Toro Thatcher/Seeder--Anyone familiar with this unit?

[DJ54]

I would guess, if just doing one way passes, you would notice it the first year. Criss cross not as bad. Eventually, it will fill in pretty well by the second year. Depending on how many passes it would take, to use up, or get the lbs. per 1000 sq. ft., you could even fill in more, by running a 45º angle across the 90º passes.

If it was a bare dirt, new seeding, I'd probably go with some sort of broadcast seeder myself.

 

[Sprinklerman]

I criss cross the pattern . Lawn fills in rather quick .

 

[npalen]

I like the idea of cross seeding especially where there are ground irregularities where one pass might catch a low spot missed by the other.
I visited with the current owner who said he bought the unit about 20 years ago for golf course overseeding in an effort to combat bermuda grass. He finally gave up and let the bermuda take over, took the seeder unit off and has since been using the aerothatcher solo. He commented that the 3" slit spacing is somewhat of a drawback.
I'm considering buying and modifying to utilize both the thatcher and seeding functions. One thought is to convert the thatcher to 1.5" spacing by doubling the number of slicing blades. I see that Toro offers an optional 1.0" spacing on the thatcher gang so I would feel fairly comfortable with 1.5" especially with the 1.5" square gang bar. Might even consider putting a set in each slicing blade similar to a saw blade to get a bit more aggressive tillage action but that might overload the gang bar.
Thinking maybe converting the seeder unit to a broadcast type and doubling the agitator rpm. Perhaps a different type of rear gang to replace the disc blades and get some seed to soil contact with a roller of sorts. I'm more interested in single pass tillage and seeding rather than disturbing the soil structure with a deep tillage operation.
Seems like roto tilling tends to be counterproductive in some cases as the soil needs to be worked back down for a firm seedbed. With that said, I did burn down my lawn with roundup this summer then deep tilled to incorporate the old sod prior to harrowing and seed broadcasting K31 fescue.
You may ask why buy a machine and do a bunch of modifications rather that just buying the appropriate machine to begin with. The answer is that I'm an old farm boy retired ag tillage equipment designer with time and a shop on my hands with which to tinker when the snow flies here in Kansas.
Again, I really appreciate feedback from you guys who have experience with this machine. It's very interesting to me. (Sorry about the lack of paragraph breaks.)

 

[Sprinklerman]

I like the idea of cross seeding especially where there are ground irregularities where one pass might catch a low spot missed by the other.
I visited with the current owner who said he bought the unit about 20 years ago for golf course overseeding in an effort to combat bermuda grass. He finally gave up and let the bermuda take over, took the seeder unit off and has since been using the aerothatcher solo. He commented that the 3" slit spacing is somewhat of a drawback.
I'm considering buying and modifying to utilize both the thatcher and seeding functions. One thought is to convert the thatcher to 1.5" spacing by doubling the number of slicing blades. I see that Toro offers an optional 1.0" spacing on the thatcher gang so I would feel fairly comfortable with 1.5" especially with the 1.5" square gang bar. Might even consider putting a set in each slicing blade similar to a saw blade to get a bit more aggressive tillage action but that might overload the gang bar.
Thinking maybe converting the seeder unit to a broadcast type and doubling the agitator rpm. Perhaps a different type of rear gang to replace the disc blades and get some seed to soil contact with a roller of sorts. I'm more interested in single pass tillage and seeding rather than disturbing the soil structure with a deep tillage operation.
Seems like roto tilling tends to be counterproductive in some cases as the soil needs to be worked back down for a firm seedbed. With that said, I did burn down my lawn with roundup this summer then deep tilled to incorporate the old sod prior to harrowing and seed broadcasting K31 fescue.
You may ask why buy a machine and do a bunch of modifications rather that just buying the appropriate machine to begin with. The answer is that I'm an old farm boy retired ag tillage equipment designer with time and a shop on my hands with which to tinker when the snow flies here in Kansas.
Again, I really appreciate feedback from you guys who have experience with this machine. It's very interesting to me. (Sorry about the lack of paragraph breaks.)

Seems like a lot of fun work . I just bought mine to fill a nich market in the suburbs of annapolis md . The landscapers in this area are using walk behind slit seeders on 1 and 2 acre lawns and charging a **** of a lot of money . With thhe jacobsen I bought I can offer a similar service for a much better price with better results .I have a lesco slit seeder and it does a nice job , but it is labor intensive to walk behind that thing all day

 

[npalen]

Sounds like someone is working smarter rather than harder.

 

[Sprinklerman]

I bought mine at a sale when a golf course was closing . Paid $ 300 bucks for it . My first job was a football field , Lets just say I more than paid for the seeder . Second job was a lawn renovation , some big wig near Annapolis . It was 1.5 acres of lawn . His lowest price to slit seed the lawn $4K . I was less , and was done in 4 hours . I now have competition calling me to do their large properties

 

[DJ54]

If ever you have another area that needs done, look up, and check out the frost seeding method. Helps to start planning a few months ahead, by clipping grass down as low as possible in the Fall, and keeping it down, or burn it off like you did yours. Leave the stubble. I'm sure you can find the best dates to frost seed in your area, through the Extension Office.

Broadcast on what you want to sow, and that's it., besides waiting for it to grow, come Spring. My first experience was nearly 20 years ago, converting a 1.5 acre section of lawn into pasture for my horses. Seeded the last week of March, and by mid-June, had a nice thick pasture, with a good mix of Alfalfa knee high. That's about as no-till as you can get, with great results.

 

[npalen]

I had not heard of the frost seeding method but it does sound interesting and definitely no-till. I had heard of broadcasting seed over snow which is probably somewhat akin to the frost method.
On a side note, I had not heard much about aerial seeding since about 40 years ago but it seems to be a bit more commonplace these days. Probably useful where soil is too wet to seed conventionally or seeding a double crop prior to harvesting the first crop. All this talk about seeding brings to mind the biblical "reap what you sow".