Newly planted grass won't come up. I put down bags of topsoil.?
Question:I got about 12 bags of topsoil from Home Depot, at $1.49 /bag (really cheap). I first fertilized with an organic fertilizer, and a week later seeded. I did not use hay. I watered every day for 2 weeks. Not a blade came up. Could it be bad topsoil? The seed was Scotts. This is in a partial shade area with morning sun.
Answers:
soil may have been "sterilized" with pre-emergent herbicides. most gardeners do not like weed seeds coming in with their topsoils, so maybe HD treats theirs.
could also be the fertilizer, but organics are usually gentle, so I suspect the soil.
I'd be suspicious that there was something in the topsoil. That's bizarre that not even a blade would come up. Scott's is good stuff and even if it wasn't, not a single blade?
Could you have overfertilized and maybe burned the seeds?
When I seed/overseed, I mix the soil with the grass first in a wheelbarrow, put it on and tamp it down with my foot. Works every time.
How old was the seed. If more than a year old it was dead seed. How deep did you bury it. More than a quarter of an inch is too much. Watering once a day without mulch is not enough but you should have gotten something.
I would suspect the fertilizer did the damage, not the top soil. Just seed again without changing anything.
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