Cost to grade/plant grass seed for 3 acres

[oosik]

That price does seem high to me - almost $8500 by the time you have straw. But, then again, I've always done my own seeding. I "grind up" any acreage with plow, disk and then a home-made drag with shallow scarifiers. It takes time and the initial germination is not 100%. I let the grass go to seed and after two or three years its fully covered and just fine for my needs. Subsequent years I will continue to let the spring growth go to seed, then mow.

I depends upon the amount of time you can spend on this project, how much you are willing to pay and how soon you need a three acre lawn.

 

[TSO]

This is exactly what my company specializes in. FYI, it costs us around $700/acre in seeding materials alone (seed, fertilizer, straw) not including our costs for picking it all up. I get all my seed from a local Grainery which has a mix tailored for our climate. Not seeing your property yet, our price would have probably come in at around $6500 to prep and seed your 3 acres. (That's "about" average costs here in metro Detroit, though i usually come in a tad lower than larger landscape companies... I'm still small with only a handful of employees). That covers labor costs, materials, etc. That is assuming we are NOT bringing and grading in additional topsoil.

FWIW, straw makes a HUGE difference. It helps alleviate seed loss or migration from wind, water, and animals. If birds see your freshly laid grass seed, you're going to lose a lot of it.

 

[rhatfiel]

We have 5 acres of flat land with no trees that we just built a house on. We are wanting to plant grass on 3 acres. I was going to try and tackle myself, but with my work commitments I really dont think I could do all the grading, etc in time. I have a Kubota BX with 52"bb and FEL and there are a few big mounds around the house.We've only received 1 quote so far, and it's for $2,000/acre to grade/prep,Harley rake and plant seed (not certain of seed type yet) (This doesn't include straw which would be another $800/acre if wanted/needed. It does come with a germination guarantee

This price seemed a little high to me since all the land is clear (has a bit of soybean residue) and flat, but I'm not sure.

The property is in central Ohio

Hi Nic - resurrecting an old thread because I cannot find a way to contact you on the forum, but we are in the exact same position this summer/fall in Baltimore, OH, so I was curious which route you went, if you were happy the results, and if you went with hiring someone, who you used? Thanks

 

[CADplans]

I may have to show this thread to my SIL,, I did three acres for him last year,,
I hit it with the land plane, then the landscape rake,,

I spread seed (LOTS of seed,, more than recommended rate) then raked it again with the landscape rake.

My SIL then finished by rolling the entire area with my DIY concrete filled roller.

We considered straw, but, last year was a record wet year,,
sure enough, the rain came perfectly to germinate and grow the grass.

Possibly, it needs fertilizer,,

This was an afternoon of work,, I could never consider paying thousands for a little grass seed,,, :confused2: