reseeding thinned lawn

[FardinA]

I am trying to reseed part of my lawn which has been thinned out. I have tried to rake the area. However, since there are alive grass on the area, raking did not help me get to the bare ground. I mean after raking (to a great deal), I still could not see the bare soil. I did not want to rake more as I thought that it might root out the live grasses. I spread the seeds + startup fertlizer, and water the area. I am not so sure what I have done will work out for me. Can you let me know of what you think of my plan? If I want to get a thick lawn, should I root out all the grasses (alive and dead together)? Should the grass seed touch the soil for sure? I am in Canada (Zone 3). Temperature is moving around 25 C. Do you think that time is fine for lawn reseeding?

thanks

[higgledy]

Could you rent a dethatcher? What type of soil do you have? Maybe your soil needs to be improved before over-seeding? Grass seed needs to be at least touching the soil, my mother-in-law likes to bury it under about a 1/4" of peat of fine soil. She has the best luck too.