Any recommendations? Would like to get my lawn growing thicker and greener without all the weeds this year.

With a little effort you can get better results at lower cost if you DIY. Start with a visit to Steve at Betty's Azaela Ranch (Route 29 near Costco Plaza) and pickup their lawn care calendar. Betty's sells quality fertilizer and weed preventer...not that crap from Scotts. You will pay more per bag than at Home Depot or Lowe's, but it will pay off in the long run.

Ideally you want to start in the fall...fertilzer at the end of October and Novemer along with a pre-emergent herbicide for weeds, but you should be able to have success if you start a program in the next couple of weeks.

I have roughly 4000 square feet of lawn and the annual cost for fertilzer, herbicide, and grub control is around $300.

UltraTurf- 8 treatments per year at $50.00 for 1/4 acre. For over 10 years, my neighbors and I agree they do the best job around.

If you haven't already, get a soil test done. It's easy and costs a crummy ten bucks. See the pages at the link below. The test results will tell you what your soil actually needs to properly support your lawn. Most of the stuff that TV commercials push will simply wash away into our creeks, runs, and streams, and eventually Chesapeake Bay. The fewer chemicals you add the better, but it certainly does help to add what's actually needed -- particularly lime if your soil is on the acidic side, as it will be if you have lots of oaks and dogwoods around. All that will be in your soil report. Otherwise, aeration followed by top-dressing every third year or so will help a lot. That's a good time to overseed with a hardy mix of quality seed as well. Occasional watering during dry spells will help also, as will keeping your mower blade sharp and not mowing the grass too short.

http://www.soiltest.vt.edu/

Do not use "Ron's Lawns" whose phone is 571-438-3017. They don't finish the job after taking the money.

Ron's Lawns advertises on Craigslist and elsewhere. Their phone # is (571) 438-3017.

They are crooks. They take the money and run. Poor reviews on Angie's List and Craigslist.