I'm by no means an expert, but I understand not wanting to wait until Fall to address your problem. Although it is challenging to grow a large area of grass in the Spring and have it survive the Summer, it can be done! If you're prepared to keep up with the watering required...here's what I would do...kill the whole darn thing with RoundUp. It won't taint the soil, works quickly and just follow directions regarding kids and pets after applying. When the weeds are dead, the whole area will look dry, beige or brown. Scalp it all close to the ground and rake off all the dead stuff- this will actually feel good! Based on your location, sun, shade, durability and aesthetics, buy good seed. This is important because you don't want to be doing this again soon! Plant your seed making sure it has good contact with the soil and that your soil is as level as possible- level any high spots, fill noticable low areas etc before speading seed. I like to top dress with peat moss to keep the birds from eating the seed, lock in moisture and it actually looks nice while it's a work in progress. Water lightly 3 times a day! This is where you will sink or swim- do not skip a day unless it's raining all day- do not let your seed dry out, and do not give up when it seems like nothing is happening! Once your seed "pops", you can cut back to watering twice a day, but again...do not stop watering! I would stake off and string the whole area to keep kids and dogs off until it's long enough to cut carefully. It won't be fabulous this season, but you'll have a headstart for the fall when you'll be seeding again. I used alfalfa pellets fo the first time this year to fertilize and loved the result- search the forum for process and benefits- it cannot burn your tender new grass and will help enhance your soil. The gurus on this site are excellent- I'm not a guru- but when you just can't stand the sight of something and want to do something about it, it's worth the effort to give it a try. I love the seed I bought online from Outside Pride and I'm sure the turf guys will suggest more seed buying options for you. They'll also tell you to live with it until the fall for a better result, and they're right about that, but if you're determined to see at least something other than a weed extravaganza this season...go for it and good luck!

Thank you very much for your input! I am pretty solidly in the no Round-Up camp (actually, I could be swayed, but my husband is very crunchy granola hippie and will not really entertain the idea of using that much Round-Up on a yard as big as ours). What would be the second choice option?

Also, I forgot to mention as a potential option: we could rent a turf cutter and reseed from there...?

Never used a turf cutter but why not? Or just call the sod guys and relax!

Your chickweed should be wilting by now and will soon be gone, but it will be back next year unless addressed. Fall is by far the best time to seed because there is less weed preasure, it is easier to control the amount of water and as temperatures get cooler less moisture is needed to be applied artificially and the turf has all winter to establish roots to help it survive the next years hot summer.
Glyphosate, the active ingredient in RU has a very short half life and quicly becones innert, but if your husband is really against that, lawnlady has made the best suggestion.
It's going to cost you a mint to keep a spring seeding alive, but if you are willing to go that route, seed now (KBG)- (Ohio is having unusual cool temps this Spring) Drop Milorganite monthly thru Summer. Mow high. Drop a pre-m early August to prevent the chickweed and other Fall germinating weeds. Drop a winterizer, Drop a pre-m next Spring then fertilize in May and June. Overseed next Fall (no Fall pre-m unless it's mesotrione or diduron). Rinse and repeat. In 2-3 years (no matter what you do, it takes that long), you should have a nice lawn. At least it's not poa annua..
Good luck and get the "tree hugger" a weed puller for father's day.

This post was edited by grass1950 on Tue, May 7, 13 at 1:08

I think you need to decide if you are going to go organic, chemical, or somewhere in the middle ASAP. Waffling back and forth with your husband is going to end badly. IMO if you are going to go organic and not use pesticides you have no option with your yard but to tear it all up and put down sod. That is the ONLY guaranteed way to remove the majority of the weeds and have a thick stand of grass to choke out the weeds that will come back to the area.

If you go chemical, RU and start from scratch. This is the CHEAPEST method with the second-best chance for success IMO (sod obviously being the first).

Where things get difficult is honestly if you try a hybrid approach. You won't kill all the weeds if you don't RU, and you will fight a (near) never-ending battle of thinking you have a great lawn established only to see the next wave of weeds crop up. I'm amazed at how many people think their lawns are in great shape right now because in our area crabgrass hasn't become an issue yet and lots of other summer weeds are just beginning to show up. In another month they are going to be shocked/angry at what happened to their "great" lawn.

Take it from someone who tried the organic way with a lawn of many weeds. It really isn't a practical approach unless you have a tremendous amount of time for hand-pulling. Thousands upon thousands of them, every day. Get a great lawn first (by any means necessary), and THEN switch over to eco-friendly.

You are so right about that. We need to commit to one method for sure.

So this weekend, we are are going to do the turf cutter. Just remove it all. It looks like crap, and even though the chickweed is starting to die and the grass is starting to fill in, if we don't remove all of this and start fresh, we are going to be dealing with all of this all over again next year.

But we can't afford to put down that ready made sod. It's too expensive. Can we just cut the turf, then do a light top dressing (with what? something not too expensive) do seed and put hay on top and water it well? Is it not going to work? I'm sorry if I seem like an idiot, I have zero lawn experience!

Also, one of the reasons we are limited on our budget here is that we are renters. Our landlord is not interested in helping with the cost, period. We don't have much extra money to put into this, but we are willing to spend time and sweat to get it looking like the rest of the neighborhood. I don't want to be "that house."

Oooh, I do NOT envy your position.
I've been through a similar situation and I don't think you're going to get rid of it with a turf-cutter unless you use a couple doses of pre-emergent in the spring. Meanwhile you're going to be fighting weeds all summer anyway.
Buy your topsoil by the truckload because it's cheaper than bagged and if you buy bagged you'll be sucked into applying too little of it.
When you seed, you're going to have to water the living sh*t out of it, and even then you aren't going to get great results in summertime, so get it going asap. I'd use a mixture of whatever grass you decide on mixed with a little annual rye, because it germinates REALLY fast.
Best case: you seed on a day that it's lightly raining & it continues to rain for a day or 2. You'll never get as much even moisture on it as a good rainy day.
Covering the seed with a thin layer of peat and soil will keep the birds from stealing 80% of it before it germinates.
Good luck!

Thanks! We are actually doing it tomorrow, and it will be raining both tomorrow and the next day! So hopefully that will help.

We have super aged (non-smelly) horse manure that we are using for the topsoil aspect. Do we need to put hay on top of the seed? Or no?