That pervasive green sprayed on overpass slopes and along roads is becoming more familiar to the American public. More people recognize the technique as hydroseeding or hydromulching. As an alternative to the more expensive sod or slow-starting seeding, hydroseeding is being used in many parts of the country. As an erosion control technique, it has gained lots of fans. If you are considering entering the hydroseeding business or adding hydroseeding services to an existing erosion control business, your biggest investment will be equipment. How do you choose what hydroseeding machine to buy, and how do you know what size to purchase? There are many choices. For this article, hydroseeding professionals around the country described some of their typical projects and the equipment they prefer. Hydroseeding Business Growing in FloridaTim Zirkle, president of the Florida division of Hydrograss Technologies, says the company’s Florida office has been busy since it opened in July 2002, with contracts to do hydroseeding work for golf courses and developers. He states that Hydrograss is educating people in Florida about the advantages of hydroseeding and hydrosprigging. The area had been “sod country,” he notes, but more are seeing the lower-cost advantage of hydroseeding. Because of the area’s sandy soil and sometimes heavy rains, there are days when sod cannot be harvested but hydroseeding with tackifier can continue. The company performs soil testing, then matches the type and amount of mulch and tackifier needed. He says the company does a lot of test spraying to demonstrate that hydroseeding works.One big project is the Greg Norman golf course at the Emerald Bay Resort in the Bahamas. For this 20-ac. project, Hydrograss is using a Kincaid 1200LS hydroseeding machine on a trailer pulled by a four-wheel-drive tractor. They chose the 1200 because it was fairly large yet still small enough to be transported to the Bahamas by ship. The pump is a centrifugal pump because they are hydrosprigging about 5 ac. of the project. Hydrosprigging includes Bermuda grass and pas palum grass plugs that are shot out of the standard 1.25-in. hose along with the mulch and water. Each tank covers about 4,000 ft.2 A “trash pump” on the trailer allows the operator to suck up water from onsite lakes instead of hauling extra water. Extra supplies of mulch and seed are carried on the trailer shelf. Hydrograss Technologies also is hydroseeding the fairways, tees, and greens for a Jack Niklaus golf course in Jupiter, FL. For this project, the equipment is a Finn T-330 with a live reel hose and two pumps. Zirkle explains that they are using a four-man crew because the truck and trailer must stay off the course; the hose is pulled up to 300 ft. through trees. One person minds the hose, one operates the unit, and two work the nozzle end. They can store three loads of material on the deck of the trailer and use a lake water source. Two pumps are required to get the distance the mixture must travel. Kincaid machines, including the smaller 425 and 700 Agigators and the 1,200-gal. Pro, are used for much of Zirkle’s residential work. “A 425 and a guy in a pickup can handle most residential jobs,” he maintains. The company operates machines as large as the 3,300-gal. Finn T-330. “We try to use the largest machine possible to save on time and employee costs.” Grassy KansasRestoration after pipeline construction is the main use of hydroseeding for Nowak Construction in the Wichita, KS, area. Pete Bledsoe, foreman, says the company bought a Kincaid 700 Agigator about a year ago, and the work is still in the beginning stages. He notes that the Kincaid salesman makes contact with them about twice a month or anytime they have questions. One time he even came and hydroseeded with them for a day. Nowak is experimenting with different types of mulch and tackifiers. “We can mix a load in about five minutes,” Bledsoe points out. The Kincaid 700 is mounted on a three-quarter-ton pickup and has a cannon nozzle with a 50-ft. hose. He adds that the cannon nozzle gives the crew a 75-ft. reach, although they haven’t needed that yet. The crew for the hydroseeding equipment is usually two, with other people to handle the site preparation. For steeper slopes, they add more tackifier, a process he feels they are learning to gauge pretty well. According to Bledsoe, hydromulching is a little more expensive than seeding, but the crew doesn’t have to make as many return trips. The company probably will add a larger hydroseeding machine to its inventory in the near future as well.Mixing in MassachusettsGreen Acres Hydroseeding in Medway, MA, works with two Reinco machines, one of which it has been running for 12 years. President Shawn McNeely says the company not only uses hydroseeding equipment but also repairs it. One interesting project was seeding a peninsula of land on the Wellesley College campus. A footbridge prevented close access, so the crew seeded through 1,000 ft. of hose. “The pressure wasn’t great, but it worked,” McNeely recalls. They used the standard pump and a 1.5-in. hose. The result was a beautiful green area.Another project also required some clever adaptation. The contract was to hydroseed a new railroad right of way going south out of Boston. The land included woods, swamp, and cranberry bogs. McNeely’s company added railroad wheels to a Ford truck and mounted a 1,500-gal. Reinco machine. Included was a 3-in. pump to draw water from the cranberry bogs. The area to be sprayed varied from 15 to 60 ft. on either side of the track. The two-man crew ran the truck along the new railroad and hydroseeded both sides. “Even on the worst day, the Reinco will pump out the load,” McNeely states. He started with Reinco and has stuck with the company. Maintenance is a daily washing and greasing, with oil changes as needed.McNeely notes that both the hydroseeding and the repair parts of his business are growing every year. The company has a set customer base of landscapers and contractors and also is picking up quite a few residential hydroseeding jobs for individual homeowners.Mulching Texas
Dennis Richmond, owner of Hydromulch Services in Plano, TX, reports that his business is booming. Even the down economy has helped because hydroseeding generally costs less than sod. Texas had a big start in the hydromulching arena in the 1960s, but Richmond says it got a bad reputation in the ’70s and ’80s because many operators were putting down too light a layer, allowing weeds to grow through quickly. He believes that the perception is changing now and is much more positive.Hydromulch Services runs three Bowie 1,100-gal. machines: two on gooseneck trailers and one mounted on a 2.5-ton truck. With the Bowie pumps, spray can go out to 300 ft. The usual mix includes seed, mulch, and a polyacrylamide polymer.One project was the Cisco Systems campus in Richardson, TX, which was a two-phase project. The company seeded rye grass in the fall to prevent erosion through the winter. In the spring, crews killed off the rye and planted Bermuda on the 20-ac. site. Another project was a seeding job at the Stone Briar Country Club, where crews sprayed native grasses on the roughs and slopes along with their own formula of polymers and guar-based tackifier. Keeping to the cart paths and off the greens meant the mixture had to be pumped long distances, a challenge that the machines were able to handle. Soon after the installation, heavy rains fell. Richmond notes that the erosion started right where the hydroseeded sections stopped. He also sees an increase in residential business, up to 20% of the company’s work. For these jobs, he uses the same 1,100-gal. tanks and a two-person crew. The trailer also carries a day’s supply of mulch, seed, and fertilizer, and water is obtained through a meter hooked up to city hydrants. Machine maintenance includes washing down and greasing every day. During the winter, crews perform more extensive maintenance. Every three to four years, they replace some parts and sandblast and clean others. Richmond likes the simplicity and durability of the Bowie machines. “We can do almost any repair ourselves.” Georgia GreenPiedmont Hydroseeding of Sparta, GA, performs work across 11 counties in the state. Ray Sanders and his son Rodney tackle jobs on lakeshores, dams, roadsides, and banks with their Finn T-120 HydroSeeder. Sanders admits that the drought has affected his business somewhat, but nevertheless the business still is expanding. The company uses the standard centrifugal pump and also has a turret that allows them to shoot 100-150 ft. For distance jobs that cannot use the turret, they have 150 ft. of hose. Sometimes a John Deere tractor pulls the trailer over soft or extra-rough ground. The Sanders crew hydroseeded the banks and shoulders of the new soccer and baseball field at the Georgia Military College. Many of their jobs are roadsides and banks restoration after construction.Maintenance includes washing down after each job, taking about 30 minutes. “Fertilizer is very toxic to paint,” Sanders warns, “so you have to get it off. Don’t even leave it until tomorrow.” Because of the conscientious care to their equipment, they have not had problems. Landscaping in ConnecticutAldo Bruzzi, president of Connecticut Landscaping, has seen the size of his equipment grow along with his business. He recently purchased a Finn Special T-400 with a 4,000-gal. capacity. Bruzzi also owns and uses a Finn T-330, a 3,300-gal. machine that he has operated since 1990. Bruzzi recalls that he bought his first machine, a used Finn 1500, in 1975 for highway projects. In 1985, he bought a new Finn 2500 and a Finn B-250 mulcher. In 1990, he added the T-330 because of the multitude of highway projects requiring a larger load. The company also performs work on athletic fields, shopping centers, and municipal building projects.“Mainly the challenges are to stabilize the soil and get the quickest stand of grass in the shortest amount of time,” Bruzzi states. In a project at Connecticut’s Bradley Airport, the greatest difficulty was the distance and blowing wind. Another challenge is steep slopes. “It seeds areas where no man or beast can reach,” he boasts of his most recent equipment acquisition. Other projects include corporate campuses such as Union Carbide and Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceutical, which had areas requiring immediate stabilization. Connecticut Landscaping also uses the T-330 for watering areas where there is no water source, such as highways. The crew has reels of 300 ft. of hose but rarely uses the hose, instead doing most of the hydroseeding from the tower. Routine maintenance includes greasing and oil changes. At the end of the season, Bruzzi brings the equipment inside and replaces any worn parts and either repaints or does touch-up, depending on the age of the machine. Nevada WetlandsKelley Erosion Control in Reno, NV, handles airport projects and highways, as well as the renovation of wetland areas. Owner Kym Kelley says the company accepts projects in Nevada and northern California. About 30% of the business for is hydroseeding in addition to other planting and straw-blowing jobs. For many residential areas, Kelley uses a Finn T-90. This smaller machine is also used for projects off-road and difficult to access. The T-90 can be loaded into a four-wheel-drive pickup for these jobs. A recent large project was restoration of wetlands at Snow Creek. The 7-ac. site needed new stream channels and detention basins to remove sediments and nitrates before water entered Lake Tahoe. A two-man crew used the company’s Finn T-330 to hydroseed with wetland grass mixture, mulch, and tackifier. A project at Spooner Summit, a popular recreational area near Lake Tahoe, presented a challenge of steep slopes – about 300 ft. up of 1:1 grade. Kelley says the crew sprayed compost, seed, and tackifier for about 1,000 ft. of this severe slope.Buying FactorsOne of the most important factors to consider before buying equipment is the size of projects you will do. The table will give you some general guidelines.SizeType of ProjectArea CoveredCrew Needed300 gal.Residences, small golf coursesLess than 3,000 ft.3One or two425 gal.Residences, business parks, pipeline rehab, sports fields3,000 ft.3One or two700 gal.Golf courses, landfillsAbout 7,000 ft.3One or two1,100-1,200 gal.Roadside work, mine reclamation, landfills0.33 ac.TwoUp to 3,000 gal.Large projectsUp to 1 ac.Two or three (depending on length of hose run)Another factor to consider when deciding what machine to use is accessibility. Larger machines need more space and can be harder to maneuver. Smaller machines might fit better but have to be refilled more often.Connected to accessibility is the size of the machine. Generally it is better to use the largest size possible, cutting down on reloads and trips for water. When considering options, you should think about water sources. You might be able to draw water out of a lake or stream, requiring a trash pump. It might be possible to refill from a municipality hydrant. Another possibility is your own water truck. Whatever size project or business you want to handle, there is a hydroseeding machine right for the job.
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Andrea Weissenbuehler
