Contact Us Now!
(checked daily) We will
discuss scheduling requests. Please include
both day and evening phone numbers and the best time to
call you.
Thank you for
visiting my website!
Does Your Lawn Need Renovating?
Benefits of Slit Seeding
Renovates and rejuvenates an existing lawn
Highest quality method of seeding an existing lawn
Costs less than re-sodding
Eliminates need for additional topsoil application
Seed is better protected from birds and animals
Seed is planted more evenly and directly into soil
Highest percentage of seed germination
Spring Slit Seeding Special (up to 3,000 square feet)
Includes Lawn Aeration, Starter Fertilizer, and Slit Seeding
in two different directions if possible, as well as sowing with
certified blue-tag, Golf-Course-Fairway Quality Seed.
$395 (plus tax)
What is Slit Seeding?
Slit seeding is the process of slicing through the thatch layer of your lawn and placing seed in direct contact with the soil.
Closely spaced blades cut vertical furrow in existing lawn
Hydraulic cam evenly distributes and drops seed in front of furrows
Measured amount of seed per square foot is distributed
Brushes sweep seed into furrows and aerating holes
Who uses Slit Seeding?
Golf Courses
Sod Farms
Athletic Fields
Landscape Turf Managers
Newly-sodded yards that are not doing well
Very sparse lawns
Older lawns that need renovating
For Best Results
Cut lawn as low as possible.
Mark your sprinkler system in advance of my arrival.
Water lightly and infrequently after slit seeding.
What Will My Lawn Look Like Immediately After Slit Seeding?
After aerating and slit seeding, your lawn will look a little messy. Any thatch that is pulled up will help protect the seed and keep it moist; it should not be raked for about 10 days. Although initially this will look messy, your lawn will recover in a short amount of time.
My Slit Seeder Equipment
My Lesco Slit Seeder is an innovative professional powered lawn renovator and a sports/turf quality machine. I am one the few turf professionals in Western Washington that own or operate this precision machinery, which is not available from rental companies.
Dimensions: 32” wide, weight 325 pounds
Hydrostatic Drive and Hydraulic Cam for even seed distribution
8 HP Industrial Kawasaki Motor
Pneumatic Wheels (13” high by 5” wide) for heavy duty application
Fits through a normal gate but is not meant to be lifted; however can be ramped 5 steps
Seed
Seed Quality. Higher quality seed for Western Washington is grown in Oregon in the Willamette Valley. This seed is usually endophyte enhanced which is a fungus that discourages some chewing insect pests and increases your lawns' stress resistance. Seed is professionally mixed or blended for a reason. If only one super seed was used and it became susceptible to a pest or disease, you would lose your whole lawn. Most seed is purchased at the big box stores and is purchased on one criterion, price. Most homeowners do not take into consideration purity and quality.
Many things are considered when seed is mixed or blended:
the color of the grass at maturity
the fineness of the blade and uniformity
how the grass will be maintained, such as cutting and fertilization
disease and susceptibility to pests
This is why I purchase my seed by the ton, from a seed broker I have known for over 10 years. My seed cannot be purchased at nurseries or box stores. I use only seed that local golf courses use on their fairways. A fairway grass is a Class C turf which most closely resembles your home lawn. A putting green is an example of a Class A turf. For home lawns I prefer to use a 60/40 blue tag overseeding mix. Eighty percent of residential homeowners stop watering after the perennial rye grass germinates or end up mowing up the fescues which haven't had enough time to root properly before cutting.
Fescue grass also requires more water longer than perennial rye grass in order to become established. You need to water a little longer than you think so the secondary grasses can become established. Also note that you don't want to let the perennial rye grass grow above 5 inches tall before first cut or it will shade out your fescues.
Kentucky Blue Grass looks beautiful, but in Western Washington. The winter does not get cold enough here so this grass cannot go into dormancy and it dies. Kentucky blue grass is used at local sod farms to help hold the sod together.
Cheap seed is no bargain, it quite often contains other non desirable grasses by accident or on purpose. At the box stores I now see a change in marketing techniques by reputable seed producers. They market seed with their nationally known name but aimed at the cheapest purchaser. These seeds are marketed using descriptions like "contractors' mix" or "extremely fast establishing" or "quick green". The frugal shopper buys this seed, gets it home, applies it, and it looks great. But when the seed finally matures, it's usually wide bladed and ugly and "goes to seed" all the time. The frugal shopper then sees the ugly lawn and by then has forgotten what he put on last year so goes back and buys a cheap, low-quality product again!
Fertilizing
A healthy grass plant is better able to resist the
stress of summer heat, drought and weed invasion. Feed the lawn before the heat of summer with
a slow-release fertilizer to strengthen the lawn and deepen the root system, making it more
competitive and vigorous without promoting the rapid plant growth that causes the grass to use
excessive water and dry out.
Keep fertility levels up before summer stress hits, and heat and drought damage is kept to a minimum during the summer months. Recovery will happen much earlier and more rapidly. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!
Mowing Height
Mowing height directly affects the depth of root growth in grass
plants. Raise the height of cut on a lawn to 2.5 inches to reduce
stress on the grass plant by leaving more leaf surface and more
root mass.
Check your lawn-mower blade to make sure it is still sharp. If you
sharpen your own blade, don't forget to balance the blade to prevent engine shaft damage.
Reduce the number of mowings to reduce the amount of water lost
due to evaporation.
Water and Wetting Agents
Water lawns deeply and infrequently to force the roots to go deeper in search of water and to create a more drought-tolerant lawn.
Water during the cool part of the day to reduce evaporation and to get more water to the roots.
Wetting agents help moisture to penetrate dry, hard soils, making more
water available to the roots. Localized dry spots can occur on irrigated lawns,
causing the soil to become hydrophobic or water repelling.
To get soil to accept water, add 1 tablespoon of
liquid soap to 1 gallon of water, then apply to the dried
area. This is an inexpensive soil-wetting agent.
Water and Mulching
Deep, infrequent watering along with mulching helps hold moisture deeper in
the soil where is it less subject to evaporation and more available to the roots.
Mulch applied to your garden beds 2-3 inches deep helps retain moisture
in your garden. Mulching also helps keep tree roots cool and protects
shallow roots.
Pruning
Avoid drastic pruning of shrubs and ornamentals to reduce evaporation and stress on the plants during the summer heat. If you dead head your annuals and perennials quite often, they will bloom again in summer.
Sprinklers
Check your sprinkler system for broken or misaligned heads. Make sure your sprinkler system has a rain sensor to help you
save on your water bill. Flag your sprinkler system heads in summer then take a picture showing
all your flagged heads. Then when your system is first turned on in
spring, any non-operating heads will be easier to locate. Plug drip irrigation emitters for plants that no longer exist.
Keeping Washington green . . .
one lawn at a time,
