Hydroseeding

[wasabi]

I'm thinking (without the benefit of first confirming prices of all necessary parts), of a multiple purpose scenario...essentially a mobile hydroseeding, watering and occasional orchard/vineyard spraying unit. That said, unlike the tractor choice, in this case I can't justify sinking money into a big unit for occasional use. More research...

 

[BrettW]

So, Murph,
You didn't hrdro seed at all,correct? You just worked the soil nice and loose , then used the Herdseeder. Do I have this right? thanks, brettw

 

[wasabi]

Micromike,

Please excuse the delayed response...I've been so inspired reading the links you provided that I neglected to thank you! Great info...

 

[micromike]

wasabi

No problem! I so enjoy reading all the posts here and have learned so much I'm just glad I could contribute something of value. Let us know what you decide to do.

Mike

 

[thcri]

Brett,

That is exactly right. Working the soil and then getting the seed buried a half inch is really what you are doing with the hydro. You are creating a protectant around the seed. Keeping the seed in a substance that holds moisture. Doing it at a time (in the fall) when you have cooler temperatures during the day but yet warm soil to hold moisture and warmth is a must.

Fall of the year is the best. My neighbor had his hydro seeded. They would not do it during the hotter months of summer. Only in the spring and the fall. Now hydro seeding will protect you better from rains. One of the two areas that I planted I did have to come back and do some repairs where a good rain storm created a trench. But that was simple.

Now my neighbor that did have his hydro seeded, well first time we had a major rain storm and down the hill everything went, that was in the spring. The second time which they would not do until the fall, has come up but is so thin I think he is going to have nothing but weeds filling in. Mine came in so thick doing it the way I did. Any more questions just yell.

Also before you seed and work it in, put some fertilizer down a couple two three days before that has some good nitrogen content. No chemicals such as weed killers and prohibitors. Just plain old fertilizer. Now if you are doing a hill side then you should think about hydro to a point. If the hill is a good hill then you need to go to the batting that you can stake. The batting is doing the same thing again. Holding moisture around the seed. It's what the farmers do!!

Murph

 

[BrettW]

Thanks Murph,
What or how did you drag the seed after spreading? thanks once more, brett

 

[thcri]

I had a 4 foot tooth drag that did a pretty good job. The teeth sunk in about two inches. The only problem I didn't like about it was that it kind of put the seeds in a row with 1" spacing. But the grass did fill in eventually. I saw on the internet or you can do a search for rakes or even de-thatchers. I saw one of them that was like a screen with teeth that I thought would work ok also. The second time I did this seeding method I went back over it with a hand rake after I dragged it. That area turned out nicer. Anyway it was a cheap way of doing it and I was able to spend more time on the tractor.

Murph

ps. if i had a picture of it i would send you

 

[DannyWilliams]

Well all I can say is this. I purchased a new house on a one acre lot a couple of years ago. There was no grass...just weeds. I sprayed roundup on a section and killed all the weeds. Waited a couple of weeks and began working the soil. Used my box blade with rippers extended approx. 4 inches below the blade...(yes, I acutally welded an extension onto each ripper)...works like a champ. Got the soil worked and leveled...drug a 15' 3"X5" X1/4" angle iron around behind the tractor (BX2200). This process worked really nice. So now I've got an area ready for planting (don't plant more than you can keep watered). I went through this process 5 times....work an area, plant, water, wow, start mowing and preping the next section.

Basically, after getting an area plowed and leveled, I simply used a walk behind spreader and spread some lawn starter fertilizer and then put the seed down the same way. Keep it wet and it's magic...in about 7 to 10 days you'll have grass coming up. Again, keep it watered and you'll be mowing in no time.

I tried different methods as far as covering up the seed after spreading. I drug a piece of chain link fence behind the tractor at first and later I decided to just spread the seed and put the sprinkler on it. It's amazing, the sprinkler action seems to acutally work the seed in deep enough to do the trick. As I recall, the instructions on the seed bag (I used Enviro Bermuda) indicated that the seed needed to be a 1/4" or less below the surface. I had the same results whether I drug something over the seed or just put the sprinkler on it.

So, it's pretty simple....plow it, level it, use a starter fertilizer, spread the seed and most important, KEEP IT WATERED. Do that and IT WILL GROW. I planted mine throughout the summer...it all came up like gang busters. It simply likes warm weather, water and fertilizer.

SOUNDS LIKE A BROKEN RECORD DOSEN'T IT. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Go for it.

 

[thcri]

I did about a quater of an acre on two different occasions. I did not have to water at all. The trick is in the fall on cooler days and you still had warm soil at night. The normal rain that we got was enough to get everything going. The next spring I did have to water really good as the roots were not very deep yet and the grass started to turn brown. If you let the seed on top of the soil, the sun will burn it unless you sprinkle it. My problem was no one home during the day to move sprinkler and also you can't get it to wet either.

Murph