Close up

That is kind of a mess...if the entire lawn looks like that I'd wipe the deck and start over. But the time for that is right this instant, actually, and it's already getting a bit late for Zone 6.

Labor Day is the outside day to seed, not the optimal...which is a week earlier at the latest.

If that's what you want to do, start moving right now. Spray the entire lawn with Round Up, and mow it as short as possible about three days later. Bag that mowing as there's going to be a lot of it and there's no sense clogging the soil.

Seed using a slit seeder, or apply with a broadcast spreader and use a roller to tamp the seed down. There's no need to aerate and, in fact, it causes more problems than it solves.

Water twice daily at the minimum for about 10 minutes per section to keep the seed damp. How long to water depends on the seed--if there's bluegrass in the mix, we're talking a full month. Fescue only or fescue and rye, probably more like 2 weeks.

Then back off to once a day for 2 more weeks, every other day for 2 more weeks, and at that point we're in October. Keep the soil moist, which is pretty easy in fall, until temperatures really fall off the cliff and daytime highs are under 50. At that point, nature will take care of it for you.

Thanks, and I plan on starting this project tomorrow or Wednesday. Is there a good time that I should add fertilizer? I had a soil sample done in the spring that said i was nitrogen deficient. Should I add some at the same time I seed, or wait until after?

100% of all soil tests indicate nitrogen deficient. That is the nature of soil testing.

If you are ever worried about whether or when to apply fertilizer, you can always apply organic fertilizer with no fear of whatever your fear is. Organic fertilizers work by feeding the soil microbes. They do not directly feed the plant. Feeding the plant is taken care of by the newly fed microbes. You can apply organics any day of the year, every day of the year, rain or shine, hot or cold.

New seed won't require a thing for its first month of life--everything is contained in the seed packet that the seed's mother made for it.

After that, it relies on your soil. While nitrogen testing is notoriously...well, bad actually, as nitrogen levels swing hour to hour and depend strongly on time of day and weather conditions, after that first month it'll probably want some nitrogen.

There are two ways to do that. One is feed with any good synthetic fertilizer a month after everything has sprouted. The other is just to drop an organic at the same time you seed--it won't kick in for about a month anyway.

When I renovated, I dumped organics when I seeded, then followed it up a month later with more. That gave me a feeding starting three weeks to a month after seeding that continued on, plus a second boost that kicked in during October.

I have St. Augustine grass. What is the appropriate time(s) of year for fertilizing and what type of fertilizer should I use. I usually spread a combination weed/feed - and would like to continue to do so.
Thank you!

You might want to post a new thread for that, Jimbo--St. Aug is a southern grass, the OP is extreme northern transitional. You'll get a better answer on a fresh thread.

"op" what is that?

Original Post or Original Poster--the person who started the thread. Soccerswim20 in this case.

So who is pbguy who posted the pic?

This is why you should start a new thread...I didn't notice that the OP had turned into the SP (Second Poster).