"jaygreg" wrote:
I'm considering thatching and resseding my lawn. A local equipment rental
showed me a machine by Classen
(http://littlewonder.com/turf-seeder-self-propelled.asp) called a turf
seeder (he called it an overseeder) that he thinks I should use. When I
saw the arrangement of the blades - considering the machine drops seed
first then lets the 24 or so blades roll over them, my eyebrows rose; it
seems to me a lot of seed will simply fall on top of the grass and those
blades will miss them. It doesn't look like there's enough vibration to
shake the seeds down through the existing lawn and onto the furrows the
blades create.

Is this a recommended way to get seed into a mature lawn that needs to
thicken to prevent unwanted weeds? Or should I rent a thatcher then this
machine to plant the seed when all the thatch is gone. The guy at the
rental agency says the machine will thach as well but not as much as a
stand-alone type.

Lesco sells a machine that operates on the same principal as the one you're
looking at, and I've heard they work OK as long as you stay within the
limitations of a slice seeder. We have a couple of the Ryan mataway's that
drop the seed behind the slice and they work very well on level soil away
from tree roots. Be sure to criss cross your job and go heavy with the
seed. I run 10 lbs/1000sg ft here in Ohio. (perfect time of the year to do
that here right now)