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HomeReaders ChoiceCan You Hydroseed An Existing Lawn

Can You Hydroseed An Existing Lawn

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Warranty And After Sales Services

How to Overseed with a Hydroseeder

You wont have to deal with bad results on your own when you hire a hydroseeding service. Its normal not to get the desired grass growth after hydroseeding. The contractor should be able to offer at least a months service warranty within which they can come back and correct any flaws such as dead patches and poor grass health.

At the same time, some can offer after-sales services such as setting up your irrigation system and helping you measure the right fertilizer and mulch quantities. Most hydroseeding companies are also able to offer full landscaping services too so you can choose to retain their services until your lawn is mature and healthy.

Return To Regular Maintenance

Keep your newly revived lawn looking its best with a regular, comprehensive maintenance plan that includes diligent watering, best mowing practices and proactive overseeding. A simple weekday lawn maintenance schedule can keep your lawn lush and your weekends free.

For a simple, all-in-one approach to a thicker lawn, you can put your lawn on the fast track with Pennington Lawn Booster. This easy-to-use product simplifies overseeding to give your lawn the boost it needs. In just one application, your lawn will grow quicker, thicker and greener than ordinary grassguaranteed.

Available in formulas for sun & shade or tall fescue lawns, Lawn Booster combines three essentials: seed, fertilizer and soil enhancer. Lime-enhanced, pure-bred Pennington Smart Seed, backed by years of breeding and research, adds beauty and sustainability. Once established, these water-conserving grasses require up to 30 percent less water than ordinary grasses. That’s year after year, for the life of your lawn. Plus, they stay green up to three weeks without watering. That means less work and more leisure time for you.

For the lawn of your dreams, don’t wait to overseed until your lawn looks less than its best. Give your lawn the boost it needs, step-by-step or all-in-one. Pennington’s here with premium grass seed and lawn care products to help you keep your lawn at its peak.

Pennington, One Step Complete, Smart Seed, and Ultragreen are trademarks of Pennington Seed, Inc.

Is Hydroseeding Right For You

Now that you know the hydroseeding pros and cons, you can decide for yourself whether you think it will be the best choice to start a new lawn on your property.

Sod can be a satisfying DIY project, and while its more expensive, youll enjoy your lawn in a shorter period of time.

But hydroseeding allows you to give your new lawn a solid start, and to choose a great blend of seed proven to perform in your area.

Whatever method you choose to establish your new lawn, be sure to overseed once a year, fertilize correctly, and take steps to keep your grass green and healthy.

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Will You Come Out And Give Me An Estimate

We do not need to come out to look at a hydroseed project ahead of time. If you or your landscaper are preparing it, we will just need you to give us a measurement or total square footage. We will give you the pricing right over the phone and then email you a proposal with our warranty information on it.

We will do a final measurement once on-site, and adjust the price accordingly. We will only visit the property if you are within our local area and also need us to do the prep work.

What Type Of Seed Is Used In Hydroseeding

Kalamazoo Hydroseeding

To hydroseed, you need only seeds that will germinate in moist soil conditions any type of seed will work. Hydroseeding is a more natural way to distribute plants than using sod or earthmoving equipment, and looks better too.

Choosing the right hydroseeder for your project is important read the manufacturers instructions carefully before starting. Take care when working with water vehicles be safe and follow all safety guidelines. Have fun seeding your yard this season itll look great thanks to hydroseeding.

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Watering Schedule For New Hydroseed

Learning how to water new hydroseed is key, because moisture levels can help determine both how quickly, and how successfully, seeds root and establish. Establishing a consistent watering schedule for new hydroseed is an effective way to maintain consistent moisture levels, and the first 2 weeks after hydroseed is applied are especially important.

Begin watering the area after the initial hydroseed application has dried this will generally happen overnight. When watering, use a light spray setting on a hose to avoid creating over-saturated areas. Similarly, with sprinklers, make sure the area is as uniformly covered by spray as possible, and look out for any areas where water may be collecting and adjust as needed.

Depending on the weather in the area after hydroseeding, a general rule of thumb is to water the area for about 10-20 minutes, 2-3 times per day. This can sometimes be reduced to just once daily, if the area is warm, not hot, and dry, or every other day if temperatures are cooler and the ground is naturally more moist. If there is sufficient rainfall to keep the area evenly moist, you can skip watering.

The key things to watch for are not to let the area dry out between waterings, and not to overwater the area so as to drown the seeds.

When Can I Expect The Lawn Of My Dreams

While hydroseeding is a great option for new lawn installation, good lawns take lots of time and care to establish. A properly hydroseeded lawn may take up to a year to fully establish. During that year, it will have to be faithfully watered and fertilized. Because the newly seeded plant is very tender, we do not recommend any herbicide treatments for at least 4 months. During this time, it is natural to have non desirable weeds and crab grass to occur. These can be treated after 4 months.

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Zoysia Grass Is Hardy Under Lawn Traffic But Can Be Slow To Establish And Grow

When it comes to grass, people have a lot of questions. One question that is often asked is can you hydroseed zoysia grass? While the answer may seem simple at first, there are some factors to consider before making a decision.

When considering whether or not to hydroseed zoysia grass, keep in mind that this type of lawn is hardy under lawn traffic and will grow slowly if planted directly into soil. Another consideration when planting zoysiagrass is its water needs.

Zoysias require large amounts of water to thrive and should be watered regularly during the early stages of growth for best results. Once established, however, zoysias are drought tolerant and do well with less frequent watering than other types of lawns

How Often Should Hydroseed Be Watered

Hydro Over Seeding a neglected lawn.

Plan to water new hydroseed about 2-3 times a day for roughly 10-20 minutes. While this schedule again depends on the weather, you want to make sure the new seeds are consistently moist. If the weather is hotter and dryer, you may need to water up to four or five times per day, and less if the weather is milder. Keep an eye on the temperatures and regularly check the area for both dry areas and any areas where water may be pooling or collecting. If you have standing water, thats an indication you may be over watering, or you have a drainage issue.

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Hydroseeding An Existing Lawn

We do not recommend hydroseeding an existing lawn however, you can either start from scratch or try a process known as overseeding.

Overseeding is when you loosen the soil with a power rake, which can be rented from a hardware store. Broadcast the seed slurry onto the area and then press the seed into the loose soil using a leaf rake. Once complete, add starter fertilizer and water the entire area.

There Are Environmental Concerns

This doesnt so much apply to the use of hydroseeding on small properties, but you should know that the application of hydroseed commercially, where its sprayed on large swaths of green-space alongside roadways, it has had a negative environmental impact.

Hydroseed can adversely affect local vegetation, and when youre spraying fertilizers, there can be run-off issues.

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Getting Rid Of Invading Species

Lawns are prone to weeds and If there are weeds, they will need to be pulled out by hand or with a weed whacker. If you have regularly maintained your lawn then weeding is likely to have been part of your process. What you want to avoid is using chemical weedkillers as residual chemicals in the soil might impact seed establishment.

Summary: Does Hydroseeding Really Work

Should You Consider Hydroseeding for Your Lawn?

It is important to understand that hydroseeding is the process of applying seeds, fertilizer, and mulch to the soil. It is, in essence, the mechanization of the traditional process, and as such the same preparation and aftercare regimes need to be applied to make sure that it works and produces the results that you desire.

As with any seeding or overseeding application, the success or failure of hydroseeding will depend largely on the preparation and aftercare.

Hydroseeding, as a process is a very effective and efficient way of seeding or overseeding a lawn. If adequate preparation and aftercare are practiced it is usually a very successful process, However, as with any organic process, hydroseeding can be affected by environmental factors that are not under the control of the contractor. These environmental factors however, would be the same as if you were seeding or overseeding in a conventional way.

Is hydroseeding it better than traditional seeding or overseeding methods? It is certainly a very efficient way to seed and overseed a lawn. It is though a trade-off between effort and price. Hydroseeding is going to be much more expensive than overseeding yourself. Using either method, if the area is prepare properly and if you ensure the correct watering regime after application, should result in a beautiful lawn.

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How Much Does It Cost To Hydroseed

Costs for hydroseeding can vary depending on soil and site conditions. Rocky soil, slopes and other debris in the soil can increase the amount of prep time before hydroseed can be applied. While it may be cheaper to broadcast dry seed by hand or spreader, hydroseeding has a much higher germination rate.

My Yard Is Really Shady Almost All The Time Will Shade Seed Work

Yes, and no. Shade seed still needs some sun to grow. If you have so many trees in your yard that you have almost 90% shade from dawn until dusk, it would be best to have the branches thinned or some trees removed to allow light in for the grass to grow. You will end up needing to re-hydroseed in a year or two, or see almost no growth at all. Some shade is good, but too much shade will work against you.

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What Are The Benefits Of Hydroseeding As An Overseeding Process

One of the great advantages of hydroseeding is the flexible nature of the process. Almost irrespective of the terrain you should be able to successfully hydroseed.

One less obvious benefit is cost. Hydroseeding is not an expensive process. If, using contractors, it is on par with dry seeding costs, although, of course, if you yourself were doing the dry seeding then this would be cheaper.

Hydroseeding usually results in a far more even distribution of seed and no bare areas, which can sometimes occur with dry seeding. In addition, the hydroseeding process itself kick-starts the seed germination, meaning that using hydroseeding should help the grass establish more quickly than dry seeding.

Hydroseeding Is Excellent For Large Spaces

Hydro Grass by Canada Green – Lawn Hydroseeding System

Generally speaking, the larger the space, the more money you can save by choosing to hydroseed your yard.

This makes sense when you consider the amount of labor involved in rolling out and installing sod over expansive spaces, and the challenge of keeping a large yard wet when spreading grass seed yourself.

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Cool Wet Start Delays Hydroseeding

As May is upon us you would think that we were busy all of April installing new lawns. Well the fact is we were only able to install 3 using topsoil. Our projected goal was to have 8 renovations completed. Due to the 21 out of 28 days of rain in April it was beginning to get very difficult to find topsoil that was not mud. It not only is very heavy, it is very difficult to spread and get all the lumps out. At the source is very difficult to screen when wet causing a shortage and to eventually sell out by the end of April.

We always stay busy servicing other customers hydroseeding needs. Even less calls from homeowners and landscapers. It is a trickle down effect, if we cant get dry topsoil, nobody can. This lead to a decrease in phone calls for any hydroseeding. We hope May will bring warmer drier weather so we can complete some renovations by June 15th. If it goes beyond this date customers are strongly advised to wait until after August15th when the nights get cooler. This is the most ideal time to seed.

Why Is Hydroseed Better Than Hand Seeding

When hydroseed is watered the wood fiber mulch retains moisture like a sponge and gives the seed the ideal environment to grow in. If you just throw down seed out of a bag onto the soil, when you water it the water quickly goes down into the soil. The seedlings do not have enough time to absorb the moisture or the nutrients from the fertilizer. That is why hydroseeding is far superior to hand seeding.

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Ryegrass Is A Poor Overseeder

Ryegrass is not an ideal grass for overseeding in Zoysia lawns because it causes turf deterioration and loss of nutrients. Rough bluegrass is a better choice for overseeding zoysia lawns because it does not have these same negative effects.

Over seeding with ryegrass can cause turf to decline, which will eventually lead to the loss of your lawns health and color.

How Much Does The Lawn Doctor Cost

Hydroseeding Services MI, Commercial Contractor, Residential Property ...

The average cost of lawn care will vary depending on where you live and what type of lawn you have. You can spend anywhere from $50$500 per week on lawn care.

You may ask, How much does it cost to spray an acre for weeds?

Depending on the weeds to be controlled and their stage of maturity, costs for a total pasture broadcast herbicide treatment can range from $5-24 per acre for the chemical alone.

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How To Use A Hydroseeder

A hydroseeder is a machine used to spread fertilizer and seeds over a large area to establish new grass or plants like wildflowers or groundcovers quickly and easily. Landscapers and homeowners alike can use DIY hydroseeding to add lawn to a new space, or revitalize existing grass.

Learning how to use a hydroseeder can be a fairly straightforward process, especially once you familiarize yourself with the machine itself, and what goes in a hydroseeder. Read on to learn the basics of how to set up a hydroseeder and use it.

A Hydroseed Lawn Tends To Be Healthy

With sod, you are forced to choose only one species of grass for your new lawn. Conversely, with hydroseeding, you can use a beneficial combination of grass types that best suits your needs and will work well in all areas of your property.

Thus, you have a better chance of a beautiful lawn in the long term with hydroseed compared to sod, and single types of grass seed.

Using only one type of grass creates a monoculture. Monocultures are more susceptible to disease than mixtures, which is why I always recommend choosing a blend of different types of grass for your lawn.

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Why Choose Trugreen For Lawn Services

While TruGreen doesnt offer hydroseeding or sod installation services, they provide full-service seeding or overseeding and year-round maintenance to give you a lawn thats the envy of the neighborhood.

The TruGreen team starts by performing soil tests and other analyses in their Healthy Lawn Analysis to determine exactly what your lawn needs to reach its peak. Their team of licensed, bonded technicians provide expert lawn care service across the country, with localized teams providing care specialized to your region.

Whether you decide to use spray-on grass seed, dry seed, or install sod, we recommend maintaining your lawn with a TruGreen lawn service. Get a free quote today by calling them at or filling out this online form.

Equipment Availability And Cost

Hydroseeding, Planting Sod or Starting a Lawn from Seed

Sometimes it might make more sense to DIY hydroseed if you can access for-rent hydroseeding equipment at a cheaper rate. This depends on your location and demand for such equipment when you need them. Having to buy new equipment or a hydroseeding starter kit does not make sense since you only need to hydroseed once.

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Select The Right Hydroseeder For The Job

There are primarily two categories of hydroseeder, and theyre separated by the type of agitation used to mix the slurry inside the hydroseeders tank. Some hydroseeders, like Easy Lawns, use jet agitation to mix the slurry. This process uses pressurized water to mix the fertilizers, grass seeds, tackifiers, and dyes into the slurry that will be applied to the lawn site.

Mechanical, or paddle agitation, is the other type of hydroseeder youll find on the market. These are generally used for larger, commercial-type hydroseeding projects like applying mulch or slope stabilization seed mixes to highways, sports fields, or large business parks. Mechanical agitation hydroseeders are great at breaking apart larger materials like straw or mulch, as well as handling thicker slurries.

For this article, well discuss how to use jet agitation hydroseeders, since theyre well suited for smaller landscaping needs like residential lawns.

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