Advantages

Cost

Hydroseeding typically costs less than 1/3 the price of sod. Sod can be expensive, especially when labour is factored in. Hydroseeding requires less installation time and less material, which means you can have a healthy lawn for a fraction of the cost.  Hydroseeding costs 2 to 4 times more than conventional broadcast or drill seeding.  But one needs to remember that hydroseeding includes mulch to protect the seed, fertilizer, plant hormones, and tackifying agents to reduce the possibility of erosion.  Conventional seeding often requires two or three sowings before a lawn is successfully established.  Hydroseeding is often a better value than broadcast or drill seeding.

 

Quality

Hydroseeding results in much healthier grass because the root system develops in the soil from seed. Sod has to be transplanted and often experiences shock in foreign soil. Additionally, site-specific seed can be used in the mix, including native grasses, drought tolerant mixes, or "front lawn" blends.  This means you get a “custom lawn” instead of whatever the sod farm happens to be growing in a given year. Hydroseeding provides a specially formulated growing medium resulting in fast germinating, healthy grass.  And it is because of this same growing medium that hydroseeded grass has a significantly higher germination rate than grass seeded by traditional methods.

 

Erosion Control

Hydroseeding is the only method of turf establishment that effectively retains moisture and protects from adverse weather conditions. This is due to the ingredients of the slurry. Unlike conventional seeding and sod, hydroseeding has less rigorous watering demands, is more tolerant of drought and wind, and better withstands conditions that lead to washout. Hydroseeding provides the ideal environment for germination and erosion control.  For areas where there is significant slope and risk of erosion, special additional tackifying agents can be added to the slurry to give results equivalent to erosion control matting.

 

 

 

Application

Hydroseeding can be applied easily to slopes and wet, or bumpy soil and areas that may be inaccessible by conventional means.  This means that the window for establishing grass is greatly extended past that of placing sod or seeding by traditional methods.