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One of the best ways to soften your grass and prepare it for planting grass seed is aeration. Aerating your lawn will loosen up compacted soil and facilitate a more even balance of nutrients from root to topsoil. We recommend using core aeration methods for the most effective soil-loosening results.

Provided you're using an appropriate starter fertilizer for grass seed, you can put down seeds and fertilizer at the same time. However, putting them down separately, one after the other, on the same day will help to avoid over- or under-applying the lawn food. Avoid using a fertilizer with weed control elements, as these will likely keep the grass seeds from starting.  

Adding seed to existing grass is often known as overseeding, as opposed to reseeding. Reseeding refers to the process of filling in bare or dying patches of lawn—or in some cases, full lawns—whereas reseeding supports existing lawns to prevent thinning. Overseeding is an ideal annual lawn care practice for grass fighting drought, disease, weeds, or pest issues.

Depending on the species, most fescue grasses thrive in USDA hardiness zones 3 through 8, though some varieties can thrive as far as zone 10. While it’s a cool-season grass, it has the unique ability to adapt and thrive in many different types of climates. For this reason, you'll mostly find fescue grasses throughout the transitional temperature zones of the country.