I know I shouldn't be complaining, considering where I live, but it seems like the weeds are thriving while my lawn is struggling! What is a good way to feed my lawn (I do leave the clippings on the lawn), deal with the weeds (dandelions, of course, purlsane, some yellow flowers that seed like a dandelion and they grow like crazy)? I have been pulling but I just can't keep up (especially with the unnamed yellow flowers).

http://www.amazon.com/Food-Not-Lawns-Neighborhood-Community/dp/193339207X

I plan to turn even more pf my grass into garden myself.

for feeding..couldn't you just put on a layer of compost?

as to weeding....LOL so not my thing..my lawn is almost all weeds now. Dandelions have pretty flowers, bloom over a long season, and are great for bees.

Some of this is a seasonal problem. Those weed seeds germinate fast in the heat, and local weeds are of course very well adapted to your conditions, unlike the grass. So things probably will improve when it cools down.

Also you want your grass to be as tall as you can stand it. The longer the blades, the more it shades...I just made that up...but shading the soil helps suppress the weeds, and it's better for the grass itself too.

When was the last time you reseeded? There will be at least one optimal time of the year, if not two times, when you want to throw down grass seed and cover it with a thin layer of compost and topsoil. Ask a nursery what type of grass does best in your area if you're not sure. Having a very dense growth of lawn helps keep the weeds from popping.

Definitely pluck any weed flowers before they have a chance to go to seed.

Of course all this assumes that you need grass in the first place, which of course you don't. Ultimately think about replacing the lawn with something more suited to your conditions. A great resource might be High Country Gardens - check their groundcover page here:

http://www.highcountrygardens.com/catalog/browse/ground-covers/

I'm definitely taking out quite a bit of lawn in the front of my house - just waiting until my finances allow it. I do like having some lawn in the back for my kids to play on. Our lot is only .16 acres, so there's not tons of grass anyway. We're going to do some terracing in the backyard on some seriously sloping areas and remove more grass. My lawn doesn't really grow very tall - barely makes it to 3 inches so when we mow, only a few areas actually get cut (our mower is set to about 3.5"). I like the idea of reseeding and composting in the fall. Also thinking about aerating to take care of thatch. Oh, and learning to love dandelions more, although I'm pretty much okay with dandelions because my sons pick them and give them to me - they are the bane of my husband's existence, not mine.

There are a few companies - "Gardens Alive" is one - that sell an organic lawn weed killer/lawn feeder based on corn. Organic & safe for kids & pets from day one. Might be worth looking into. It's gotten good press/customer ratings.

To have a good lawn requires much more than simply applying the "right" fertilizer. A good lawn needs a really good soil, just as any other plant needs a good soil. So what is your soils pH? How well does your soil drain? How many earthworms are there in a shovel full of your soil? What does your soil smell like? How well does your soil hold together and just as important does it fall apart easily?
Also important is available water, maybe a nice green lawn in Utah is not something to spend lots of your time, energy, and money on.

I've heard of corn gluten - is it actually effective?
Trust me, I'm not expecting a nice green lawn - I don't want to spend the kind of money (and waste the water) necessary for that! I would just like my lawn to be more grass than weeds and to not be completely dead. The soil in my yard seems to be nice - smells nice and seems to have a lot of earthworms (many on the driveway after a rain). It's a bit odd because the soil in the front seems to be more sandy while the backyard soil seems more silty. There are very few rocks as well, which is nice when I need to dig. I still need to do a pH test (lazy me).