Question
I put new seed on my lawn on a hot day and didn't begin watering until the following day.  I live in New Jersey.  What are the chances the grass will grow?  Also, how long does it take before I will see any grass?  Thank you in advance.

Answer
Andrea -- Remember that saying "A Watched Pot Never Boils"?

Don't worry about your grass.  The seed down without water in New Jersey on Monday was still there on Tuesday.  You did the right thing.  

I have a feeling you did the quickest, simplest thing you could think of.  Grass that you casually plant like chicken feed is not likely to have a very good future.  

Most of my answers about grass are addressed to people who have done things like Aerate their lawn.  Or they put sod down without grading first.  Or they have a perfect blanket of beautiful green grass, spiked with a few aliens they did not put there and they want to know how to get rid of it quickly forever.  

But you Andrea -- I bet you don't even KNOW what's under that grass you planted.

Today, go out and buy something called Milorganite and something else called Pelletized Lime at Home Depot.  Go back home and get those down right away.  That way, when your grass sprouts, it will be setting roots in something that is closer to the right pH than you have now and has available fertilizer.  It's an easy task, putting those down.  Ignore the directions on the package, just throw them in the spreader and run.  

Pray for rain.  

This morning, when you get your cup of coffee at Starbucks, ask them for several bags of used coffee grounds.  They may not have them until evening; they may have some left over from the previous day.  But they have them.  It's FREE and it's EXCELLENT to put down in a garden ANYWHERE.  Ignore anyone who chuckles.  Intelligent people already have this down.  Sprinkle it all over the garden.  You can't spread it around, because the coffee is still damp, but you can toss it down like the chicken feed the other day.  Then wash your hands and wait.

Pray for more rain.  If it doesn't rain, WATER EVERY DAY!

By the way, the coffee grounds are for making earthworms happy and conditioning the soil.  They are only slightly acidic -- far less than coffee.

What kind of grass did you put down, Andrea?  Please advise.

Where did you get it from?  Please advise.

This will get your grass off to a very good start, all things considered.  Don't put down anything else.  

If you can't stop worrying about the baby grass seed, go to your local nursery and buy a Dandelion Fork.  You will need this to dig in and get Dandelions at the roots.  They are perennials and will come back to haunt you every year while invading the lawn with every little yellow flower.  Tell all the children in the neighborhood not to make wishes on them and blow the puffs in the wind.

Let me know how things are going in 3 weeks.  By then the grass will be short and visible.

Thank you for writing.  I hope to hear from you soon.