I built a house near the Potomac River in the Northern Neck of VA. I
have two acres and construction disrupted about 3/4 of an acre. Even
though it was in the middle of summer which is a bad time to try to
grow grass, particularly in a drought year, it was better than the
dust bowl we had. It worked out ok in back of my house and in front
near the road, but the area directly in front of my house (about 60ft
X30 ft) and on the sides of my house (about 40 ft X 20 ft) are
basically packed dirt with grass up close to the house (about 1/2 ft
in front of house).

Being near the water on what used to be farm land, there were two
problems growing grass which I need advice on (and I have never grown
grass myself before this). The biggest problem is wind. It
frequently blows 20 mph at least once, if not several days a week.
When I had the lawn seeded, the excavator that did my final grade put
down see and put hay on top. The winds blew the hay off the lawn in
the bald areas and pushed it against the front of the house or
completley away.

The second problem is heat during the summer. Since I seeded in
summer and the hay blew away, it was difficult to keep the grass cool
and wet enough to sprout. In addition, I am on a community well and
there is not enough water pressure for more than two or three
sprinklers at once. It takes about 6 sprinklers to cover the area
that hasnt grown.

So for the first problem of the wind, I have no idea what to do this
spring. Is there an alternative to hay that would work in a windy
area better?
How do I determine when it is warm enough to seed? Is it by the low
temperature that is maintained? What temp?
For the second problem, I think seeded in the spring will help, but
any suggestion there would be great. I also have heard use fertilizer
from some people and dont from others. Some say aerate, others dont
bother.
Thanks