On Tue, 29 Aug 2006 15:30:28 GMT, blueman wrote:

I have a relatively small lawn (maybe 5 thousand square feet spread
across a couple of patches) that has developed seemingly more brown
than green spots, including a bit of a mat of dead grass.

That is a monumental amount of turf.

I know I need to do something to condition the soil and re-seed this
fall.

I am considering aerating, dethatching, and then overseeding. I am
confused about which of these tasks requires a power machine (and
hence rental) vs. the ability to do by hand.

If you have thatch, you are watering incorrectly. What are your
watering practices?

If the marginal benefit is not too great, I would prefer not to have
to rent 3 separate machines.

It is often less expensive to have someone come in and do that for
you. Still, what makes you think you have thatch? What does it look
like, what sort of grass?

- My understanding is that aeration requires a power machine to do it
right, so presumably I need to rent an aerator.

Again, it is about the same price to pay someone to do this for you
and you should make sure they use a core aerator, not just prongs.
This will leave little turd shaped things on the lawn which will wash
down with the next good rain..

- Do I need a dethatcher or could I do just as good a job with a special
dethatching rake?

You will be dead if you use a dethatching rake! Your lawn is
enormous, unless you don't actually know how large 5,000 square feet
is.

- Do I need an overseeder machine or can I do almost as good a job with a
standard Scott's broadcast spreader?

Where do you live, what kind of seed?

- If I rent an overseeder, do I still need an aerator or will the
overseeder do a reasonably good job of opening up the soil?

You do not nee an overseeder. Of course a broadcast spreader is only
about 20 dollars and you can use it to get seed down relatively evenly
and it's also good for fertilizing.

- Finally, is this the right order of operations:
Aerate
Dethatch
Fertilize/lime
Seed/overseed
Water
Water
Water...

Thanks