so it doesn't need to be removed.

Don't forget to water your seeds continually till germination is complete. Watering schedules vary with the weather and shade, but generally it's three times a day, just enough to keep the soil and seeds moist.

...which is why I asked to see the plan. Just getting things out of order can ruin a reno.

Definitely lime and Epsom salts now. The longer those have to dissolve and work into the soil the much better and less salt stress on tender roots.

You do not need to topdress or use straw. Those seem to be local customs. You may do them if you like, but there are many parts of the country where they don't do that and have equally good success. Mother Nature does not topdress or drop straw when She reseeds. She does, on the other hand, stomp the seed into the soil with livestock, so rolling the seed down is important to get good seed-to-soil contact.

So if I may review, I believe you are down to this stripped down schedule.

Now
- Add calcitic lime and Epsom salts now

First week of August:
- Apply roundup to kill grass/weeds

Third week of August:
- Reapply Round Up if needed

First week of September:
- Bring in dirt to address a few grade issues and dips in yard
- Plant grass and apply starter fertilizer (not sure what type of grass yet)
- Verticut to mimic slit seeding if you want to (I would only go to 1/8 inch deep)
- Cover yard with straw and organic matter to keep seed intact (again, this is a local option)
- Rent and use sod roller
- Start watering 3x per day for 10 minutes each time to keep seed moist

Early October:
- First mowing of new grass and second application of starter fertilizer

tiemco, can he use more lime and Epsom salts on the new grass or should he wait until spring?

He/She can repeat lime and epsom salts 90 days after the first application. Should be perfect timing unless the ground is frozen.

So, I'm now 10 months post-renovation and the lawn appears to be thriving thanks to great advice from the folks on this site.

That said, I have what appears to be a Fescue fungus materializing and I'm hoping someone can help me ID and treat it accordingly. It's contained to approximately half the yard and, with each passing day, it gets progressively browner. We had an incredibly wet spring here in Kansas City and it's just now had time to dry out.

Overall View:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/bugbxz0n4fxjbnb/lawn-1.jpg

Detail:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/09s6ad16mex1qs2/lawn-2.jpg

Also, what appears to be an outbreak of wild strawberries? What do I use to get rid of them?

Strawberries/weeds:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/1tgf49zige2noqb/lawn-3.jpg

Any advice/thoughts? Thanks again, guys, couldn't have gotten to this point without all of the incredible info throughout this place.