Question
I just moved into a new home in Little Rock, AR.  The yard is really just one big field of weeds.  I would like to kill all the weeds and plant new grass seeds.  My plan was to use Scotts weed and feed, wait a few weeks, then put down the fertilizer and grass seeds.  I am not sure if this is a good idea, thus hope that you can help.

Answer
Weed-and-feed is not a good choice for your purpose.

Weed and feed eradicate certain perennial broadleaf weeds (dandelions, thissle, clover, etc) but will not remove certain grassy weeds. Also weed-and-feed has fertilizer included and if you add more fertilizer later, you risk overfertilizing the soil.

I recommend using a product called ROUND-UP (round-up, kleen-up, weed-and-grass killer, etc). Round-Up is based on the active ingredient Glyphosate which will kill all green plants. The product is taken up through the leaves, and as soon as it is dry, it wont risk running off in rain.

There are many grass killing products on the market. some are intended to clear grass premanently (for 6 months - 24 months and most are sodium based). Avoid these. You do not want the products intended for driveways or patios because they are highly toxic and leave residue in the soil.

Look for a weed-and-grass killer (such as Round-Up) which is taken in through the leaves, will kill green plants (upon contact) but will not leave any residue in the soil.

Good brands are Round-Up or Kleen-Up, but you can check the lable of other products, too. Just make sure they are intended to kill weeds and grass and allow immediate re-seeding (e.g. not the type required to eradicate in places that you do not want grass, such as walkways and patios).

After 3-7 days, the weeds will die and you can then rake them out, or roto till them into the ground. Then rake smooth and spread grass seeds and a starter fertilizer.

Keep the seedbed slightly moist but not soaked until germination. This can be done by watering frequently but shallowly such as twice per day for 15 minutes. After new grass is 2-3" tall, start mowing and then change watering pattern to infrequently but deeply (such as once per week or at most twice per week) for 2 hours. Deep infrequent applications are preferred to shallow frequent applications on an established lawn. However, during seed germination, you can not let the seeds dry out (or they die). Therefore, temporarily you must water frequently and shallowly (twice per day for 15 minutes) until seeds sprout.