Home improvement TV shows typically compress several weeks of labor into a few minutes, allowing viewers a fast-forward glimpse of the transformation from dowdy fixer-upper to finished showplace. Fully grown plants are added to the landscaping, and sod magically appears where barren soil once ruled. The final look is very impressive, but often costly, and most homeowners can get similar results using 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.
That combination of seed and nutrients usually sprouted within a few days, and the hillsides stabilized. In many cases, steep angles or other problems make hand-seeding virtually impossible, creating uneven results. A liquid mulch mixture replaced the traditional layer of straw designed to retain moisture, and has the built-in advantage of containing no weed seeds to crowd more desirable shoots.
The grass seed itself can be a controlled mix of varieties known to thrive in the local soils and micro-climates. Lawn care professionals realize that a single variety of seed does not always grow well on every section of lawn due to differences in vegetation and topography, and hydromulching gardeners plant different varieties of seed in high traffic areas or shady spots as needed.
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.
The result can be a beautiful, healthy-looking lawn. Even though this method is slower than rolling out sod, the plants are usually healthier, and do not have to re-grow roots than may have been cut during installation. The new grass will need daily watering for around two weeks, and normal lawn maintenance afterward. For most homeowners, the results and savings are worth waiting for.
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.
That combination of seed and nutrients usually sprouted within a few days, and the hillsides stabilized. In many cases, steep angles or other problems make hand-seeding virtually impossible, creating uneven results. A liquid mulch mixture replaced the traditional layer of straw designed to retain moisture, and has the built-in advantage of containing no weed seeds to crowd more desirable shoots.
The grass seed itself can be a controlled mix of varieties known to thrive in the local soils and micro-climates. Lawn care professionals realize that a single variety of seed does not always grow well on every section of lawn due to differences in vegetation and topography, and hydromulching gardeners plant different varieties of seed in high traffic areas or shady spots as needed.
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.
The result can be a beautiful, healthy-looking lawn. Even though this method is slower than rolling out sod, the plants are usually healthier, and do not have to re-grow roots than may have been cut during installation. The new grass will need daily watering for around two weeks, and normal lawn maintenance afterward. For most homeowners, the results and savings are worth waiting for.
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