Our backyard is overrun with Creeping Charlie and other weeds. I pulled out what I could by hand which left many bare patches. I put down topsoil, fertilizer, seed and lightly rolled. It’s been 2 weeks and nothing. We’ve had lots of rain. It has been cold where we live in Port Perry, not much sun. Is this why there is no growth yet? What are my next steps? Thanks.
Thank you for contacting the Toronto Master Gardeners. It sounds like you have taken all of the right steps to seed the bare patches in your lawn, so my guess is that the weather has just been too cold and the soil is still too cold where you live for the grass seed to germinate. I suggest that you wait for another couple of weeks as the weather hopefully warms up and keep the soil moist to see if there will be germination. I expect that the seeds will germinate eventually and probably irregularly based on the weather, assuming that the seed is good. You could try germinating some seeds in moist paper towels to check on this. Here is a website with good information from the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs about the steps involved in establishing a lawn. See sections 6-8 about seeding.
http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/crops/facts/08-025w.htm#time
I think your process of pulling weeds and patching with topsoil and seed (and I would also add compost to the topsoil which will help to improve the soil which is probably compacted) will work but it will be a long process, and patching may not be successful during the hot summer months. Creeping Charlie in particular is a very difficult weed to eradicate because of the way it spreads, primarily by creeping stems that root at each leaf node so that it forms dense mats and also by seed. If you leave even a tiny piece behind it will continue its aggressive spread. Here is a previous post to the Toronto Master Gardeners website that provides good information about managing Creeping Charlie.
https://www.torontomastergardeners.ca/askagardener/creeping-charlie-management/
If you want to consider solarization as mentioned in the above post to get rid of your weeds, here is a website with information about how to do this :
https://extension.umn.edu/yard-and-garden-news/use-suns-energy-kill-weeds
Finally here is another website from the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs that might be helpful if you want to continue with your lawn repair and improvement as an alternative to solarization and complete re-establishment of your lawn.
http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/crops/facts/08-021w.htm
Good luck in your work towards having a healthy lawn !