Time to overseed in PA

Our lawn is looking pretty good right now. We've had rain and sun and FINALLY some cool nights. After all of my rantings about Crab Grass, its growth is slowing down and, according to my research, it's time to overseed.

I'll let you know if my plan has worked!

Today I'm going to:

1. Mow - 1 1/2 - 2 inches from our usual 3" and use the bagger for the grass clippings. It may take me a long while to mow since I will have to empty the bag every so often to get rid of the clippings, but I'm hoping it will save some work in the end.
2. Dethatch - thatch is the dry, extra stuff built up at the roots of the lawn that acts as a barrier to seed. Removing it should take most of the weekend to complete since I'll be doing it by hand with a rake. You could also AERATE at this point, but we are skipping this step due to - well frankly, we've run out of time!
3. Overseed - by hand for small areas or use a spreader for large areas. Our lawn area is about a half acre so I am using a broadcast spreader. Follow the directions on the grass seed bag for the spreader manufacturer and type. If you have a sunny yard, use a 50/50 mix of Fine Fescue and Kentucky Bluegrass; shade needs a 60/40 mix of Fine Fescue and Kentucky Bluegrass. We have a mixed lawn - both sun and shade. I couldn't find any mixtures with just Fescue and Bluegrass, all had rye grass mixed it too. I bought a bag of each (pictured at the top of the page) and will mix them together for a 50/50 mix.  
4. Watering is the next step in the process. As I said, our yard is pretty big and I hate using water so I'm counting on the rain that is forecast for Sunday/Monday of this week (left over from the hurricane) to do the job.
5. Final step - WAIT...and let nature take its course.

Only time will tell if its going to work - I'll keep you posted. Have a great holiday weekend!