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Originally Posted by NoRegrets
Thanks you so much for your insite! We fired the Lawndog last year after several years of paying and at the end there is nothing left except to bring in new soil and hydroseed. Now with your posts I feel we will do a better job of not trusting the franchise (I am sure some are good) and be a better educated consumer.
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NoRegrets, if you are paying for hydroseed, just be careful about seed selection that they offer. They will use a very high content of PR (perennial ryegrass). They do that for the fast germination. Here in NE you can certainly get a fairly nice looking lawn using PR.
If you are striving for the really nice lawn then go with a blend of sod quality Kentucky Bluegrass (KBG). It takes a full three weeks to germinate and will be thin in spots and requires more water days during initial establishment. However, it spreads via rhizhomes so overseeding is not needed unless you get a large area that dies off for some reason. After 2-3 seasons, you'll be a very happy camper with the dark green color. The dark green comes from the genetics of the KBG plant, not just from fertilizer. If you go with KBG, remember this word: patience.
You can get sod quality PR or KBG seed and have them load it into the hydroseeder. Personally, I've had better luck with my broadcast seeder. You also get some exercise and save money at the same time. I recommend
www.seedsuperstore.com as I have had very good luck with their seed. They have both PR and KBG in sod quality. You can't get sod quality seed at HD or Lowe's as they simply don't sell it (primarily due to cost)
If you want something fun to do, go to HD or Lowe's and flip over the bags of seeds and look at the mixtures. You'll see two bags with identical packaging having different seed types
This is why those bags can result in yards that look spotty as you can get fine, wide, and medium blade grass seeds and it ruins any chance of the 'uniform' look. Then homeowner then believes the soil must be different in those spots not knowing it was the seed.
Scott's has their "select" seed where every bag is that same but they use low grade seeds and you'll never see a retail bag have weed content of 0.00% like when you buy sod quality. With sod quality grass seed you will almost always find the germination rates of over 85-90%
Before you spend the money on new soil, I strongly suggest taking soil samples to see what you have. What I can tell you is if your pH is either way to high or low than that is where to start. The pH in the soil impacts nutrient uptake by the plant. Also, heavy shade = poor lawn.
If the test shows low organic matter (OM), have 1 to 2 inches of soil brought in and then core aerate the living daylight out of it to work it in with the top of your existing soil. Then seed and use a lawn roller. Keep lightly watering until the entire lawn is germinated. Never leave the soil 'wet' or having any pooling but rather keeping it continuosly damp is the goal. Watering is where a lot of people fail as it requires 2-3 times a day for 1-3 weeks.
If you have over 5% organic matter in your soil, and still can't get grass to establish, you have either a pH out of whack or gross macro nutrient deficiency that the test should reveal.
Lastly, do not bag your clippings. Mulch mowing is the way to go as it specifically addresses the organic matter over time.