Do you know what type of spurge it is? Could you provide a photo? We're assuming it is the prostrate sedge that tends to grow in poor dry compacted soil. It is a summer annual so if you can pull as much as you can and then get the seed established it should out compete it. You can spot treat it with a broadleaf weed control spray. Either organic or chemical but it will kill any surrounding grass so you may want to just pull what you can. 

You will also want to get your soil tested before aerating and overseeding too, to see if there are any lacking nutrients or the pH level is off. 

Mid October is a little late for overseeding though in our opinion. You will want to do it a little earlier to get the lawn established enough and have time to apply a fertilizer application before winter which will help with the growth filling in the bare spots. The end of September would be better if you can. The last fertilizer application needs to be applied before November 15th and you don't want to do it too soon after the seed is applied or in its early stage of growth. You can refer to our page that has the lawn maintenance calendar for tall fescue grass.

Feel free to send back any photos or if you have further questions. 

Emily



Ok, Yes this is the prostrate spurge and it is the annual so what we recommended should be helpful. If you choose to treat with an herbicide, you should do so soon so chemical has time to breakdown before needing to seed. Any product label will have a time you should wait until you seed. 

It may take another year of overseeding to really get ahead of it. 

If you have any questions with care for overseeding, let us know. 

Fertilizer can be applied once the seed is down; spreading fertilizer immediately after seeding would be fine, especially since you don't want to walk over germinating seed to spread it later, and the seedlings will benefit form the nutrient release well before they reach mowing height. If applied too far ahead of seeding, the nutrient release might not leave much behind for the germinating seedlings. You can spread the fertilizer immediately before seeding or immediately afterwards.

Miri