Follow the scotts fertilizer regiman on the back of their bag..It works perfectly, no need to hire chemlawn, or scotts, when it takes 30 minutes to do it yourself, and its cheaper. I have heard if you scalp your yard in the fall it will invite weeds to start growing in early spring. I have done it all, burned the yard, scalped it...I haven't seen much difference, just fertilize the yard every 2 months, and apply lime in the fall..