Originally Posted by

It would help if you provided information as to the location and
the type of grass. You don't think the best practices for growing
tall fescue in Canada are the same as growing Bermuda grass
in the Carribean, do you?

First thing I'd do is stop listening to the turf expert. If your soil
doesn't hold water well, the last thing you want to add is sand
And adding sand by mixing it with seed? How long do you think
that's going to take to make any significant difference in the soil?
Assuming you're trying to establish a cool season grass,
you're also seeding at the wrong time for best success. Early Fall is
by far the best time. You have less competition from weeds,
declining temps so it's easy to keep it moist, and the grass has
many months to get established before enduring the stress of
summer.

If you have an area of a couple thousand feet and up, the
easiest and best practice is to use an over-seeder which
can be rented. It's a piece of power eqpt that cuts grooves
about 3/8" deep and drops the seed in them. That gives you
good seed/soil contact and a high germination rate. An
alternative is to use a core aerator if the ground is compacted,
then apply the seed. Or you could do both. If the soil needs
ammendments, you can apply those after the core aeration
where some of it will at least drop in the holes and go down
a couple inches. And if the soil isn't holding water well, then
the ammendment should be humus of some sort, not sand.

Did you apply starter fertilizer? Check the PH?

And again, how long grass seed takes to germinate depends
on what kind it is, which we don't know....