I'm planning my first ever overseeding project for this coming fall. Since I'm in MN, I'm planning to have the seeds in the ground by 9/1. Here's plan:

1. Kill weeds at least 2 weeks before seeding
2. Cut grass short as possible and bag the clippings
3. If needed, dethatch
4. Aerate
5. Seed with broadcast spreader
6. WATER!

A few questions though...
1. Should I look into a renting a slit seeder? If so, do I still have to worry about mowing short and aerating, or will a slit seeding take care of that stuff?
2. I'm looking at a seed blend that contains:
40% Midnight Kentucky Bluegrass
40% Perennial Ryegrasses selected from the following varieties: 1G Squared, Soprano, APR 1472, Integra, Shining Star, Sonata, Peak, Wind Dance, and Morning Star
20% Creeping Red Fescue - Lustrous or Boreal
Is that the best ratio of grass types for an almost 50/50 sun/shade lawn in MN?

Looking for any and all comments/thoughts/opinions!

Thank you in advance for all your help.

I see 2 things that need to be added:

1. Get a soil test done now to see if any amendments need to be added.

2. After seeding and prior to starting water, apply a starter fertilizer.

Good luck.

Creeping red fescue is a good choice for shady areas. You may need to have a separate fertilization schedule for the shadier areas because KBG likes a lot of N (3-4 lbs per 1000 sq ft per year) and CRF probably does best with about 1/2-1 lb per 1000 sq ft per year.

I'm not familiar with Lustrous, but Boreal is not really a named variety. It's basically unimproved red fescue (may not even creep much) that is called boreal instead of unimproved because it doesn't sound as bad.