[picframer]

Had a client call a few days ago wanting their lawn tilled under and hydro seeeded, we use RTF hydro seed, if you are looking for a lawn that will stand up to just about anything, this seed is amazing.

Anyhow our process is to apply turf dressing and till it under, spray with an organic product that will brake the grass down go back in five days, till again, roll and then have the hydro seeder come in.

These PTO tillers just shock me at the quality vs a walk behind, I have never seen such great results and clients rave about it.

This is a 18,000 sp/ft property, took me 2 hours from start to finish, brought a new helper as I am showing him the various things we do and had him hand rake a few spots.

Image one and two in the centre is the first till last week, around the edge is my first pass

 

[picframer]

Few more pics

 

[MTD snow plow]

Nice work and nice machine! Looks like you got some seat time.
:fing32:

 

[PA318Guy]

Man that tiller does great! Thanks for the info on RTF, never heard of it before so I'll look for it. I have one lawn that could use the treatment!

 

[wmupaprmkr]

nice job! that tiller is a work horse!

 

[jakenbake]

awesome!
care to share what product you were using to break down the grass? with most non-selective herbicides you have to wait a month. but those aren't organic products either.

 

[pigsitter]

Nice work that tiller really does a great job!:fing32:

 

[picframer]

Man that tiller does great! Thanks for the info on RTF, never heard of it before so I'll look for it. I have one lawn that could use the treatment!

Thanks, we do around 170 lawns a season, some are make overs like this one, some are for new homes.

My sod supplier met with me in April as they had acquired the rights to this RTF seed/sod which I believe originated in the states, they wanted a seed that was drought resistant, insect resistant and weed resistant, I recall thinking to myself, ya we all want those features.......

Anyhow I did my research and was quite taken with what I read so we tried the sod in May and I was shocked as was the client, they were mowing within 10 days and not one brown patch or weed to be found, normally 3 to 5% of sod will die around the corners but come back, this didn't, normally you will fins a weed or two in 5,000 sq/ft, this RTF sod....nothing anyhow sod taking this fast in our climate is not normal, we since have done around 40 lawns with it and every one is raved about. We have done around 90 homes with the traditional blue grass sod and those lawns are in trouble as we had a record hot summer with no rain so they developed rust which there isn't much we can do about.

In late July and early August we do not sod due to the heat and most clients we do are outside the city proper on wells, we started the landscaping side of the company again the latter part of August but were informed the RTF sod was sold out until next year.

Hydroseeding RTF was offered however I have never been a fan of Hydro seeding but honestly never tried it myself so we sprayed a clients property, OMG they were mowing in 14 days, it's been three weeks and I need to go back and take pictures as they swear it looks like it was sod, so we have been using Hydro seeding and next year it's all I will use, saves so much labor time and the results so far are just as good.

As for RTF, there is a lot of information on the web, it reads like a dream grass and so far for us it is.

 

[picframer]

awesome!
care to share what product you were using to break down the grass? with most non-selective herbicides you have to wait a month. but those aren't organic products either.

It's a Biological Dethacher (designed for thatch) however on tilled lawns where we basically destroy the grass and weeds, it is amazing what the results are.

http://www.natureslawn.com/biological-dethatcher.php

 

[JDFANATIC]

Andy,

Keep the pics and tips coming. You're bringing a wealth of info to everyone! :thThumbsU

 

[picframer]

Andy,

Keep the pics and tips coming. You're bringing a wealth of info to everyone! :thThumbsU

Thanks, it's trial and error but being paid well for it.....I have learned so many tricks not only with lawn care but running gear, I took our 50D excavator across a ravene today, it was open almost 5 feet across and about 8 feet deep, there were a lot of construction workers watching, it only took seconds, stuff like this doesn't fizz me.....then I dug an in ground pool, at the end of the day the developer and pool company said it was the best quality work they have seen, made me feel good and from it the business flows!

I now have 9 tractors and four excavators and I won't begin to list the Stihl equipment we have, proobably 30 pieces at least, it really is a dream to be able to do this every day from chipping wood, mowing, excavation, CUT's etc. I have a great deal of respect for Deere equipment, we put it to the test every day and it never gives up and what some of this equipment will do is simply shocking.

 

[mhussey]

Awesome pics Andy! Ive been debating doing the same thing for my lawn. Just seems like Im wasting money put Scotts System to eat and rolling each year. No matter what it is not nice and smooth and all blades of grass. Mind shooting me a message on what you would charge for a job like this? I've considered renting a tiller for the 855, rolling w/ my 48" roller, and then paying a company to come and hydro seed.

 

[picframer]

Awesome pics Andy! Ive been debating doing the same thing for my lawn. Just seems like Im wasting money put Scotts System to eat and rolling each year. No matter what it is not nice and smooth and all blades of grass. Mind shooting me a message on what you would charge for a job like this? I've considered renting a tiller for the 855, rolling w/ my 48" roller, and then paying a company to come and hydro seed.

How big is the lawn and how deep are the depressions? Is it full of weeds or just not growing well? You have good soil in your area, I am from New Brunswick but spent a lot of time in Maine.

Although I would have to see the lawn, it may very well be a good 3" of Organic garden soil and hydro seeding is all it will take.

The job above is $2,900, now keep in mind RTF Hydro Seeding is about four thousand an acre, turf dressing is $780 for 18 yards, we spread the turf using a landscape rake then till, spray, let sit, till, roll and hydro seed

 

[2001gagt]

Looks good picfarmer, the Green Diamond Dealer near your must love to see you coming.

 

[picframer]

Looks good picfarmer, the Green Diamond Dealer near your must love to see you coming.

They treat me very, very well, great company

 

[Jim_WV]

More great pics and comments Andy :fing32:, and :thanku: for sharing with us .

 

[2001gagt]

They treat me very, very well, great company

I have to say the same thing about the Green Diamond up here.

 

[picframer]

I stopped by the site for a moment yesterday and took a couple of pictures from the truck, we was raining very hard so I couldn't get a real close look but from what I could see, it turned out great.

 

[mhussey]

How big is the lawn and how deep are the depressions? Is it full of weeds or just not growing well? You have good soil in your area, I am from New Brunswick but spent a lot of time in Maine.

Although I would have to see the lawn, it may very well be a good 3" of Organic garden soil and hydro seeding is all it will take.

The job above is $2,900, now keep in mind RTF Hydro Seeding is about four thousand an acre, turf dressing is $780 for 18 yards, we spread the turf using a landscape rake then till, spray, let sit, till, roll and hydro seed

The lawn is half an acre (of old cow pasture and the soil is excellent). The bumps are small, only an inch to two inches here and there and my +/- 400# roller wont do anything for them. Ive got a foolish question but what is turf dressing? Oh yeah, my lawn has very little weeds, especially this time of year. If it grew as green and thick as it is this month, Id be happy and not touch it...maybe just rent a bigger roller. It is wierd, even in places that I have hauled yards of loam in to level and grade areas, the surface has bumpy spots...kinda like raised clumps in places. Some maybe from voles, others seem to be around weeds here and there. Just frustrating when you take the time to fill, grade smooth and level with the 855 bucket, rake, roll, and seed to deal with this. Minor but I think of it every time I mow over these areas. There are thin spots, when it comes to blades of grass, here and there due to boulders not to far down under the soil (grass burns in August). The only thing I cant get rid of is Creeping Charlie that has popped up and Ive read there is really no way to get rid of it.

$2900 for that job is a good deal, sounds like if I did the work myself I'd be looking at $2k for hydroseeding...that would be the tough part to justify since I already have a green grass lawn.

 

[Alan in Vermont]

Andy, do you do own hydroseeding or sub it out?

I did a lot of it over the years and the biggest weakness I found was the fact that the mulch was not much use as erosion control. It re-wets and washes off way too easy. At one time I had a line on a tackifier that didn't re-wet but it disappeared from the marketplace.

Two years ago, just as housing starts were coming to a standstill, I found this product, http://www.gypsumsolutions.com/environmental/enviroshield.asp . USG supplied me with enough to do a test patch on about a 1-3 slope (1' drop in 3', I can never remember which way to express that) with a 50' strip of asphalt at the top that just sheeted water across the seeded area. It doesn't dry out, it sets up. No re-wetting although it absorbs and holds moisture, mixes fast in a jet agitation machine, doesn't seem to have any bad habits.

They make some serious claims about what it will do and from my limited experience I believe them.