[Wyohandscold]

So sod is very expensive in Wyoming. It would cost me around 15-20k depending on how big I go. So I called every place in the state that offered Hydroseeding and not one of them called me back. Not sure if they just don’t do any type of residential but that’s not important. I’m going to buy one for myself and since there is a ton of new construction in my area there’s a big need for it. I’m looking at a 200 gallon VSI jet hydroseeder, an equipment trailer and a nurse tank big enough to fill up twice. Still less than 15k and an opportunity to make a little cash on the side. I talked to the contractor that built my home and he gave me 6+ jobs if I’m running in the spring. So my question is……should I buy a VSI or is there another brand that would be better?

 

[cool breeze]

Have you looked at Finn? Also you might want to consider renting one. 200 gal is very small for a hydroseeder.

 

[RigglePLC]

Its their busy season. Your local hydroseeders will call you back. Maybe October seeding will suit your situation.
Cold weather doesn't hurt grass.

Just slows it down.

 

[Wyohandscold]

Have you looked at Finn? Also you might want to consider renting one. 200 gal is very small for a hydroseeder.

There are no rentals within 2 hours and they offer a 400 gallon but I figured with the tank of water it wouldn't take long to make a batch

 

[Wyohandscold]

Its their busy season. Your local hydroseeders will call you back. Maybe October seeding will suit your situation.
Cold weather doesn't hurt grass.

Just slows it down.

I should have specific about it but I made those calls almost two years ago

 

[RigglePLC]

Its their busy season. Your local hydroseeders will call you back. Maybe October seeding will suit your situation.
Cold weather doesn't hurt grass. Just slows it down. Soil temperature falls more slowly--should remain warm longer than air temperature.

Ask about pre-germination. Starts seed 2 days early in warm water.

Ask about an off-season discount for the fall.
Turboguy on this site is very experienced and a member of the Hydroseeders Association. Western Pennsylvania. He can explain the details. Also can explain how to build what you need. And where to find the parts.

Also consider drill seeding.
Be sure to include starter fertilizer. And grow-in fertilizer at week 3 and 6.
The main consideration is soil moisture; irrigation or a couple good rains are critical.

Think about seed type. Most hydroseeders use a high ratio of perennial rye. You want to avoid the older disease-susceptible grass seed cultivars. If the seed does not say resistant to: red thread, dollarspot, brown patch and rust--consider it susceptible. "Homerun" is good perennial rye.

 

[Wyohandscold]

Its their busy season. Your local hydroseeders will call you back. Maybe October seeding will suit your situation.
Cold weather doesn't hurt grass. Just slows it down. Soil temperature falls more slowly--should remain warm longer than air temperature.

Ask about pre-germination. Starts seed 2 days early in warm water.

Ask about an off-season discount for the fall.
Turboguy on this site is very experienced and a member of the Hydroseeders Association. Western Pennsylvania. He can explain the details. Also can explain how to build what you need. And where to find the parts.

Also consider drill seeding.
Be sure to include starter fertilizer. And grow-in fertilizer at week 3 and 6.
The main consideration is soil moisture; irrigation or a couple good rains are critical.

Think about seed type. Most hydroseeders use a high ratio of perennial rye. You want to avoid the older disease-susceptible grass seed cultivars. If the seed does not say resistant to: red thread, dollarspot, brown patch and rust--consider it susceptible. "Homerun" is good perennial rye.

Thanks for the info. I plan on doing a soil test for every property, I'm in the high desert so everyone has irrigation, and it's mostly Kentucky blue grass at this elevation. I plan on selling it as cheaper than sod and more of a "custom" lawn. I will also look him up and ask a lot of questions. I tend to research things to death which for once won't annoy the wife lol

 

[RigglePLC]

Thanks for the info. I plan on doing a soil test for every property, I'm in the high desert so everyone has irrigation, and it's mostly Kentucky blue grass at this elevation. I plan on selling it as cheaper than sod and more of a "custom" lawn. I will also look him up and ask a lot of questions. I tend to research things to death which for once won't annoy the wife lol

Turboguy:

https://www.lawnsite.com/threads/help-new-lawn-power-seed-or-hydroseed.454877/#post-5448584

 

[m_ice]

We have a jet agitation hydroseeder made by Turbo Turf, similar to VSI setup. It's a 300-400 gallon, not sure exactly. We bought it because Sunbelt quit renting them in our area and that was the only rental source within 2-3 hours. When we did rent we rented a 600 gallon Finn paddle agitation.
Biggest difference in the 2 IMO was the agitation. The paddle was way faster.

 

[Wyohandscold]

Ok it’s been awhile since I posted. I ended up finding an absolute killer deal on a VSI 400 gallon hydroseeder. It’s brand new(Still in the crate) and I only payed 4K for it. I need a trailer and my total weight for equipment full of water(Hydroseeder and feeder tanks) is 8170. Do you all think a 10k trailer will work for this. I’m under weight but considering a 14k equipment trailer

 

[TPendagast]

Ok it's been awhile since I posted. I ended up finding an absolute killer deal on a VSI 400 gallon hydroseeder. It's brand new(Still in the crate) and I only payed 4K for it. I need a trailer and my total weight for equipment full of water(Hydroseeder and feeder tanks) is 8170. Do you all think a 10k trailer will work for this. I'm under weight but considering a 14k equipment trailer

14 k trailer

you will need more space/weight to carry mulch/seed/fertilizer for mixing additional tanks

400 gallons will not get you much area so you won't want to keep going back all day to reload supplies
You'll want to haul it along with you

 

[Turboguy]

14 k trailer

you will need more space/weight to carry mulch/seed/fertilizer for mixing additional tanks

400 gallons will not get you much area so you won't want to keep going back all day to reload supplies
You'll want to haul it along with you

I am not sure if you are talking GVW which is how most trailers are rated or load capacity. I would suggest a 7,000 GVW trailer so you can haul some supplies as well. Your unit loaded is going to be about 3600 pounds. The trailer is going to weigh around 1500 pounds so if that 5 K is GVW you would be a tad over where you should be.

Sorry for the delay in answering and I am guessing you already bought the trailer. I had not checked the site in some time. I will try and not repeat that.

Your VSI unit should be fine. They are a good company and their hydroseeders are decent. If you don't like doing it you could probably sell your unit at a nice profit. Used hydroseeders are going sky high. I see some used units selling for more than new just because you can get them. Small engines are in major short supply this year. We have some we ordered last Oct 17th and are still waiting for them. Lots of hydroseeder manufacturers are sold out for a year or more. You picked a great time to buy.

 

[TPendagast]

I am not sure if you are talking GVW which is how most trailers are rated or load capacity. I would suggest a 7,000 GVW trailer so you can haul some supplies as well. Your unit loaded is going to be about 3600 pounds. The trailer is going to weigh around 1500 pounds so if that 5 K is GVW you would be a tad over where you should be.

Sorry for the delay in answering and I am guessing you already bought the trailer. I had not checked the site in some time. I will try and not repeat that.

Your VSI unit should be fine. They are a good company and their hydroseeders are decent. If you don't like doing it you could probably sell your unit at a nice profit. Used hydroseeders are going sky high. I see some used units selling for more than new just because you can get them. Small engines are in major short supply this year. We have some we ordered last Oct 17th and are still waiting for them. Lots of hydroseeder manufacturers are sold out for a year or more. You picked a great time to buy.

We have been hydroseeding for decades
I’m not looking to buy anything
What I was trying to say is you’re mathing out a SINGLE load of materials
What are you going to do, just spray one load of hydro seed a day?
No
You’re going to carry materials for multiple loads to mix
And therefor need more gvw to carry all those cubes of mulch
The water comes from hydrant or river/lack pumping permits and presumably you aren’t wasting daylight going back to the shop to reload with a garden hose

 

[Turboguy]

We have been hydroseeding for decades
I’m not looking to buy anything
What I was trying to say is you’re mathing out a SINGLE load of materials
What are you going to do, just spray one load of hydro seed a day?
No
You’re going to carry materials for multiple loads to mix
And therefor need more gvw to carry all those cubes of mulch
The water comes from hydrant or river/lack pumping permits and presumably you aren’t wasting daylight going back to the shop to reload with a garden hose

I totally agree that being able to carry supplies and water is a big plus. Of course, someone using a 400 gallon machine, as the poster is, will never going to be able to carry enough water to do an acre lawn. Hydrants are a great way to go it it is a possibility. Pulling water from a stream or pond is another good way to go. I actually did one job where I pumped water from the guys swimming pool. I did a 17 acre job for a golf course pulling water from a pond and every few minutes we would hear a plop and see a minnow flopping around on the ground. Some municipalities have fill stations and will let you fill your machine inexpensively in minutes. If you are filling with a garden hose at the job site having an auxiliary (nurse) tank can be a big plus. You can carry the water for a second load with you and after that you can be filling the nurse tank while you are mixing and spraying the previous load so when you are ready to fill again you have a lot of the water in the nurse tank that makes refilling fast. Water trucks are another option that sometimes works. I have done some jobs were the customer supplied one. In some of those cases the customer owned a water truck and sent it along.

Of course, there is not always a stream or a pond to fill from. If you are dealing with one large metro area hydrants are great. In my case I have tons of smaller towns and the area I service probably has 30 different water authorities which means I would need 30 different permits, 30 different meters, and 30 different deposits.

Sometimes the best thing is to start with what you can do and grow as the business grows.

 

[TPendagast]

I totally agree that being able to carry supplies and water is a big plus. Of course, someone using a 400 gallon machine, as the poster is, will never going to be able to carry enough water to do an acre lawn. Hydrants are a great way to go it it is a possibility. Pulling water from a stream or pond is another good way to go. I actually did one job where I pumped water from the guys swimming pool. I did a 17 acre job for a golf course pulling water from a pond and every few minutes we would hear a plop and see a minnow flopping around on the ground. Some municipalities have fill stations and will let you fill your machine inexpensively in minutes. If you are filling with a garden hose at the job site having an auxiliary (nurse) tank can be a big plus. You can carry the water for a second load with you and after that you can be filling the nurse tank while you are mixing and spraying the previous load so when you are ready to fill again you have a lot of the water in the nurse tank that makes refilling fast. Water trucks are another option that sometimes works. I have done some jobs were the customer supplied one. In some of those cases the customer owned a water truck and sent it along.

Of course, there is not always a stream or a pond to fill from. If you are dealing with one large metro area hydrants are great. In my case I have tons of smaller towns and the area I service probably has 30 different water authorities which means I would need 30 different permits, 30 different meters, and 30 different deposits.

Sometimes the best thing is to start with what you can do and grow as the business grows.

a person with a small tank has even more reason to pull more supplies as they’ll be reloading regularly

swimming pool?
You know the chemicals in a pool will kill the grass right/mess up the ph in the soil right?
You’re not supposed to use chlorinated/salt water

 

[Turboguy]

a person with a small tank has even more reason to pull more supplies as they’ll be reloading regularly

swimming pool?
You know the chemicals in a pool will kill the grass right/mess up the ph in the soil right?
You’re not supposed to use chlorinated/salt water

They had not added chlorine in 2 months. The grass came in fine.