Hydroseeding, sod and turf in Cape Elizabeth, Maine.
New lawns in Cape Elizabeth usually follow a disruption: a septic replacement, an addition, or a regrade after drainage work. The zoning ordinance has something specific to say about bare ground in the town's sensitive areas. In the Shoreland Performance Overlay and the Great Pond watershed, exposed soil must be stabilized with seed, sod, mulch or riprap within one week of being actively worked, and in the shoreland district permanent stabilization has to be in place within nine months.
That clock favors hydroseeding. A slurry puts seed and mulch down together over a large area in a single pass, while sod gives instant cover on a small, critical patch such as a slope running toward a wetland edge.
Septic work is a frequent trigger in this town. The 2019 Comprehensive Plan expects many aging subsurface systems in older neighborhoods to need replacement, and each one leaves a disposal field area to be graded, loamed and seeded.
Loam depth over Cape ledge
On the Lyman-Tunbridge ground that covers much of the town's rocky upland, native soil can be only a foot or two deep before bedrock, and NRCS rates Lyman soils as somewhat excessively drained. Turf on that profile dries out quickly in midsummer. When we grade and loam for a new lawn, the depth of imported loam counts for more here than it would on deep glacial soil, and ledge high spots are best found before the finish grade is set.
Windsor loamy sand, an excessively drained soil the survey also maps in some lower parts of town, behaves the same way from the opposite direction: water passes through too fast rather than stopping on rock, and a deeper loam layer is the fix for both.
Mulch rates, swales and wet low ground
Where straw mulch is used on a shoreland job, the ordinance sets a rate of at least one bale per 500 square feet, kept in place until a catch of vegetation is established, and anchoring with netting or peg and twine may be required. In the Great Pond watershed, waterways, ditches and swales disturbed by new construction must be revegetated before September 15 of the same year.
On poorly drained Scantic silt loam the problem is standing water rather than drought. Grading for surface flow before seeding, and using sod or synthetic turf on spots that stay wet or shaded, keeps the same low corner from needing reseeding every spring. The method is chosen to fit the site: hydroseed for large areas, sod for fast results, turf where grass will not hold.
Hydroseed · Sod · Turf Install
How we handle hydroseeding, sod & turf
Whether it is a new build, a septic repair or a tired lawn starting over, we grade, loam and prep the ground, then establish the lawn the right way for the site: hydroseeding for large areas, sod for instant results, or turf where grass will not work.
See the full hydroseeding, sod & turf service page or everything we do in Cape Elizabeth, Maine.
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Mon–Sat 7:00am – 5:00pm · Based in Cumberland, Maine