Hydroseeding Is Fast, Safe And Economical

By Elsa English


Popular home improvement shows compress the time it takes to finish a project, giving viewers a speedy vision of the transformation from start to finish. Not only does the home undergo a makeover, but the grounds are also improved by planting fully grown plants and shrubs, as well as an instant sod lawn. The finished product is always beautiful but expensive, and many owners achieve a comparable look with hydroseeding.

This is not a revolutionary new way of growing grass or other ground-cover, but rather an improvement on tried-and-true, natural planting methods. Using fully established sod to create an instant lawn may be appropriate in some cases, but that cover must first be grown. The cost of keeping it weed and pest-free, cutting it into usable strips, and then transporting and installing it is three to four times higher than seeding.

The technology used in water-seeding arose from a need created by the development of the American Interstate Highway System over a half-century ago. Before that time, hillsides left barren by bulldozers were hard to revitalize, and a newly devised way of spraying seed and water helped solve the erosion issue. The process is not complicated, and requires combining seeds, additives, mulch and fertilizer with water.

On site, the truck sprays this soupy mixture wherever needed, and within two weeks new seedlings are sprouting. Coverage is improved, because many areas make comprehensive hand-seeding difficult or impossible. The mulch mixture helps retain natural moisture better than traditional straw, and has the additional advantage of containing no weeds that sometimes sprout along with the grass.

The liquid mixture is easily tailored to local conditions, including the micro-climate and predominant soil. Due to natural variations in topography and native vegetation, a single variety of grass seed may not thrive over an entire patch of lawn. Hydromulching can combine or even switch the varieties of grass being planted, eliminating annoying barren patches in areas of high sun or shade.

New shoots sprout rapidly, and while there is no sod-inspired instant gratification for gardeners, the watery mixture is already infused with the elements needed for rapid, healthy growth, unlike patches of manually planted ground which may need fertilizer. It is easy to leave inadvertent gaps when seeding by hand, but the organic dye used in water-based methods eliminates missed spots.

Mulch slurry may also contain special additives designed to help newly-sown seeds cling to hillsides more effectively by preventing excess evaporation. Other additives may include additional moisture-retaining chemicals, or specially formulated stimulants to encourage rapid growth. Most also mix in more traditional fertilizers such as phosphorus to encourage rapid development of root networks.

In most cases, the end product is a vibrantly green, attractive new lawn. While the process is slower than placing layers of sod, these new plants do not have to re-grow roots cut during transplantation, and usually remain healthier for a longer period of time. During the first new shoots require water daily, followed by normal lawn care procedures. For homeowners, this is a result worth the wait.




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