How to Plant Grass Seed? Detailed Sowing Methods and Tips Shared

Grass seed can be sown in mid-to-late October. The sowing rate depends on the quality of the grass seed, generally about 5 jin per mu. The furrows should not be too shallow, to prevent waterlogging; just manage topdressing and watering according to growth conditions.

Do grass seeds need to be soaked before sowing?

Currently the mainstream method for speeding up grass seed germination is soaking in water. Soaking for a period before sowing can be done with cold water, and whether to add chemical agents depends on the actual situation. Soaking lawn seeds in water can increase the germination rate by 3%-7%, and can also make the seedling emergence time of the seeds more uniform, so that most of the seeds germinate within a concentrated period, which makes management easier.

To give a few examples, tall fescue grass seed can be soaked in water overnight before sowing, then drained and dried in the sun for a day, with the drying temperature kept between 18 and 28 degrees. Combined with a suitable growing environment, it can germinate in just seven days. Different grass seeds also have different requirements for soaking time. For example, seashore paspalum grass seed only needs to be soaked for 4 to 5 hours. Some grass seeds do not need soaking at all, such as bermudagrass. If bermudagrass seed is soaked in water, it will absorb a large amount of water, and when it then comes into contact with soil that has a lower water content, this will cause a large loss of water from inside the seed, making the seed shrivel, reducing the germination rate, and in more serious cases causing direct death.

Soaking grass seed in water is an efficient way to increase the germination rate, but this method is not suitable for all grass seeds. Before doing it, we must understand the relevant knowledge, so as not to cause a big disaster and lose more than we gain.