Frequently Asked Questions

What is elite grass seed?

Elite grass seed refers to high-quality, certified grass seed varieties that are specifically cultivated and bred by growers for superior performance and are distinguished by key characteristics like: dark colour, high germination rates, weed-free certification, and increased tolerance to drought, disease, and foot traffic.

Do you have a retail location or offer local pick-up?

Currently we are an online-only business and do not have a local pickup option at this time, sorry! However, we do offer free shipping across Canada via UPS. 

Do you offer free shipping?

Yes! We offer free shipping across Canada via UPS.

When will my order arrive?

Order Processing Time: Orders placed on weekdays before 12 pm EST usually ship via UPS by end of day. Orders placed on weekdays after 12 PM EST typically ship the following weekday. Order processing on Mondays typically takes a little longer as we catch up on orders placed over the weekend-especially during the busy season (Spring and Fall)

Shipping Time: Orders ship free from Etobicoke, Ontario and typically arrive in 2-5 business days depending on your location. Orders going to Western Canada and the Maritimes can take longer, 5-8 business days.

Where do you ship from?

We ship out of our warehouse located in Etobicoke, Ontario.

Which setting should I use on my Scott's grass seed spreader? 

Spreader settings are listed on our Seeding Rates & Instructions page. These are approximate recommendations because the build quality on the Scott’s spreaders seems to leave some variability and inconsistency from one spreader to the next. We recommend that you start with your spreader set slightly lower and slowly opening it until the seed is coming out evenly but very moderately. This will help ensure you can get around the entire yard and then keep making passes until it's finished.

How should I store my grass seed?

Seed should be stored in a cool, dry place and in a pest resistant container. Temperature consistency is more important than anything else so we recommended some place like your basement instead of an unconditioned garage or shed.

What is the shelf life of grass seed? How long does grass seed stay viable?

When stored properly, grass seed can stay viable for up-to 2 years, though ideally should be used in the first 1-1.5 years.

Which fertilizer should I use?

There isn’t much difference between the quality of fertilizers at big box stores so you can’t really go “wrong” using them—provided you stick to the recommended application rates. For seeding projects, we prefer the Scott’s starter fertilizer for its smaller prill size which allows for a more dense application. 

Should I pre-germinate my grass seed?

Pre-germinating grass seed has become popular in online lawncare forums and on YouTube in the past few years. While there's certainly nothing wrong with pre-germinating, after a bunch of testing we've found that most of the time it isn't worth the significant extra effort given the fast germination times of modern, elite grass seed. When pre-germinating, not only do you have to change the water daily, but it's also quite a pain to spread wet grass seed and you need a large amount of dry material to add to the seed to make it spreadable—e.g. organic fertilizer or granular humic.

The benefit of pre-germination is that in theory you increase the chances that you'll maximize germination potential while also limiting the time the seed spends on the ground in seed-form where it's susceptible to damage from rain storms and animals. Which sounds good, but in our experience it ends of seeming like an incremental difference for a lot more work. 

The once scenario where it may make sense is if you aren't able to water your seed and need to rely on rain in the forecast. Having pre-germinated seed could reduce the chances the seed dries out and dies on the ground. 

Which grass seed is best for dog urine?

Unfortunately dog urine doesn’t discriminate and will kill all types of grass. The only things you can really do is try and get water on the area right after your dog goes, or let them drink more water to try and dilute the urea in their urine.