I guess no one is buying my dig up the soil idea, including my husband. :( I should be able to trust him with the stuff, but he's such a brute. He says he didn't over-apply the stuff, but he also said he didn't read the directions. Hmmm. Funny how would he know he didn't over apply if he didn't read the directions??!!??!! Grrrrr. I'd rather have no stinking weed & feed--I doubt I could apply it well--then not have my annuals!!!! Grrrr again. Thank you for listening. Still wondering about digging up soil. Planters wouldn't look great--I would have to literally plant the pots. What if they outgrow the pots? What if weed & feed seeps into the pots that are planted in the ground? Maybe that's the best idea. Sure sounds easier now that I'm thinking more about it. Digging up and replacing soil might be a bit on the OCD side of life. :)

The worst case scenario is that you don't get grass now or in 2-4 weeks. The seed will be "dead" in the sense that it won't germinate once it has come in contact with the chemical. I think it is less likely that you get growth and then the young grass dies as the roots go deeper, more likely is you won't get growth at all or significantly less than you had planned for (say 1/4 or 1/3 germination rate, btw totally just throwing a random number out since I have no idea if anyone could give a good estimation). You can keep trying every couple of weeks and not need to rake up the "dead" seed so no worry of overseeding as if grass does take it will eventually get the nutrients from the decomposing seed and will also supply a bit of water retention properties when watered. If you are going this rate and plan to seed after putting down soil I would make sure the chance for germination is highest. That means eliminating the air barrier when seeding and applying a light coating of soil on top of the seeds. For large plots of land the easiest way is to seed, top dress by hand or tractor/mower 1/8-1/4" with soil, apply a starter fertilzer (the grass seed only "see's" the nutrients right next to it), and then press with a roller of some sort (then lightly water). They make these for riding mowers, or you can do it by hand with a large object (sand bags work great for small areas, my personal favorite was a large inflatable jumping gym for the kids that came in a sack that I just covered with trash bags and rolled like you were making a snowman around the yard (backbreaking but faster than you would think). This puts the seed in direct contact with the soil and helps to keep the seed in place during wind/rain that would otherwise clump the grass and leave bare spots.

Way to go lamcon. The Weed Hound is a GREAT tool! I wish I had stock in that company. I used to do everything wrong, too. Then I started reading here and, after a few hundred posts of people having success with this or that technique, I came to realize that the cultural practices of "proper" watering and mowing are really the main part of turf care. I just never knew what "proper" was. I thought I knew from reading all the books and magazines but they were mostly wrong and/or confusing. It is as simple as 1-2-3. Here is the 1-2-3 of lawn care that I have learned here. Water deeply and infrequently. Deeply means at least an hour in every zone, all at once. Infrequently means monthly during the cool months and no more than weekly during the hottest part of summer. If your grass looks dry before the month/week is up, water longer next time. Deep watering grows deep, drought resistant roots. Infrequent watering allows the top layer of soil to dry completely which kills off many shallow rooted weeds. Mulch mow at the highest setting on your mower. Most grasses are the most dense when mowed tall. Bermuda, centipede, and bent grasses are the most dense when mowed at the lowest setting on your mower. Dense grass shades out weeds and uses less water when tall. Dense grass feeds the deep roots you're developing in 1 above. Fertilize regularly. I fertilize 5 times per year using organic fertilizer. Which fertilizer you use is much less important than numbers 1 and 2 above. I fertilize on the federal holidays because they are easy to remember. Using chemical fertilizers in the north you can fertilize on Memorial Day, Labor Day, and Thanksgiving. Since I use organic and I live in the south, I start on Washington's Birthday and also fertilize on the 4th of July. But don't ever apply chemical ferts in the heat of summer...only organic.

Temps were in the low-mid 70s during day and low 50s at night when applied, only applied it in test areas, followed directions that stated to water down lawn before applying, lightly applied only in test areas (e.g., 2' x 2'), did not water for a couple of days after that (if I recall correctly it stated don't water after that so the granules stay stuck to the weeds). Believe me, I followed the directions. The only clue I had on the packaging about what may have happened is the fescue isn't established enough, although at least some of it should be considering it was planted from seed and thriving the summer of 2006, just some overseeding to fill in spring 2007. I think the packaging says don't apply until you've mowed new grass at least a few times but my lawn had been mowed many times more than that.