Can I seed lawn areas now so the seed will sit in place and then grow next spring?
You are describing dormant seeding, where grass seed is planted late in fall so it stays dormant until spring. Then as conditions warm in spring, the seed is already in place and ready to germinate. For northern Illinois, the time to dormant seed would be the last week of November. The seed should be planted so there is good seed to soil contact. In the event we get early snow, do not plant the seed over the snow. Dormant seeding has risks, so if a large area is to be planted, you may want to consider waiting until spring to do so. Winter weather conditions are unpredictable. Ideally a snow cover is desired over a dormant seeded area to help assure the seed stays in place. Warmer than normal conditions without snow cover is one of the potential problems with dormant seeding.
