Bought a house last year...previous owner pretty much neglected the yard. Basically what I have is spots of grass and spots of weeds, etc. Will fertilizing the yard help? What fertilizer do I use? Looking around there are a ton of different fertilizers out there. I think I need some kind of weed & feed but the Scott's stuff is about $47 a bag, and I have a 1 acre yard so there's close to $150. Is there something else just as good I can use? Also, do I fertilize first or spray weed killer first? I have some 2-4-D i heard was pretty good.
The first think you should do is thatch the grass to get out dead blades and weeds. It will also aerate the soil and give more surface area for new grass seeds to grow.