Check the zone maps, but I think you are considered a cool season zone, which mean NO zoysia; Kentucky Bluegrass/Ryegrass/fescue Blend is what you want.

Also: get started NOW: the renovation window for cool season grass is rather small: mid August-late September.

Does ryegrass die away in the Winter? I had considered it before, but the information I found was never clear.

I've overseeded with both Kentucky bluegrass and fescue several times, and I usually see good results at first, but they never come back the next year. That's why I'm getting frustrated... nearly 15 years of working on it, and I swear it looks worse than it did when I started!!

Jason-

Rye grass should not die in the winter.

Several factors here:

1. Have you ever had a soil test? very important to know what nutrients your soil needs, as opposed to just throwing down any old fertilizer.

2. Have you used decent quality seed from a reputable supplier?

3. What's your watering schedule like? The fact you don't have sprinklers and those oak trees makes me think it's not getting enough water.

4. Have you ever had the lawn aerated? I'm not sure this is necessary, unless your soil is very compacted. Try sticking a screwdriver into it and if it won't slide in too easily then it's compacted.

1. Testing

No, there's nowhere local that does it :-( There used to be a county agency that did it, but by time I got around to using them they had lost funding. Now I have no clue how to do it.

2. Quality Seed

Meh... I've bought Scotts and Pennington from Lowes (the only local option) and Amazon. I guess they're good brands in general, but there's a good chance that they lay around in warehouses for years. But again, I'm not sure what my alternative would be?

3. Watering

The front yard doesn't have any type of alternate watering other than rain, but ironically, it's the better lawn!! LOL The back yard is enclosed and I have several flower gardens set up there. I have 2 sprinklers (hooked up to water hoses laying on the ground) that I run every other day unless there's been a fair amount of rain.

The back yard is FULL of weeds, though. I don't know the types, but a lot of it looks like grass, has very thick (green but woody) leaves, and grows very fast. But it dies away every Fall.

There's also a ton of crabgrass, dandelions, clover, and some sort of broadleaf weed that looks kinda like dandelion, but it gets really big and has pricks that are sharp enough to cut you. I try to dig them up manually, but I guess they spread seed before they get big enough to see :-(

4. Aeration

I have not, but probably should. Most of the front yard is nice and soft, but the back is very hard! I tried to run landscape wire earlier in the year and could hardly get a shovel in... and when I did, it often broke up in chunks or just red dust instead of staying in clumps.

The full shade area near the garage (that actually floods) is pretty soft, but the other shade area (farthest from the house) is dry and hard.

I was originally thinking about Round-Up'ing (Rounding-Up?) the whole yard, then in 2 or 3 weeks running a tiller or something to till up all of the dead roots and mix in fertilizer or garden soil, then either laying sod or spreading new seed.

Is there a better (eg, "faster" or "cheaper") option? I can borrow a tractor, so if you think it's better to buy or rent an aerator and spread new seed again then it's an option.

1. Soil Testing:

https://yardmastery.com/products/yard-mastery-soil-testing-kit

2. Seed:

https://www.seedsuperstore.com/

3. Watering:

The backyard is probably getting too much water. Ideally you water once a week at a one inch depth, or twice a week at 1/2 inch depth. You might want to check this.

4. Aeration:

Don't rent a tiller. If anything, rent an aerator. If not, put down some liquid aeration:

https://yardmastery.com/collections/bio-stimulants/products/air8-5-gallon

I'm by no means an expert, but if I were you I would:

-Do a soil test NOW. You might need lime or other nutrients

-dethatch or aerate, or both

-get decent seed

-seed in the next 2 weeks/Scotts starter fert (the blue bag) keeps out weeds

-keep the seed moist for a couple of weeks (light watering 3x a day)

We're too late to soil test, although you can do the test now and plan on doing the adjustment next year.

You are, indeed, running short on time to seed, but if you get the seed RIGHT NOW you can go. Seed time in 7A is now-ish through September first, as noted, but let's stress that again. We're going to get, "But I can still seed, can't I?" questions right into October.

Most years, I'm fairly gentle about it. This year, I'm planning on simply answering, "Why don't you just try it and let me know what's still alive next July, sport?"

Grasses really would like as much of fall to develop as they can get, so the earlier, the better.

Alright, I'm ordering some Air-8 and De-Thatch right now, then I'll order some seeds ASAP.

I had bought some weed killer last year that you're supposed to spray on your yard and it will only kill weeds, but I've never used it. I think it's Round Up, but it's in the garage right now (and it's midnight) so I'm not 100% sure. Would you recommend using that tomorrow, then Air-8 and De-Thatch over the weekend, and then spread seeds in 2 weeks after the weeds are gone? Or skip the weed killer and spread seeds immediately upon receipt?

And I guess I'm stuck between Kentucky Bluegrass or Tall Fescue, but I really don't know the difference. Which would you suggest as better for both full sun and full shade?

You could always give Pete at GCI Turf a holler. They sell a tri-blend of Turf Type Tall Fescue and now offering their Fescue w/ Bluegrass Mix(85% TTTF/15% Bluecoat Bluegrass. Prices are fair, include shipping, and Pete is from Rockingham County NC.

See here:

https://gciturfacademy.com/gci-turf-grass-seed/

Regards,

Will