ATTN: Seeding contractors,, germination times

[Alan]

Who on here does seeding? I need some opinions on a problem. Hydroseeded a renovation on May 20. Customer got cute when I billed him, wants to wait until grass is up. OK,, no big deal, I know it's gonna grow. Got a letter from him today, no call,, letter, mind you. Says he has been watering daily and grass is showing but thin and patchy. It "seems obvious" to him that I did not have enough seed in the mix. In fact I was about a pound over per thousand feet. Mix was 30% Langara Kentucky Bluegrass, 25% Victory II Chewings Fescue, 25% Fiesta III Perrenial Ryegrass and 20% Osprey Hard Fescue. Weather conditions have been somewhat cooler than normal for this time of year, mostly low 70s since I seeded. My personal feeling is that he is about a week or more from the point of being justified in his complaint. He wants me to reseed, I can deal with that but I really hate to put down too much and have it choke itself out from being seeded too thick when the original application kicks in. Is this a valid concern on my part? If I do reseed it will only be AFTER he slaps a check in my hand. Incidentally, this guy is a retired college professor and his card reads like alphabet soup, PhD,ASPCA,IHMSA, MMFIC, etc., and he is an expert on most everything, if you doubt that just ask him.

[thelawnguy]

Rule of thumb from an old-time nurseryman, three seed in the area the size of a quarter, no more.<p>Bill

[Charles]

I know the type Alan.Before I seed a yard. I make sure they know that I do not guarentee the grass will grow(not even close to being God that is). Its not often you get a thick carpet of grass the first time you seed. Depends on the soil and the weather and the watering and the seed. If it is a big job I get that in writing. But i have never had anyone ask to waite and see if the grass grew before paying me. Tell this brain that services have been rendered and you want to get paid.

[steven Bousquet]

i have been seeding for years and this is what i found, &quot;i'll pay when i see the grass come up is code for i am going to screw you. i would demand payment before i reseed. when people hear a gaurantee thats means they don'thave to water because you will be back to reseed. i see this scam all the time and i stop it with the contract written clearly and they still try to get out of paying. we have such much success with seeding when the seed doesn't come up i know they did not water. we use over 10 pallets of seed per season and you will always get 2-3% of people who pull the crap he is pulling. get your money the before you reseed or he will totally screw you on the money. good luck.

[geogunn]

I don't seed professionally in my buisness now, but years ago I did when I worked summer jobs. one of the things that the boss taught me is to &quot;do everything right and tell 'em grass grows by the grace of GOD!&quot;<p>without regards to your customers credentials, it would have been preferable if your agreement (in writing) was that he pays when the application is complete.<p>and it really does make sense because you can only control the seed selection, application rate, starter fert. application, bed prep., etc.<p>unfortunately, you can do everything right, and still not a blade sprout for reasons beyond your control. in that case...who picks up your out of pocket expenses?<p>good luck with this guy. he probably tells the plumber that he wants to flush the can for a week before he pays for unstopping the tiolet.<p>GEO

[mountain]

I seeded a yard last fall , the lady calls me in the spring and says the seed did not sprout . O K I thought maybe got hit with frost so we reseed I tell her it will need water in order to germinate. to make a long story short I have seeded her yard 3 times now (2200sqft) and shes calling me again now. she just won't water it and i don't know what else to do?

[Stoner]

Spring seeding, especially under trees is difficult. When pricing for these seedings you have to build into the price the fact that you may have to come back. Definitely demand payment before any more seeding and tell him you'll come back if it does not come in.

[gene gls]

I have done some small jobs and it's not doing well because of the rain and cold.I checked one job last week that I did around the first of May and I can see where its still coming up. We need several good hot days in a row to get the ground temp up.

[steven Bousquet]

i have more time now to respond. <br>the mixed you use is good,but it may take aleast one full season to fill in. the bluegrass takes 21-28 to greminate and than it has to grow, send out tillers to fill in. the lawn willneed to be feed at least 4-5 times this year. and will need weed control. lawn install is not a walk away busniess it is a great way to build up lawn app business

[paul]

Steve is right about the timing on the germanation of the blue grass, add in to the mix 14 to 21 days for the fescue all they are seeing right now is the rye grass. Write a letter to him explaining how the grass grows and demand payment.<p>----------<br>paul<br>

[kenneybros]

blue grass takes 21+ days to geminate?? wish i knew that before I installed grass at my own house. which grass seed should I use on the next job, I dont want it to take 21-28 days to see results, but i also dont want the 7 day and u have to cut it rye grass either! I think im gonna use a fescue but im not sure exactly what each of them look like.

[GroundKprs]

Alan, I concur that your job is probably just showing the rye now, but you should be able to see some blue starting to germinate if it has had daily irrigation.<p>While is is usually stated that it takes bluegrass 14 days to germinate, this is a relative number. Germination is accomplished by the seed absorbing water, then swelling as it dries. As this is repeated, the seed hull finally cracks open, and you have germination. By proper irrigation, I have had a bluegrass seeding show green in 7 days. If it is hot enough - and it is here in preferred seeding time of late summer / early fall - you can water in early morning and again in early afternoon. Just need 10-15 min with most irrigation systems. This accelerates the germination process dramatically: at least twice as fast as watering once a day. But remember the seed must be able to dry good between waterings. And too much water will cause seed to rot. I will always see some germination on 6th day, in a 100% bluegrass seeding, if we can get the twice a day irrigation.<p>----------<br>Jim<br>North central Indiana

[steven Bousquet]

Wow blue grass in 6 days thats great. just don't tell yous client that. tell 28 days and when it comes up sooner you look like a lawn god. I own a company called lawn science and the guys who run for me are lawns freaks, they just love turf and will travel any where to learn more about turf. they are the top experts in our state if not all of new england. the information i posted on this site is from the new england area and may be different in your area. good luck and good growing