# Slice Seed



## bpcanecorso (Jun 12, 2018)

Lawn Care Gurus
If I slice seed this fall to overseed my lawn. Do I remove the grass the forms on top of the lawn? Do I have to put any topsoil, peat moss or compost on top of it? 
Thank You in Advance. 
Eddie


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## Ballistic (Mar 19, 2018)

I have wondered that to..

I always think of it as dethatch/slice/verticut and then rake/vacum it out then come back with a spreader and throw the seed down and top dress if you want to..


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## Green (Dec 24, 2017)

Definitely. It works much better when you remove the clippings from dethatching. If you mulch mow before overseeding, you might not get as good seed to soil contact. I've tried both ways, and removing all clippings by bagging worked better.

Peat moss after the seed seems to make a huge difference.


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## bpcanecorso (Jun 12, 2018)

What about the slice seeder?


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## Ballistic (Mar 19, 2018)

Green said:


> Definitely. It works much better when you remove the clippings from dethatching. If you mulch mow before overseeding, you might not get as good seed to soil contact. I've tried both ways, and removing all clippings by bagging worked better.
> 
> Peat moss after the seed seems to make a huge difference.


I have read not to use Peat moss and then i see a lot of people say to use it been up in the air about it..

@bpcanecorso I guess i never really thought about it like i should have, if you are slicing and pull the thatch out and still dropping the seed. When you come back and rake all the thatch up by hand and not use the mower the seed should stay in place?

Someone else correct me if im wrong though.


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## Green (Dec 24, 2017)

Ballistic said:


> I have read not to use Peat moss and then i see a lot of people say to use it been up in the air about it..
> 
> bpcanecorso I guess i never really thought about it like i should have, if you are slicing and pull the thatch out and still dropping the seed. When you come back and rake all the thatch up by hand and not use the mower the seed should stay in place?
> 
> Someone else correct me if im wrong though.


I would rake before dropping the seed. Get everything out first. If using a real slice seeder on the other hand, no raking should really be needed if it was set right, I'd imagine. I never used a real one, though.

@gene_stl.....


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## Rucraz2 (Apr 8, 2018)

The few slit seeders I used were horribly inaccurate at dropping seed. The only thing I would use it for would be to help make grooves for the seed to stay in place. Then use a drop or spreader for seed.


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## gene_stl (Oct 29, 2017)

If you are going to rent a slit seeder try and get a Ryan Mataway. It would be worth hunting for and driving a ways. Second choice would be any slit seeder like the one in this thread that has the seed dropper after the vertical slicing/slitting blades.

http://www.ryanturf.com/products/ryan-overseeders/ryan-mataway-overseeder/
https://thelawnforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=4702
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfJ_u490z0M


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## Stegs (Aug 29, 2017)

I used and will be using again a toro hydro walk behind slit seed.

It has a hopper up front, drops the seed down and then tines(blades) cut the seed into the soil

When i used it this past spring i did nothing on top. I did slit seed it into bare soil, but i didnt use any peat moss etc.

Just lightly raked the groves smooth....water 4 times per day to keep it wet and it came in great!


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## bpcanecorso (Jun 12, 2018)

@Stegs What happens if your slice seeding into a existing lawn? Thats where the problem lies because some grass and thatch will be on top of the lawn. I just want to make sure I have the best chance for this TTTF/KBG mix overseeding.


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## pennstater2005 (Jul 17, 2017)

@bpcanecorso The video @gene_stl linked is good. That is the only type of slice seeder I would consider renting if it's purely for the intention of getting the seed into the soil. The slit seeders cut up the ground and then just drop the seed on top. If some falls into the slits you're lucky.

I would only rent a Classen type slit seeder to rough up the ground. I ended up buying a de thatch style rake and it worked extremely well.

Edited to add: My use of the thatch rake was for a renovation and not an over seed.


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## ForsheeMS (May 21, 2018)

bpcanecorso said:


> @Stegs What happens if your slice seeding into a existing lawn? Thats where the problem lies because some grass and thatch will be on top of the lawn. I just want to make sure I have the best chance for this TTTF/KBG mix overseeding.


For an existing lawn I would cut short (2.5" or so) and bag the clippings. Depending on mower and how well it bags you might make several passes cutting 1" each pass. Going from a 4" HOC to 2.5" HOC will throw the grass into shock basically stopping growth for a week or two and allows the seedlings to pop up through the existing grass.

After cutting down to 2.5" I would aerate (core or spike seems to work equally well) and then put down the seed. Once the seed is down a good lawn roller will press the seed into the soil. My mower is 1,300lbs so I just go over the entire lawn with it and save the rental fee for the roller to use on my fall urea program. I've always had excellent germination using this method.

Next problem is overseeding a TTTF/KBG mix. If the seed are kept moist the TTTF is going to germinate in about 6 days while the KBG can take 3 to 4 weeks although some folks have seen it germinate earlier. The TTTF is likely going to need cutting before the KBG even germinates. Ideally you would put down the KBG seed a week or two before the TTTF but this could be tricky to get right and be more costly due to buying the seeds individually.

I have never used a slice seeder so I have no experience with them but based on my results in the past with the above method I see no good reason to try it now. Just seems like a lot of extra work to me.


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## gene_stl (Oct 29, 2017)

Slit seeders verticut and bury the seeds. The theory is that you don't even need to top dress. I bought a used Mataway because it looked to me like they would be much less work rather than more work. I also have an aerator which tries to kill me every time I use it. Things were pretty compacted here. The Mataway is also self propelled though most similar equipment will pull itself with its blades. The verticutting action probably clears the area above the seed enough for it to sprout. If you have a lot of thatch power raking might be worthwhile but a slit seeder cuts right through thatch too.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

To clarify, kbg germinates quick (6-10days), but then it just stops the top grow. It sits and spreads a little but it doesnt grow. The roots are growing and going deep. Then it takes off at around 30 days.

Explaining in words dont do it any justice. Pictures show it better. This is @Pete1313 reno from last year with a 100% KBG. Look at the progression from day 15 to 30. Now think about your lawn not being mowed for 2 weeks. It will grow a lot more and cover all the kbg seeds. https://thelawnforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=436&start=260#p20224


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## Joehock57 (Jun 3, 2018)

I'm glad this thread was started, I was going to ask about slicing seeding too. 
For people that have done it before...Have you aerated in conjunction? Cores don't get in the way of the "slicing"?
I was thinking about spraying PGR in conjunction with fall overseeding...does this order make sense?
-Aerate
-PGR
-Slit seed?

Is there a more logical order to do it in? Thanks!


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## Guest (Jul 28, 2018)

Great thread and hopefully this isn't getting off topic but if you dethatch tttf and then slit seed do I need two different machines? I'm going to look for a good quality slit seeder as I really need to get my back yard into a better quality.


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## gene_stl (Oct 29, 2017)

The cores won't bother a slit seeder at all. It will just break them up. On one of Ryan Turf Eqpt's videos they refer to a vertical cutter as "the best way break up aearation cores".


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## Methodical (May 3, 2018)

Op, if you plan to top dress, consider getting One of These. It will make take dressing much easier and consistent as it lays down a 1/4" layer and is a big time saver, too. Amazon sells them, too, but price is higher.

I've used Peatmoss in the past, but now I just use regular 'ole leaf mold (compost) the county makes from yard waste.


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## Methodical (May 3, 2018)

Rucraz2 said:


> The few slit seeders I used were horribly inaccurate at dropping seed...


Me, too. That's why I don't use them. I just cut low (bag), dethatch, mow (bag), rake (if necessary) seed, fertilize, water and watch the grass grow. This method has always been successful.


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