Frequently Asked Questions

Early October can still work for cool-season grass if the seed goes down in the first week or two and you keep it watered, but it is past Purdue's preferred September window and young grass will go into winter thin. By late October we usually recommend waiting for a dormant seeding after the ground cools in late November, or for the next spring or late-summer window. If the ground is bare and will erode, we can mulch and stabilize it now and seed later.

Cool-season grasses suit our climate. Tall fescue handles heat and wear well, Kentucky bluegrass spreads and repairs itself in full sun, and perennial ryegrass sprouts quickly and is often blended in. For shade under mature trees we add fine fescues. We choose the mix after seeing the sun, shade and traffic on your lot.

For residential hydroseeding, HomeGuide's national figures come to $0.12 to $0.35 per sq ft, Angi's to $0.07 to $0.26, and LawnStarter notes minimum job fees of $300 to $500. Grading, topsoil and slopes add to that. After we see the yard you get a written quote, and we hold to that number when the job is done.

It depends on size and timing. Sod is instant and suits small areas you need finished right away. Hydroseed costs much less per square foot, roots into your own soil from the start, and holds better on slopes and drainage paths, but it takes weeks to fill in.

Under good conditions the first sprouts show in about five to seven days, and the lawn looks green within a few weeks. Thick, mowable turf usually takes four to six weeks, longer in cool spring weather.

Indiana's Construction Stormwater General Permit covers land disturbance of one acre or more, and it can also apply to a smaller lot inside a bigger planned development. Homeowners re-seeding an existing yard generally do not need it. If you are a builder or developer, we work from your site's erosion control plan.

Keep the mulch surface damp. In warm weather that usually means two or three light waterings a day until the seedlings are up and filling in, then fewer, deeper waterings. We leave a written schedule for your lawn.

Across the national guides we follow, hydroseeding runs $0.07 to $0.35 per sq ft, and HomeGuide puts 5,000 square feet at $1,000 to $1,750. Many companies have a minimum fee of $300 to $500. Grading and topsoil are extra, and once we have measured, the figure we write down is the figure we charge.

Over a thin lawn, yes, after scalping or core aerating so the seed reaches soil. Over a thick lawn or heavy weeds it does little; we would kill and clear the area first or recommend overseeding instead.

Light foot traffic after the first two or three mows, usually six to eight weeks. Keep pets and play off it until then.

If the surface is clay subsoil left from construction, yes. If you have a few inches of dark, crumbly soil already, we can usually loosen and seed it directly.

The tackifier holds most storms, but a heavy downpour on fresh ground can cut a rill. Call us and we will re-spray the damaged area.

Yes. Most of our commercial seeding is done for builders, site contractors and developers. Send the plans and we will price to them.

Yes. Seeding lots as they reach final grade keeps exposed soil small and is often easier on the schedule than waiting for a whole phase.

A quick-growing annual grass sprayed with mulch to hold soil on areas that will be disturbed again. It is not a final lawn, but it keeps sediment in place for months.

Yes. Silt fence, storm inlet protection and erosion control blankets are all work we do ourselves, so one crew can handle stabilization from start to finish.

It depends on access, water and mulch rate, but a truck-mounted machine covers acres in a day on open ground. We give you a schedule with the estimate.

Hydromulch is fiber mulch with tackifier, good for gentle slopes. Bonded fiber matrix carries more binder and fiber and cures into a tough, water-permeable crust that holds on steeper ground with no stapling.

Usually yes. Once water flows in a channel it can lift sprayed mulch, while a stapled blanket holds seed and soil until the grass roots in.

Straw blankets are meant to break down over roughly a season or two as the grass establishes. Coir and straw-coconut blankets last longer for channels and steep slopes.

Often, by reshaping the bank, replacing lost soil, seeding and covering it with a blanket. Work in or along a stream can need state or federal permits, so we check that before any work below the top of the bank.

Yes. The blanket is open enough for seedlings to grow through, and the netting is buried in the turf as it thickens.

Sediment controls are part of the stormwater pollution prevention plan required under the state's Construction Stormwater General Permit, which covers land disturbance of an acre or more and smaller lots in a larger common plan of development. The plan for your site says where they go.

Yes, the lower edge goes into a trench that is backfilled and tamped, so runoff cannot slip under the fabric. We follow the depth shown on your plan's detail or the manufacturer's instructions.

No. Silt fence is not built for concentrated flow. Ditches need check structures or blankets, which we can install instead.

Whenever sediment builds up to a significant share of the fence height, and after major storms. On a busy site that can be every few weeks in spring.

Yes. Once the site has permanent cover, we pull the fence and stakes, spread the trapped soil and seed the strip.

On the slow-draining till soils around Indianapolis, water that cannot run off has to soak in, and it does that slowly. Low spots, flat areas with no outlet and compacted fill are the usual causes. Regrading to give the water a path is often the fix.

It depends on what is there. A yard with some decent soil may only need a light layer, while bare clay subsoil benefits from a deeper layer blended in. We check on the site visit.

Usually, by regrading, adding a swale, or installing a drain where grading alone cannot move the water. We find the cause first.

For drainage work, yes: swales, French drain trenches, buried downspout lines and catch basins. Larger excavation like basements is outside what we do.

Often, yes. Spraying right after the finish grade is set protects the soil from the next storm.

Late August through September is the strongest window for cool-season grass in central Indiana, based on Purdue Extension's guidance. Early spring and dormant seeding from late November into March are fallback options.

On the compacted, silty clay soils common around Indianapolis, yes. Aeration gives seed better soil contact and room to root.

New seedlings usually show within one to two weeks and blend in over four to eight weeks. Shaded areas take longer.

Many pre-emergent products also stop grass seed from germinating. If you overseed in fall, check the label before applying one the following spring.

Overseeding will not crowd out a lawn that is mostly weeds. We would usually recommend clearing the area and hydroseeding a new lawn.