Enviroscapes experience includes successfully seeding hundreds of acres using both cool season and warm season grass mixtures. We employ various seeding techniques including drill (Truax Seeder, Brillion Seeder, Gill Overseeder), hydroseeding and hand broadcasting in many diverse environments.
Contrary to popular belief, seeding is a complex operation. There are a combination of factors that must be addressed to ensure a successful project. With the increased selection of warm season grasses on environmental and construction projects, there is a misconception that these grasses will grow quickly and fill-in as completely as cool season grass mixtures. Therefore, it is important to remember these critical factors in performing seed services of any kind:
- Time of year: In the Northeast seeding is best performed in the spring (April, May and June) and fall (September, October, November). This is directly tied to the weather and the amount of rainfall and temperatures endemic to those times of year. December is also possible and we have seen good results seeding just prior to a significant snow event, where the seed can sit dormant throughout the winter with adequate moisture and cover and then germinate in the spring.
- Good seed/soil contact: seeds must be planted (covered by soil) at the correct depth. With most grass seeds that depth is 1/8 to 1/4 of soil above the seed. With other types of seeds, planting depth can be deeper, but with grass seeds, this depth is often a critical factor in achieving satisfactory germination.
- Appropriate soil: On many environmental and construction projects, good cost-effective topsoil is becoming increasingly hard to find. Topsoil should have an adequate amount of nutrients, moisture, and organic content as well as a pH in the range of 5.5 to 6.5 for most conditions. Another issue is the increase in dredged materials being incorporated with soil to make engineered topsoil. The high soluble salt content will adversely affect seed germination and establishment.
- Patience: Unfortunately most people think of rye grass and how quickly it germinates (five to seven days) when seeding. With the increasing complex cool season and warm season grass mixtures developed, seven days is an unrealistic expectation when planting new seeds especially warm season. Therefore, it is very important to check with the seed contractor and/or seed supplier to actually understand the purpose of the seed proposed for a site and the actual time it will take to establish; to avoid frustration over expectations.
Using a variety of tractors and drill seed techniques, we have seeded Superfund sites, land reclamation areas, unstable slopes and landfill areas.
Our soil preparation equipment includes:
- Harley Rakes®
- Chisel Plow
- Rototillers
Our drill seeding equipment list includes:
- Gill™ Seeder
- Land Pride™ Over Seeder
- Brillion Grass Seeder
- Truax drill Seeder
- Straw Blowers