Cost to prep/seed 3 acres

9 years ago

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.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

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User

9 years ago

Put grass around the house and throw wildflower seeds everywhere else. :)

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Comments (10)

CLC
9 years ago
Do you really want that much grass to maintain?
Nick
Original Author
9 years ago
I don't long term, but I need to get something established for now around the house because it's basically raw dirt and is causing drainage/erosion issues.
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mrspete
9 years ago
I'd plant trees. They'll require less maintenance now, and over the years they'll drop leaves /branches and will create a low-maintenance ground cover.
User
9 years ago
I recently did a quarter acre for about $800 so...
User
9 years ago
Have a professional do lawn where you definitely want lawn. If the rest isn't too rough, could you scatter on some kind of pasture grass? I know some of that stuff grows well and that would help with erosion for now.
sabrinatx
9 years ago
Have you checked with your local ag extension.
weedyacres
9 years ago
We built a commercial building on 5 acres late last year, and the bids for seed and straw the ~4 flat acres not built on were around $10K. We DIY'ed it and spent about $2000 on materials.
AnnKH
9 years ago
Did the entire 3 acres get excavated for the house? If not, what's growing there now?

I would not want to mow that much lawn, nor would I want to water that much baby grass all summer to get it established! I know too many people who spend far too much of their free time riding around on their lawn mowers, leaving little time for anything else.

I would plant a defined lawn around the house - whatever seems appropriate for future use. Personally, I'd plant tons of trees - but I understand that's not everyone's cup of tea. I like a combination of conifer and deciduous, with a smattering of fruit trees thrown in.

I also like the wildflower idea. Or there are lots of perennials that make good ground cover, and spread fairly quickly - but that would be more of a long-term solution, since covering that much ground immediately would be prohibitively expensive.
just_janni
9 years ago
I can't imagine trying to do that all in grass seed unless you got one of those giant hose sprayers that puts out seed and fertilizer that is green so that you can see what areas were hit. It's what they use on large commercial or roadway projects. I suspect that is the only way it might be cost effective.

Why 5 acres have been stripped / opened up for erosion would be my question. Disturbing that much earth is a really bad thing and you could be faced with fines, etc for the runoff.