Hydroseeding or sod: which is worth it for a Windsor yard?

What hydroseeding is

Hydroseeding is still growing a lawn from seed. A crew sprays a wet mix of grass seed, mulch and fertilizer onto prepared soil from a tank. The mulch holds moisture and helps keep the seed in place while it sprouts.

How much does hydroseeding cost?

Hydroseeding usually costs a lot less per square foot than sod, and the gap is biggest on big, open areas. Small yards lose some of that saving, because the truck and crew cost about the same to bring out. Ask any quote what prep is included: grading and soil cost the same whichever one goes on top.

For comparison, new sod in Windsor-Essex runs about $1.25–⁠$1.75 per sq ft on a new build or bare ground, and $1.50–⁠$2.00 per sq ft with the old lawn taken out, before HST.

What sod installation costs in Windsor →

How fast you get a lawn

Sod is a lawn the day it's laid, and it's ready for normal use once it roots, usually after a couple of weeks. Hydroseed takes a couple of weeks just to sprout, then you stay off it while it fills in. Expect a full season or more before it looks thick.

Watering

Hydroseed has to stay damp at the surface until the grass is up and growing, which usually means light watering a couple of times a day for weeks. Miss a hot, dry stretch and you can lose the seed. New sod needs a good daily soak for the first couple of weeks, then less often once it roots.

How to water and care for new sod →

Clay soil and heavy rain

A lot of Windsor yards sit on heavy clay that sheds water. A hard rain before the grass takes hold can wash hydroseed off a slope and leave thin patches. Sod covers the ground right away, so there's nothing to wash out. Either way, the grading comes first.

Landscaping on clay soil →

Weeds

Until the grass fills in, there's open soil, and weeds will use it. Expect to deal with some in the first season. Sod covers the soil from day one, so weeds have much less room to start.

The best time to do it

Hydroseed does best in spring and in late summer to early fall, when it's mild and there's more rain. It struggles in summer heat. Sod can go down any time the ground isn't frozen, as long as it gets the water it needs.

When to lay sod in Windsor →

Is hydroseeding worth it?

It can be, for a big open area, a rural lot or a slope, if price matters more than speed and you can keep up with the watering and stay off it for a while.

For a front yard, a normal city lot or a yard with kids and dogs, sod is usually worth the extra money. You get a finished lawn right away, and you skip the weeds, washouts and weeks of watering.

Our take

We install sod. If you're weighing the two, we'll come out, look at the ground and give you a written price for sod the same day, so you can put it beside a hydroseeding quote.