Time to hit the reset on a big chunk of my lawn, sod gives us instant turf, seed gives us more choice grass wise. Have read that sod is mostly Kentucky Bluegrass which does not do well in MN and likes full sun-we have lots of shade. Thanks
I seeded my yard. I took a few years to fill in but looks really good. Choice of grass is a plus.
I was once told by a landscaper that does large projects in my area “Sod is like a prom queen. Looks good in the beginning but gets a little rough looking later in life. What you see now is the best it will be. Seeded yard will keep getting better with age”
Hydo seeding is amazing. But expensive. I seeded an acre and a half. Good seed and starter fertilizer. With proper water we had nice grass in 6 months. April and September good time to bust a move. If you fall seed. Do it so the seed can germinate and toughen up before winter. Or late enough it freezes in and doesn’t germinate till spring. That give it an early start when it’s too wet to plant in the spring.
Have seeded before in Aug. and Sept. squirrels are very busy burying nuts at that time, bit frustrating but still supposed to be the best time.
Thanks I’ll look into hydoseeding.
A lot depends on how big of an area you need to repair or replace. When I bought a new house in 2012, it came with $4,000 worth of new sod as a part of the purchase. I obviously had to water the crap out of it but after about 2 years, I had the nicest yard on the entire block. And when I sold that house last month, it was still the nicest yard on the block and the new owners immediately noticed and commented on that.
If you have a very large area, seed is the better option. I’ve used seed in patch areas of higher shade and it seems to do better in those locations. Not so much in direct sunlight most of the day.
They have these mats that have seed within it that you can just roll out over a specific area. Depending how large the area is, this might be a good option. It also protects the seed from washing away.
Some sod farms now sell shade grasses. But Kentucky Bluegrass is the best looking grass out there for our cold climate and no problems with it in MN. 80% of the yards you see are KB.
Just did over an acre. Chasing 4 sprinklers and 800 feet of hose right now.
Best advice I can give you is work the ground up, spread your seed, then put these straw mats down over it. I used 24 8×112 ft. rolls. They make several sizes of the straw rolls.
Blew shredded straw over the rest. Where the mats are the seed came up nice and even. Where the straw blew away the new seeding is very patchy. It is getting better by the day but babysitting sprinklers is really cutting into my boat time.
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Just did over an acre. Chasing 4 sprinklers and 800 feet of hose right now.
Best advice I can give you is work the ground up, spread your seed, then put these straw mats down over it. I used 24 8×112 ft. rolls. They make several sizes of the straw rolls.
Blew shredded straw over the rest. Where the mats are the seed came up nice and even. Where the straw blew away the new seeding is very patchy. It is getting better by the day but babysitting sprinklers is really cutting into my boat time.
That’s coming along nicely! Pretty surprising considering how much rain we’ve had that you havent had worse issues.
Another vote for seeding, especially if a bigger area. I’ve done the dormant late fall seeding and spring seeding. Both with similar results. Takes patience, but with right amount of spring rain and cooler temps it’ll do well. I actually dormant seeded an area last fall around our driveway. And now this spring added about 1/2 acre to our yard by tilling and then seeding with a Brillion. 2 days after I seeded it, we got 4 inches of rain in about 2 hours so I’m guessing it might be a bit patchy. The dormant seed is doing better since it had sprouted before the monsoon.
Have done dormant seeding before on small areas, when it works well it is the easiest meathod of all, thanks for all the replies.
The biggest problem with seeding in the fall are those continuous flights of songbirds stopping by for a snack. Bite the bullet. Hydro-seed and cover with straw mats. You won’t be disappointed.
Make sure to prep the ground first. Level it by dragging it out with a drag if you don’t have access to a blade, the apply the correct amount and type of fertilizer before seeding.
Anyone know the average cost per sqft for hydro seeding?
Anyone know the average cost per sqft for hydro seeding?[/quot
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It will probably cost between seed and sod. Maybe closer to sod. But sprayed on a properly prepared soil. It’s as close to spraying grass as you can get. Especially good on a hill side susceptible to erosion. The smaller the area and travel time if noone is close will affect the Sq. Ft. price considerably. You will need to check with someone that does it in your area to get an accurate price.
We have one quote at $0.16 per sq foot for hydroseeding. That rig would be traveling about 20 miles and we would be looking at doing about 1/2 acre.
Another place charges by the “load/tank” on their sprayer. I think they’re at $1200 a tank.
Our plan is to do that on the steepest areas on the walkout side of the house in a couple weeks, then seed, straw, and water the rest and see what happens. We will then dormant seed again in the fall. For every 1 sod job I’ve seen look good 3 years after installation…I’ve seen 20 that look like crap
Think with any of the 3, you can make your own luck. Spoil preparation is huge. Especially after construction. Good topsoil can get buried. Ground can get severely compacted. Most developers smooth it off and put down the seed, sod etc. In digging in my yard, I’ve found crap clay, the original soil from the farm field it used to be. Along with the banding from the trusses, and 2 burn piles. Tilling to loosen up the soil so roots can penetrate whatever you plant. Also {a few soil tests} as your dirt around the foundation, may now be different from the yard. Last but very important is proper amounts of water. Be it trees, plants or grass it’s easy to fall behind on that if you don’t have irrigation.
Looking at hydroseeding this fall, can anyone reccomend a company? I live close to the State Fair.
Thanks
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