The PIGG Pin

JB is trying to grow plants from seeds and they are taking longer to sprout than the package calls for. He wants to know how to get them to germinate faster.

First off, what is germinate, or germination rate? Germinate means ‘to cause to grow‘. Germination rate is the percentage of seeds in a package to actually break shell and make a plant. On bags of grass seed you will see typically a 75-90% germination rate. That means,75-90% of the seeds in the bag will make a plant.
So how to do you get seeds to germinate faster? MOISTURE. The longer that seed stays moist, the easier it is for the root and plant to push through the shell of the seed pod. If you are trying to grow vegetable plants, the best way is to use the tray with a cover on it. That gives you the perfect little greenhouse moisture effect. I did that with my kids a few weeks ago and the seeds pushed the top off in less than a week. If you don’t have a lid, than somehow you have to get constant moisture on the top, and heat on the bottom of the soil tray.

In the yard, when planting grass seed, the same concept applies. Obviously, you cannot put a large lid over the yard, so you have to revert back to the constant moisture thing. Watering as often as possible, (twice a day at least) for short periods of time (10 mins or so) is the fastest way to get the grass seed to germinate. Once the grass is established, watering long periods (1 hour or more) less often (3 times a week) is the best way to water the yard. We will discuss that further in another blog.

Happy Planting