Hydroseeding in Cottage Grove, MN

Hydroseeding in Cottage Grove often involves the Mississippi. The city lies on the north bank of the Mississippi River, just north of where the St. Croix joins it, and about 3.9 of its 37.5 square miles are water. River frontage, backwaters and the ravines that drain to them make erosion control a regular part of the work here.

Ravine lots

Ravine Regional Park, inside the city, holds 515 acres of woods, hills and prairie fields. Hilly, wooded ground like that means many nearby yards have a slope or draw edge, and homes near one get runoff that wants to go straight downhill. We grade a lip at the top so water spreads instead of cutting a channel, then seed the slope under a straw blanket or bonded fiber matrix.

Wheat and creamery country

Cottage Grove was a rural township known for the state's first creameries and for wheat production, served by rail, river shipping and grist mills. Much of today's housing sits on those old fields. That ground is generally good for grass once compaction from construction is broken up and topsoil is put back where grading stripped it.

Old sites, careful digging

The 1850 Grey Cloud Lime Kiln and the Precolumbian Schilling Archeological District are both on the National Register of Historic Places. Historic ground calls for a light touch. Where a yard is near a protected site, we keep grading shallow and ask what is known before any trenching. Where the surface is thin or stony, added topsoil is the difference between a lawn that lasts and one that browns out.

Floodplain care

On low ground near the river and its backwaters, we keep spoil piles out of the floodplain, set silt fence along the water side and seed quickly so bare soil is not exposed when the river rises.

Cottage Grove work

• Slope and ravine erosion control
• New lawns on former farm fields
• Topsoil over thin or stony ground
• Silt fence near the river

Get a free estimate or call (612) 285-3572.