Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, and early fall is usually the easier window here. The soil is still warm from summer, and the rains that return in October keep the mulch damp, so you water far less than you would after a spring seeding. Seed sown too late into November may sit until spring before it fills in.

Cool-season grasses. WSU Extension recommends mostly turf-type tall fescue and turf-type perennial ryegrass for western Washington lawns, with fine-leaved fescues as an option for light shade and low traffic. Mixes heavy in Kentucky bluegrass and warm-season grasses like bermuda and zoysia are poor choices here. We match the blend to how much sun the area gets and how it will be used.

Some of it will, but a lot gets eaten by birds, blown off or washed away, especially on any slope. Seed does best pressed into loosened soil and kept moist. Hydroseeding solves both by coating the seed in mulch and tackifier that hold water and stick to the ground.

West of the Cascades, late summer into early fall and mid-to-late spring are the usual windows. Around Seattle, fall seeding takes advantage of the returning rain, while spring seeding needs a reliable watering plan for the dry months that follow.

Published national guides differ by source: the low end is about $0.07 and the high end about $0.35 for each square foot of residential hydroseeding, and HomeGuide notes most companies have minimum job fees of $300 to $500 or more. Slopes, soil prep and access move the number. After we walk the yard, the written number we give you is the bill.

Keep foot traffic off while it germinates and fills in. HomeGuide says that under favorable weather the first sprouts appear within 5 to 7 days, with the first mow due at 4 to 6 weeks. Mow high the first few times and only when the soil is firm.

Yes. We set silt fence, inlet protection, erosion control blankets and hydromulch or bonded fiber matrix on slopes. On a construction site, we can stage those first and seed once grading is done.

HomeGuide's national figures run $1,000 to $1,750 for a lawn of roughly 5,000 square feet, and Angi lists $0.07 to $0.26 per square foot. Topsoil, grading and slope change the total. After we see the yard you get a written quote, and that quote is what you pay.

Sprouts usually show within about a week in warm, moist conditions, and the first mow comes at roughly four to six weeks. It takes a full season of mowing and feeding to look thick and settled.

Sod is faster to look finished, but per square foot it runs several times the price of hydroseed and needs heavy watering to root in summer. Hydroseed is the better value on most lots, especially anything with a slope or an odd shape.

Yes, but only with a solid watering plan, because July and August are very dry here. Many homeowners wait for early fall instead.

Moss moves in where turf is thin, shaded or sitting wet. Good soil depth, drainage and a shade-tolerant mix give the grass the upper hand.

Yes. General contractors, developers and site-work companies make up the bulk of our commercial jobs, and we schedule around their grading.

Usually by the acre or square foot, with separate lines for blankets, silt fence and extra mobilizations. Published per-acre ranges run from about $2,000 to $8,700 depending on the source; your written quote is the price.

Yes. Send the spec and we will quote and apply to it.

We can cover it with hydromulch or erosion blankets as temporary stabilization and come back to seed when grading is final.

Both are sprayed. Hydromulch is lighter fiber with tackifier, used on gentle to moderate grades. Bonded fiber matrix is applied heavier and dries into a continuous mat that holds on steeper slopes.

Where water concentrates, as in swales and ditches, or on slopes steep enough that sprayed mulch could slide. Blankets are stapled down and resist flowing water better.

Yes. Blankets and heavier sprayed mulches go on in wet weather, and covering a freshly exposed slope right away is better than waiting for spring.

Grass and ground covers stop surface erosion. They do not fix deep slope movement, which needs an engineer's assessment.

If bare soil can wash toward a sidewalk, street or catch basin, it is a sensible precaution, and permitted projects may require it on the plans. We can look at your site and suggest what makes sense.

Until the disturbed area is covered by grass or other stabilization. Removing it before then lets sediment escape in the next storm.

A filter or barrier around or inside a storm drain that catches sediment before it enters the pipe. Types include fabric barriers, sandbags, gravel and mesh, and insert bags.

Yes, on an agreed schedule. Fence and filters need checking after heavy rain, which in Seattle means often from fall through spring.

It depends on what is there now. On many lots, two to four inches blended into loosened soil is enough; badly stripped construction sites may need more. We measure and tell you before ordering.

Often, with regrading, a swale or a French drain. If water is rising from a high winter water table rather than running across the surface, we explain what grading can and cannot do.

Yes, for drainage: French drains, downspout lines and swales. We request utility locates before any digging.

We keep heavy equipment outside the root zone where we can and do the work by hand close to the trunk.

Early fall is the easiest, because the soil is warm and the rains return. Spring works with regular watering through the dry summer.

Moss takes over where grass is weak: shade, wet or compacted soil, and thin turf. Fixing those conditions and thickening the grass keeps it from coming back as fast.

Yes. For patches larger than a few square feet, spraying hydroseed on prepared soil fills in more evenly than hand seeding.

If the soil is compacted from foot traffic or construction, yes. Aeration gives the seed better contact with the soil and helps water soak in.

If less than about half the area is healthy grass, or the yard is uneven and drains poorly, regrading and a new hydroseed lawn usually makes more sense.