How Hydroseeding Can Grow Your Lawn, or Landscaping Business

Hydroseeding helps grow your lawn

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As landscapers and contractors continue to seek ways to improve the bottom line while providing exceptional service, hydroseeding is an option that provides incredible value to both customers and business operators.

Compared to other more labor-intensive methods for establishing turf, like sodding or hand-seeding, hydroseeding is in a class of its own in terms of value. For small-to medium-sized landscaping businesses, adding a hydroseeder to the company fleet could be the next step in growing the business to new heights.

Hydroseeding is the application of a seed, water and mulch mixture to prepared soil. While hydroseeding takes proper aftercare maintenance to germinate and grow a beautiful lawn, the value lies in the application of the seed. Hydroseeding has many benefits for both residential and commercial applications. Let’s take a look at some of the top benefits now.

Save Time and Money

The success of a landscaping business is tied to saving time and money while providing value to customers. When assessed against sod or hand-seeding, hydroseeding for landscaping businesses is a superior option.

Compared to sodding, hydroseeding is faster and easier with fewer man hours to complete the same job. Most hydroseeders can be operated by a one- or two-person team compared to the labor-intensive act of unrolling and applying sod. The International Association of Hydroseeding Professionals estimates hydroseeding is up to 75% less expensive than applying sod.

Compared to hand-seeding, hydroseeding is much quicker with a more consistent application rate. A hand-seeded lawn may take half a day to sow compared to a hydroseeded application of 60-90 minutes.

Hydroseeding costs can vary greatly depending on a number of factors:

  • Size of the job
  • Materials, including the type of mulch and seed
  • Size of the hydroseeding tank and how much ground each tank load can cover
  • Type of vehicle needed for the hydroseeder unit, such as a multi-axle vehicle, pick-up truck or a trailer
  • How well maintained the hydroseeding equipment is

Regardless of the cost variance, hydroseeding can save landscaping businesses significant time and money.

High-quality results

The mixture used in hydroseeding is designed to create an ideal environment for the germination of grass seed. The slurry of materials – water, seed, mulch, additives and tackifiers – is a combination designed to promote a healthy root system while maximizing seed germination and growth.

While a sodded yard may produce the immediate “wow” factor, hydroseeding creates a home-grown lawn with full growth after 3-4 weeks. Because a hydroseeded lawn is grown in its long-term home, the yard is less likely to experience disease and weeds. For hand-seeded yards, hydroseeding has the advantage of including moisture-retaining mulch, which allows the grass seed to remain undisturbed and germinate faster.

Ultimately, hydroseeding leads to a healthier, longer-lasting lawn with fewer weed issues because of the deeply grown root system.

Uniform Coverage

One of the main benefits of hydroseeding is the uniform coverage it provides. With proper aftercare maintenance, hydroseeding creates a thicker, more even and uniform lawn that is grown right in the customer’s yard.

While hand-seeded grass is also grown directly in the customer’s yard, this process can be susceptible to patchy spots. In addition, hydroseeders allow landscapers and contractors to cover large areas quickly and efficiently. Inaccessible areas and sloped grounds too steep for sod are easily covered with hydroseeding, while also providing a degree of erosion control.

FINN T90 Hydroseeder
Hydroseeders allow landscapers and contractors to cover large areas quickly and efficiently

Water Retention

A hydroseeding slurry contains mulch, tackifiers and additives that allow the mixture to retain as much as 10 times its weight in water. Sodding and hand seeding can’t match that statistic. After application, the water retained by the materials in the slurry is slowly released with nutrients to promote a healthy root system. The water is replenished during the next rainfall, and the process starts again.

This is an incredibly valuable feature for job sites reliant on Mother Nature to provide water. Because of the water retention with hydroseeding, hand-seeded sites typically require twice as much water as their hydroseeded counterparts.

Versatility

While we’ve primarily discussed residential lawn applications, hydroseeders are versatile pieces of equipment, useful for many different types of job sites. Hydroseeding can support erosion control, stabilize hillsides, restore vegetation, repair grounds after wildfires, support roadside restoration, provide daily cover for landfills, repair grass in city parks and much more.

Hydroseeders can be used by farms, airports, athletic complexes, government agencies, land developers and transportation departments, among many others.

Safety

Hydroseeders are not only safe to operate, but the hydroseeding mixture is also non-toxic and safe for people and animals. While it’s best to not walk on a newly hydroseeded application for at least 3-4 weeks to minimize damage to the soil and seeds, it is safe for the environment. There are no harmful chemicals used in hydroseeding mixtures.

Hydroseeding is the Most Efficient Method to Grow Turf

Adding a hydroseeder to a small- or medium-sized landscaping company could be the missing piece to business growth. Hydroseeders provide an incredible value for landscaping when considering their lower costs, time savings, labor savings, versatility and high-quality results. Ultimately, it is the most efficient technique to grow and establish a healthy lawn.

FINN hydroseeders are operator-friendly and ready for jobs big and small. With an exclusive pump design and several models and options to choose from, no other hydroseeder manufacturer can compete with FINN’s variety, innovation and dependability.

FINN T90 Hydroseeder LL
Hydroseeding is the most efficient technique to grow and establish a healthy lawn

If a Hydroseeder is in your personal or landscaping business’s future, consider some key questions about hydroseeders. Then, take a look at FINN’s hydroseeders and contact a dealer near you to find the best option for your business. Our team is ready to help you cover some ground with Smarter Ways to Work.

Ron Ciolfi

Ron has been in the green industry since 1999 and is a Certified Professional in Erosion & Sediment Control (CPESC). Prior to being employed by Finn, Ron worked at an equipment dealer that not only sold Finn equipment but also specialized in erosion control supplies and materials. During his more than 20 years in the industry, Ron has been able to learn different erosion control techniques from his colleagues and customers and enjoys sharing that wealth of knowledge to help make his customers successful.

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