How to Pre-Germinate Grass Seed - Green Lawn Fertilizing (2024)

FAQs

How to Pre-Germinate Grass Seed - Green Lawn Fertilizing? ›

Soak your seeds in water for 24 hours in a warm location like a heated shed or garage. We recommend using storage tubs, buckets, or pots without drainage holes. Stir the bucket once or twice a day to ensure even distribution of water. After about three days, check for signs of seed shoots popping up.

Pre-germinating turfgrass seed, particularly cool-season grasses, speeds up the germination process and reduces the time it takes to see growth once it's distributed. Milorganite is used as a carrier and starter fertilizer, so the pre-germinated seed can be easily distributed using either a drop or rotary spreader.

Apply the fertilizer before seeding.

Use a "mist – lightly water – deeply water" process like this: After seeding and fertilizing, you'll want to keep the top inch of soil moist until the seeds start to germinate (aka sprout). This means misting the area once a day, maybe twice if it's unusually hot out there—but don't let the area get soggy.

In most cases, however, a high-phosphorus starter fertilizer like 10-10-10, 20-10-10, or 16-8-8 should do the trick. Whatever you decide, make sure the product you're using is suitable for the type of grass you're planting. Pro tips: If you want to sow seeds, ensure the nitrogen and phosphorus levels are balanced.

Add Fertilizer

The herbicides will kill young seeds and can slow or prevent germination.

No, seeds do not germinate faster with fertilizer than without. The seeds do not actually need fertilizer for the first few weeks of their life. It would be a seed sowing mistake to feed too early as germination can actually be hindered if there is too much fertilizer in the soil.

This is how you get bare spots in a new lawn. Salts surrounding the roots of germinated grass plants prevent roots from absorbing water and new sprouts dry out and die. We call this “fertilizer burn” or “nitrogen burn” because nitrogen is the highest amount in most NPK fertilizers.

Don't cover grass seed with topsoil. The seed needs light to germinate. Instead, you should put topsoil down before grass seed (a thin layer is sufficient), or you should mix grass seed with topsoil.

A day or two before applying fertilizer, water your lawn thoroughly. After grass dries, apply fertilizer. Then lightly water again. This second watering is vitally important, because it washes fertilizer off grass blades and into soil.

Why is my grass seed not germinating after 2 weeks? ›

Conditions are too wet or dry

Like any seed, grass seed needs to be in contact with moisture to germinate. Water activates the enzymes within the seed encouraging them to release energy and create enough pressure for a shoot to burst through the seed coating.

If the seed's sprout is pushing up through the soil, it has successfully germinated. If there are no sprouts after two weeks, check the seeds. If the seeds still look the same as when they were initially planted or are covered in mold or a fuzzy texture, something has gone wrong, and they might not germinate properly.

Will grass seed grow if you just throw it on the ground? Definitely yes! Hand-sowing is the simplest method if you only need to cover a few spots. Take a handful of seeds and spread them over the dead patch, or better yet, involve your kids and introduce them to some basic gardening chores.

While it might be tempting to fertilize your lawn right after sowing new seeds, it's wise to keep these two tasks separate. Seeds and young sprouts are much more fragile compared to fully established turf, and fertilizer treatments could be too strong for their delicate growth.

Whether you're repairing bare spots, overseeding an existing lawn or starting from scratch, you can generally expect grass seedlings to emerge within seven to 21 days when grown under proper conditions. It may take another three to four weeks of growth before grass is long enough to mow.

Mix seed with Milorganite. Lightly incorporate seed into soil by lightly raking or, if on sandy soils, watering. Irrigate lightly and frequently.

Pre-germination - Submerge seeds in water for 12−24 hrs or until small shoots appear at the end of the seed. In colder weather, seeds may need to be soaked for 36−48 hrs. Drain and dry the seed in bag for 24 hrs in a shady area where air can circulate around the bags.

Will grass seed germinate on top of the soil? Yes; in fact, germination will suffer if too much soil is placed on top of the seeds. The experts at Jonathan Green recommend placing a thin layer of mulch or topsoil over them to help keep them moist and warm and promote growth.