Help me seed my new lawn.

Factual Questions
1

I just bought a house and the previous owners had a HUGE swingset that completely killed about a 300sqft patch of the yard. Underneath the dirt beneath the swingsset there was a plastic tarp buried etc… that I had to dig out before I could save that patch of lawn (NOT fun let me tell you…).

Now, the dirt was pretty compacted under the tarp so I tilled the entire area to break it up (this was the right call right?). I knew it was supposed to rain pretty hard last night so I did NOT seed and fertilize because even though the area is pretty level I didn’t want the seeds to drift around on the dirt and collect in puddles (this was the right choice right?).

So now it is still raining really hard and will be for the next day or so. It’s supposed to stop raining tomorrow night, at which point I think I should seed and fertilze the lawn and then put down straw to keep it moist and (hopefully) keep birds off.

Am I making the right decision by waiting until there is 3 or 4 days of no rain predicted before I put the seed down? I just don’t want to waste money on the seed collecting in puddles. How long after the rain stops should I wait to put it down? Straw - yes or no?

Any tips would be appreciated. I figure this is my only shot to get this going before summer hits and it gets too hot.

2

So far you’ve been doin’ good. Don’t rush! Wait until the soil is no longer muddy, lightly rake it to freshen the surface, then spread your fertilizer. Rake lightly again and spread the seed. Covering with mulch always helps. If it doesn’t rain for several days after planting, you can always sprinkle with a hose. Good luck!

3

You can relax, because if it doesn’t work out before the 90 degree weather hits and the bare mud instantly bakes to rock, you can try again at the beginning of September. I have actually had much better results with fall seeding of bare spots, mainly because (a) the soil is already warm so the seeds germinate faster, and (b) you don’t usually have to worry about watering it twice a day to keep it moist, as fall temperatures are usually more moderate.

So there’s no clock ticking; if it gets done now, fine, if not, then do it in September.