Hard to believe but the window to overseed in the Northeast is closing fast. This spring has seen temperatures c lose to 10⁰ higher than those experienced last year. With warmer temperatures and bare soil we will likely experience greater weed pressure earlier in the season.
The best way to avoid dealing with weeds is to get grass growing on the areas of bare soil. The approach we take in our all natural turf care program is different in the spring than it is in the fall. On residential properties the goal is to establish turf coverage anywhere you have bare soil. The best way we have found to do this is to top-dress and over-seed. The easiest and most successful way is to incorporate the grass seed and a loam/compost mix in a wheelbarrow and then use the mixture to make your repairs.
On athletic fields we generally aerate, if the field is compacted, and broadcast the seed at a heavy rate. If turf conditions are really poor especially around the goal mouths on sports field like lacrosse you may need to do additional remediation.
Whether dealing with residential or athletic fields the goal is to get coverage as quickly as possible in the spring. Because of this we do not recommend the use of grass seed blends that contain Kentucky bluegrass, it just takes too long to germinate (up to 20 days).
For those of you that may not have access to your fields due to other activities like graduation until June then we have used annual ryegrass with good results. Remember the goal is to promote quick coverage to help suppress weeds, not necessarily to create the perfect turf carpet.