Hi,
I looked on Amazon and people seem to have the same experience as you - it grows well then dies off as soon as the first heat wave comes. Cold-weather grasses like this are not very tolerant to the summer heat. I would pick a cold weather grass which is also heat tolerant, like tall fescue, Kentucky-31 for example, and seed it in early fall because it grows best in cooler weather. All your cold weather grasses up there you want to seed in the fall anyway. Put some straw on it so the birds don't get the seeds, and water at least once a day until they sprout. Finally, I think you have to mow your lawn a bit more, it looks like your grass is going to seed, and that means its not spending its energy on growing. Best of luck.

Well you're half right. Cool season grasses can tolerate the weather in Massachusetts fine, but seeding in spring is your biggest problem. Spring seedings don't allow the grass to mature enough or develop deep enough roots to deal with drought and disease. Also all the watering you do in spring means the weeds/crabgrass is going to have a field day, and you can't use herbicides on young grass. Kill all that crabgrass and weeds with round up, scalp it when it starts turning brown, and seed with quality grass seed. If the area is mostly sun you can use tall fescue, Kentucky bluegrass, or perennial rye depending on your preference. If you do use tall fescue I would stay away from K-31, it is a very course light green variety that while being hardy, is not very attractive.

Ok. Seeding in the Spring probably wasn't such a great idea. So it's Fall now. I'll lay down more Seed. I take it I don't need to buy that EZ seed stuff right? Can you guys recommend certain brands or is that forbidden on this forum?

As I said before, I've never been able get regular seed to grow for me other than using something like EZ seed. What am I doing wrong? Typically, I just rake the top of the soil a bit and then lay down the seed. And of course, water every day. But for some reason nothing ever sprouts.

Try topdressing the seed with a light layer (no more than 1/4") of peat moss. Water the peat moss gently until any hydrophobia is over come. You want to keep the peat moss and seed moist with no pooling of water throughout the germination period. You'll probably need to water 3X a day for 5-15 minutes each time to accomplish this.

I just finished my backyard renovation. I've tried a renovation before in the Spring. Big mistake!! The grass competes with any weed seed and the weeds win.

This time around I did my roughly 6500 sq ft back yard. I killed everything off with RoundUp and KleenUp. Scalped it down and raked up as much as i could.

Just had 17 yds of compost mix delivered Saturday. Purchased from a local nursery and made from pine straw and horse manure. Had the driver dump it strategically in rows to make less work spreading. Knocked down any mounds with a rake and then went to the rental store and picked up a power rake. Went over it and over it til it was leveled out. NOTE: If you back drag the power rake it works as a decent grader.

Raked in 10 3 cubic ft bags of Peat Moss to help retain moisture. Spread the seed at half rate in one direction then again in the opposite. The seed was purchased through a nursery as well and is harvested in my area. Stay away from the big names. I used a TTTF blend for my soil and also because I need it to be fairly low maintenance and drought resistant.(no sprinkler system)

I was told in a couple weeks when it starts to pop up to hit it with a 14-19-14 winterizer starter to give it a kick start.

I'll overseed in the spring but for now I'll just keep it moist and cross my fingers.

Alll the do's and don't's can result in a good lawn.....if...and its a big 'if'.....your soil is what welcomes the lawn seed.

Soil, generally, when left to do as it pleases, will not be kind to grass. It can be too dry, drain poorly, baked from hot summer sun, compacted by repeated being run on, clay soil that doesn't drain properly and overall in bad shape.

Soil is helped by adding organic matter. You can do research yourself on what organic matter does for soil.
Generally, it enables soil to retain moisture and adds in allowing good drainage.

Once you do get a reasonably good lawn to stay, do this to keep it.
Every spring and/or fall.....overlay a 1" of good topsoil/triple mix/compost over the lawn. Every spring...whether you believe it needs it or not. You will add organic matter and over time it fixes and improves your lawn to welcome grass.

As far as organic matter---start a compost pile if you haven't got one already. Use it for fixing areas where you can.

Where it is felt necessary, if you think your ground is compacted, consider aerating your lawn.
You can read further on what aeration does for a lawn.