Will Grass Seed Germinate Sitting Right On Top Of The Soil?
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- Опубліковано 5 жов 2024
- In an ideal situation you would overseed a lawn or seed a new lawn space into soil that has been prepared. Usually this means you will loosen the upper most portions of the soil and mix seed into this layer so that it is slightly covered so as to ensure seed-to-soil contact time.
For people pressed for time I wanted to demonstrate how efficiently grass seed can germinate in ideal weather into well moistened soil without the step of working that seed into the upper half inch and leaving it uncovered.
► You can see a text version of this video over on my site here: turfmechanic.c...
To summarize my results however I'll say that so long as the seed is moist, the soil surface it's placed on is moist, the roots can penetrate the soil surface, and you are fine with a lot of seed waste then placing seed directly on the soil can work.
Make sure to see these posts for more on seed growth patterns:
► Time Needed For New Grass To Germinate & Grow: turfmechanic.c...
► When To Stop Watering Grass Seed After Germination: turfmechanic.c...
You should also see this additional video I published on Perennial Rye grass seed germination rates at different temperatures for more on getting your timing just right: • Temperature & Speed of...
In general the most important things about getting grass seed to germinate quickly have to do with seed-to-soil contact time, temperature, and even seed moisture levels. For tamping seed down in the lawn you can just use your shoe and step on it or use this tamping tool to ensure even pressure and pressed coverage. Full disclosure: this Link is an Amazon affiliate link: www.amazon.com...
Tools like that can also usually be found locally at any home and garden store or even big box store like Walmart, Home Depot, ACE Hardware, or Lowes just to name a few.
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I can get grass to grow with amazing success everywhere I do not want it to.. even on asphalt with no help at all.
Me too! It grows anywhere but on my lawn.
😄
Under-rated comment but definitely true lol
That's my current perspective.
If we can get weeds without any effort, I should be capable of growing grass on purpose.
1 month update
It was going well until fungus gnats ate all my baby grass 🤬
This is basically how I overseed during the California winters. After dethatching, chuck some seed onto the lawn and knock them down with rake. Starts to grow after about 1.5 weeks
I seeded a big backfilled area around my new patio 2 weeks ago. No cover, just seeded into the top soil fill that the contractor brought in and added some Milorganite. It’s doing well, but has required more attention to watering to keep it moist for germination since it sits on top of the soil.
I've had very good success putting tall fescue seed on top of good organic soil and then using the hose sprayer to gently mix the seed into the soil. I would say about 75% of the seed is lightly covered with soil this way, This approach is much easier than raking it in, with similar results. Finally, a light coating of peat moss is easy to apply and also helps.
This is what I do too
Yes, it does. I threw mine at the end on Nov, and Dec rains just took care of it ( Bay area, Ca)
I just threw annual rye grass directly on top of soil here in the CA central valley area. Temperature at night mid 30 degrees and mid 50 degrees day. In 12 days I have 2 inches growth. And it's pretty thick.
YES. As long as it is in contact with soil & it is kept moist.
!
This was something that i always wondered myself. Thank you for doing this experiment.
You're welcome! I'd remind you though that without covering the seed it will be harder to keep it moist so you have to have a good watering system. I greatly recommend starting a seeding project out by deeply watering the underlying soil before applying seed and don't omit pressing the seed down into the soil at the very least if you aren't going to cover it.
I've got a shady area in front of my house and I just mowed really short, collected the clippings, and threw the seed on top of the dirt. It's been 2 weeks and the seed is finally starting to grow. I live in Texas and I threw down Tall Fescue. I'll throw down some Bermuda later this spring. I got tired of tracking dirt in my house lol
I don't think running saran wrap over my entire lawn, creating a little greenhouse effect and keeping the seed moist, is very economical though.
Both seeds are covered in the video, one with dirt, the other with saran wrap. Both keep moisture in preventing the seed from drying out and dying.
Marty, there's a lot of people who have commented about the plastic wrap I used saying this wasn't a true test and although I see your point and theirs, I still disagree. This experiment was about testing seed uncovered by soil and/or peat moss and not about moisture management. The plastic wrap keeps things moist which you need to do no matter what in the lawn. I was able to keep it moist to ensure the integrity of the actual experiment.. When I seed in the lawn I drape crop cover over it to hold moisture in and limit evaporative loss from wind and loss to birds. It works. If you choose to put seed directly on soil it will germinate just fine so long as you keep your seed moist and it stays in the correct temperature for germination.
@@TurfMechanic what do you use for crop cover?
I use a tarp lol just for the bald spots tho it works mint
Sorry, missed this question, I use garden row cover or frost blankets. The white stuff that sun light can still get through.
@@Area-cf1gt do younuse the white(transparent) tarp or the regular blue one
Thank you for doing this! Answered exactly what I've wondered for so long.
Your video caught my eye. I have almost an acre of ground that was stripped of all dead trees and stumps were ground making it very rough. I brought in 10 or 12 loads of sandy loam and leveled it. I bought a JRCO dethatcher and ran it across the surface to loosen it up and then seeded and fertilized it. That was 4 or five days ago and we just had a day of gentle rain because it is hard to irrigate an acre. Tomorrow I hope to see some results. I did go back over the lot with the dethatcher and most of the seed has soil contact but is not all covered. Thanks for your videos. Our soil temperatures here in NW Indiana just dropped under 70 degrees
Great experiment. Always wondered if overseeding works with just dumping seed on a lawn. Looks like it works.
It certainly can work but you do need to make sure soil temps are high enough and enough ground moisture is present. If I were to do it in a real lawn I'd probably drop the seed then cover it all up with garden shade cloth to minimize evaporation. Faster germinating seeds will probably also be more likely to take too because there's less time for their seed-to-soil contact time to be disturbed.
Easy steps . Lay directly on soil . Add a thin layer of top soil . Water untill it's almost like a heavy rain . Put Wellington boots on . Walk all over the top soil . Leave for 8 hours and water again same way . Walk again with boots . Then just light water every 8 hours and for 2 to 3 weeks don't t cut . Keep going for a further 2 weeks but only water one or twice a day . Cut all grass low but not crazy low. Then allow to grow a bit wild for 4 weeks water once every 2nd or 3rd day and your lawn will be amazing . Thanks
Sounds like you've done this a time or two 😁 thanks for that Pat!
Wellington boots?
@@joehuff1110 In the UK every proper gardener wears their “Wellies” when out gardening. 💦
If you over seed the excess seed will cover some other seed then when it grows it will cover the seed that was covering the germinating grass and it will actually be so thick and have such good results you just have to make sure it doesn't dry out and blow away in the wind or wash out in heavy rain if you do it in the right conditions it will end up better than normal
It's difficult to go by the book here in Bulgaria because we never get the "ideal" day/night temps 😅 In early Autumn, daytime temps can still reach high into the 20Cs, but fall to a light frost in the evenings. Less than a month ago, we were almost at 40C daytime... so there really hasn't been an ideal period. I did a full site prep (rotavate/level/remove stones), and I'm watering well - Nothing yet as of 5 days in. I don't live on-site, so in 40c heat, I wouldn't have been able to keep up with the watering. I'm hoping now that the colder evening temps are not ruining things, while the daytime weather is pretty spot on.
I'm not moaning :D Just discussing the process in a climate that's a bit tricky, as we never get that perfect window of day/night temperatures.
I prepped my muddy patches, put down seed, and covered with top soil before a week of forecasted rain. there was also a section that had a railroad tie sitting on it for 30+ years. it was rotted pretty bad so I removed it. didnt do anything to the now bare soil where it had been. just threw some seed down not expecting anything. didnt even stamp the seed down. wouldnt you know it that was the fullest and fastest patch of grass that grew
I spread perennial rye seed on my lawn last week and it is sprouting everywhere since yesterday. All I did was rake the “lawn” (dirt and weeds) thoroughly.
Of course, i checked this by myself!
yes, as long as you keep it moist and the temperature is between 60-80F also.. the soil is not compacted like cement. it should pass the screw driver test, stick it in the ground and see if you can push the screwdirver with minimal effort or is it like cement.. so.. should go down 1 or 2 inches minimum.
Depends on the grass seed. Rye will come right up. I've got grass sitting on soil right now. That's the way to plant this type of grass.
Yes, I did it. I threw 3 bags of seed on top of dirt and it grew.
You can on top of dirt without soil sewing the seed or covering, especially Turf Type Tall Fescue. That will grow on anything. My recommendation is in early spring when the ground is wet (saturated) and with the spring rains. This allows the roots to burrow through the soil much easier and faster because it is soft. I had very good success with it. Also, the leaves are off the trees so the seed has access to more sunlight if you are seeding under trees, or in areas that does not see a lot of sun.
No soil on top of the seed? No straw or Peet moss?
@@bentleysw You can, but if you have healthy soil and take advantage of the spring rains, a good quality TTT will grow. You can use the things mentions in your response.
@@bentleysw You have to stay off of it for a while though
@@seanmclaughlin7415 will not the birds eat the seed?
@@bentleysw I really didn't have an issue with it. Is this a new lawn or an overseed?
Only need to cover seed on bare spots, especially if they’re on a slope. Overseeding a healthy, thick lawn doesn’t require anything other than water.
I live in Texas, and in my experience here in my yard, no in prep is needed and you don't have to seed densly for perennial rye. Just water it.
I did this once and it sure germinated, all over my back yard. Quite pretty except it was all on top of the soil and never rooted so pretty view for a bit then it all just died. I bury seeds now. Too much $ and a waste of time not too. But it was pretty for a short while when they all started growing on top of the soil! I was actually dumb enough to try it again this past spring with a pull behind aerator. In which hardly any of the seed fell into the spaces made by the aerator, or were covered. Pretty much wasted another bag of grass seed. I havent quite figured out how to overseed without wasting a majority of the seed and the money to buy it.
@@syftkog712 well proven traditional technique.
I like the video! I think a good experiment would be to try seed on a .5inch layer of dead grass/thatch over the soil.
I found out that it is more about the right conditions and some patients, 😊.
Once they become warm or around the mid-60’s temp and for their ideal germination temps, they will take off.
And there are a couple other things that are pretty important too. Like the dna of the seeds themselves being a cool season (tall fescue, Kentucky bluegrass etc) or a warm season (Perennial Rye, Bermuda, St. Augustine etc,.)
So yeah, there’s that..
I put down seed about a month ago in accordance with the advice from a Saturday morning radio show about lawn and garden care. The guy was on for years and recently retired but they replay his show, so I was fortunate to hear that Sept thru Nov is ideal time to seed for patchy lawn areas. I have a patch that the HOA's landscapers ripped up on my front patch of grass because they have to pivot on my lawn to get out instead of driving straight through... I dumped everything I had, which was about 3 variations of "patch rescue/ etc" that I had bought over 10 yrs ago. I put it all down after using a small hand-held 3-claw digger, just to aerate the ground. I also had some leftover potting soil I threw down over the seeds, since under the surface is red dirt. As he instructed, I watered for 30 minutes right after putting it down, and watered for 5 mins every day. It just happens that the front of my townhouse doesn't get direct sun at all, so after 2.5 weeks of nothing, I started losing hope. I stayed at my girlfriend's house over about 4 days, and when I came home, I was pleasantly surprised to see little sprouts of new grass coming up! That was about 2 weeks ago, so I'm very happy to say it's filling in nicely now. Not fully grown in, but definitely growing in! I'm in Manassas, VA about 35 miles west of Washington, DC. We've had some mild to cool weather over the past week and a half. It got up to 80 last weekend, and Hurricane Nicole just went through and got us into the 70s. The lows have been in the low to mid 40's most of the time, but we've got a cold snap coming in a few days, so we'll see. I'm just happy to see it finally filling in! I tied some string to a few stakes so the HOA landscapers don't bring their equipment on my grass, and I mow it myself with an old-school rotary blade mower that I repaired about 3 weeks ago. It's great to know I can grow something instead of killing it!
I sprinkle seeds strait over my lawn. 3 times during spring and 3 times during summer. It works.
Love gardening tips
Great video. A bit of a suggestion is, you can count let's say 30 seeds and put them on top of the soil. Repeat the experiment and count how many seeds have germinated. That way we can estimate how much this lazy seed planting method would deteriorate the germination rate.
And then compare it to a pot where you took 30 seeds and covered it with soil since there's not really any way to know whether the same percentage of seeds failed to germinate under the soil.
Yes it will. Technically watering or rain pushes the seed into the ground. As the soil swells it partially surrounds the seeds.
Water often ( several times a day if hot weather) and if you miss a day or two - or let it dry out for a couple of days, don't worry. Grass seed is one of the most hardiest of seeds so it can cope.
Just continue watering regularly.
Grass seed that is sitting directly on top the soil will wash away if on a lawn but not if you put it in a pot in your garage
@@philipward7846 If you apply seed to fresh raked soil it will sink into it with the water and any breeze.
I always just sprinkle mine on the soil and it works.
Another reason some seed failed to germinate could actually be due to how densely you seeded.
It looks to me that you may have had seeds on top of others, so no ground contact.
When you but too much seed in the pot you are correct the germinating seed do push up the other seed. That is what we call the seed competing with each other. Less is more. You can always touch it up and over seed later
I'd agree with that; I'd also add that after germination of the first seeds those that got displaced may end up germinating at a later date. This happened to me with my KBG experiments this winter. First stuff germinated as expected then I got a second wave of germination almost two full months after sowing.
@Turf Mechanic do you think I should try and overseed come fall if I don't see more seeds germination in those in between spots that actually germinated or should I just wait until next spring and try to overseed the whole area again?
I've seeded the 10 ft circle in November last year after cutting the spruce tree. Seeds were cover with the clay granules and soon after we had the snow and very cold temps. It's April 12th and is sprouts all over the place and its only 5th day when temperature hoovers around 70 deg. I thought noting would come out of it
The one problem with sowing seed on the surface is keeping the birds from stealing it.
I covered mine with peat moss, after seed to soil contact, and they are still attacking them. They are pissing me off lol.
I tried this. The birds ate very well and I didn't get much grass.
I have clay soil I dig in water and break down. I test water the area and see what happens how much water it can take and how long it lasts then I break it open and it's the perfect warm coffee ground consistency. I shovel it into pots or buckets and water it next to my digging area. I spread the dirt out over an area and rake it how I like it then water it. I put seed down like salt I was taught to shovel snow and feed the chickens then I water and cover with the coffee ground like dirt and water again. I then check daily to see how wet it is and see any patterns of drying to try to keep it even if I see seed I just take hand fulls of dirt and act like I'm throwing down seed except it's dirt on top of the seed then I water it like a paper mache I've had such good results I do a little test patch see germination and keep going I've dug holes watered down deep sifted dirt watered evenly sculpted hard dry dirt walked on minimal until dry flattened leveled and made gentle grade and round step bumps after rains I see where it puddles and where it runs It's very satisfying to see an area you think will only ever be a mud hole turn into a smooth imperceptively flat golfing green
amen brother
My third to last area I seeded germinated in like 2 days literally like over night the rain was perfect I watered minimal before and only watered like 2x now It's cold and rainy and I don't have to do anything to it I try to do my seeding 1-2 days after a rain then I water it so it dries out in the sunny days gets warmth and try to get my perfect conditions a day before the next rain so I know the ground isn't too wet or too dry kind of prepare for it to have a buffer or battery going into wet or dry conditions
Great video, answered some of my long thought of questions
I wonder if you put done too many seeds on the pot on the left, and that is why so many did not germinate.
Outside the soil would be much colder, especially at night.
Nice tips. Would of loved to see the roots because that pot soil is not compacted like the soil outside. Curious how far the roots went at different time intervals
That would have been a very cool thing to see, I agree. Maybe I'll do another similar experiment again and try to incorporate the root visual. I'd like to see it too.
Yes it will
I think the problem with throwing seed directly on the ground is animals and mother nature. Birds will pick it clean, then the rain and wind will carry it off to areas you dont need it. Covering it with dirt or pete moss helps prevent that, not to mention it adds voluable nutriets and retains moisture better.
Thank you so much this is helpful!
Thank you for this lesson. I live in northern Mississippi (I know - kind of an oxymoron) and have a Zoysia lawn with some terrible bare spots. I have spent HUNDREDS of dollars on types of Zoysia seed - tilling, fertilising, adding lime and peat moss, and I think over the last 3 years I have about 2 blades of grass to show for it. What am I doing wrong?
My biggest challenge is pigeon. tomorrow I'm going to cover a patch with wet cotton cloth, abt 4x4 ft. Let's see how it works. BTW thank you for all the lawn videos you make. Your approach is more practical and unique. There are so many dormant questions I have which you sorted out from your videos. Eg should I soil up to seeds or leave it exposed. I always wanted to try that myself. May the best be with you, mate.
I'm experimenting with old lawn clippings to cover against the birds myself. I put a wheelbarrow of old clippings on one part of the lawn where the birds were going to town, hopefully just enough so the birds can't see the seeds.
My experience with grass seed is you can water it to death with city water and very little sprouts up. However if it rains, it sprouts very quickly. Main thing is keep it well damp if the sun's gonna shine on it pretty hard. Sitting city water is much better than running city water. It must be the chlorine in it. I've had pretty good luck watering lawns with transfer pumps and water sitting in trash cans. A little miracle grow is added.
When grass seed by themselves they fall straight to the ground anyway providing the birds don't eat them first
God's water will make things grow quicker
Just found your channel via this video. Fantastic visual, just subscribed.
Suppose to keep moist. Also says on bags 10-14 days to germinate
Nice experiment. Nice tips!
My biggest concern is that the seed dries out much faster. And in this test the moisture was well controlled in the pot.
Will you repeat this test in real life environment during the spring?
For this experiment I wanted to isolate only the seed sitting on the soil as the variable to care about. In the real world you can't wrap a lawn space with plastic wrap obviously but in the garage I'm also ignoring other variables like soil compaction, animals, bugs, wind, rain, etc. As Spring comes and temps increase I'm definitely going to be trying this outside since I know the seed can sprout without topdressing it. I'm thinking about tamping new seed into that muddy area by my garden then setting up a fogger to run over the seed to keep it moist. I have other ideas too that are experiments designed to focus on only one variable. None are real world scenarios but they each should teach us all something new or give us a better understanding of some aspect of lawn care.
Am wondering about dormant seeding here in sunny MN. I want to toss some seed down late spring before the thaw. Thinking with the freeze thaw cycles we get the seed will get embedded in the soil and germinate once the soil temp rises to germination temp. My reasoning is that's what happens in nature. Love playing in the yard and experimenting! Thoughts?
@@JBSwanstrom thats exactly what I would expect to happen. If it were me I'd plan on laying seed down just before you expect the upper quarter inch of your soil to thaw on any random warm winter day. That way you can evenly spread seed on frozen ground without making a mess with mud. With the seed down you can then tamp it into the frozen soil before you let Mother nature take over. If you get the seed down and then you get a couple warm days the the thaw should really embed them in the soil before it all freezes again a few days later. I put down a patch of dormant seed in early December but so long as its super cold it shouldn't be any different in your case this time of year.
The most successful seeding for me in bad red clay soil was tossing it and rolling it in. The only thing I found problematic was the birds.
Grass germinates faster when directly exposed to the sun. However depending on your soil will have to water more. I watered on a schedule 3x/day at 5 minutes. Or hand watered after putting sprinklers away for winter with a even sweep once after work around 9-10pm and on the weekends mid day and late evening.
Grass doesn't die immediately after drying it just stops. Bare in mind unfortunately not all seed will be viable. If stuff doesn't pop it's not necessarily because of the lack of prep.
@@TurfMechanic for your information a seed is stored carbohydrates and will germinate in just water alone. Once it does germinate it needs sunlight to the grow. It's called photosynthesis. Germination and rooting are two totally different things . Why didn't you throw seed down on that area you showed on your property at the beginning of your video? That would have been a more helpful experiment imo.
Seems too tightly packed and I thought you said you were going to tamp it in? What light are you using? My seeds in a cup with shredded paper and cardboard. Yes I don't use soil for seed starting. In warmer weather my red clay soil never did well especially when it rained. My soil turns into pure liquid and all I needed is a little wash out a squeegee to smother the yard and kill off my existing grass.
It wasn't until I left it on top and used a lawn roller just pushing it into the soil. Watered by hand 1-2 times a day evenly sprinklers on a schedule 3 times for 5 minutes.
Usually I'd see sprouts at 2-3 days with Rye, 4-6 tall fescue, and almost randomly 10-30 days with KBG. When directly exposed to the sun they germinates faster however timing is key I hate rain as they also wash away or get eaten just as fast.
I tamped the seed in with my hand, just used my fingers since it's a small pot. As the seeds pull moisture from the soil they swell a bit and move around slightly which is why after a few days they don't look tamped down any more. Also when a seed germinates the tap root goes down before you see the sprout going up. The tap root can also move the seeds around a bit causing some seeds to loose their soil contact.
Seeds can actually germinate faster when not covered with soil but more seeds will never germinate because of soil contact issues and moisture control. In your case moisture will wash your seeds away too easily.
For garden plants I start seeds in coconut coir or peat moss based medium usually but for these grass pots I'm using a quality top soil because that's similar to what is found in lawn spaces... also I am unlikely to ever transplant these pots.
very nice experiment!
I saw a nature film, if my remembery serves me corectly, that winter rye grass screw jacks itself into the soil.
Hi what would be a cheap, but effective way to airiate the soil, soften the soil, without hiring or buying some expensive tool or machine, Thanks.
Question. The seeds are already dormant technically, So won't the other seeds eventually germinate and grow? Though it might be months to years later.
Yeah but what about the sun frying the seed sitting on top? There's no direct sunlight in the garage environment.
Usually, you would throw a very light amount of straw/hay down so that the ground can stay moist long enough for the next watering. If you throw grass seed on top of soil and it gets wet and starts to germinate, then dries out it'll kill it. In the south during droughts, you'd literally have to water every 2-3 hours to keep it damp enough. Even then it might dry out quick with high temps and direct sunlight. The straw will soak up the water and shade the seeds enough to survive that initial phase.
If you're doing an entire yard without irrigation, it's a nightmare. It's always best to prep the soil and do it the recommended way when dealing with large areas. If you're just overseeding your current lawn, then you can just spread it everywhere and it would be fine. The ground layer stays moist thanks to the grass already there.
Putting the plastic on is not a true simulation of outdoor conditions. You basically created ideal greenhouse conditions.
I sure did make it easy to keep the seed stationary and moist and since a lot of people didn't like this as a true example I reseeded a full lawn this Spring without covering the seed to show what realistic lawn scenarios might be like. The whole lawn grew with uncovered seed. You can see that video here if you like: ua-cam.com/video/WF6RwG2DGLE/v-deo.html
The first area I seeded a couple days before the last snow and we got like 5 inch of slush the last area I seeded germinated a few days ago 42-60 degrees I think I'm done for this year not really trying to gamble any further
My success is far better where it is worked in. I have tried many kinds of top dress. That works even better, with peat moss being the best. It also protects from birds, wind, rain, erosion.
Try covering with garden crop cover, it works so good and is way easier and cheaper to do than most people realize.
tamping it in or mixing it in to topsoil isnt really so it germinates but more importantly keeping the seed where you put it. from rain or watering and also wind just blowing it away. and also like you said easier to keep it moist which is vital. if i dont mix it in and tamp it my seeds are all over the place (like my garden beds lol) where you dont want them.
Typically here (UK) we are advised to seed in warmer calm weather.
I planted some in early April (after risk of frost had gone) and it took 3 weeks to germinate.
I also planted some recently and it came up within 10 days.
That’s some serious wind if it’s blowing it off your lawn into your beds:)
@@jimshorts5970 lol yeah when i reseed its usually fall and it doesnt take much but 20-30mph gust isnt uncommon at that time of year.
I would like to see you take a few 1"x1" samples and see if there is a difference in blade density between the two methods.
These grass seed fall to the ground and sprout ! So it makes sens3 they would germinate!
Like watching grass grow 😂
As long as they have contact with soil
Wild grass is a wind blown surface germination, so it's domestic cousin will do the same if left alone.
Iv seen rye grass grown in concrete cracks it grows anywhere so not sure if this was the best example
Is that without sunlight
Answer is YES! if the soil is wet enough, which in turn makes it soft, seed will germinate. Especially TTTF.
All those cool season grass types will do it easier than kbg but you are right, moisture and dirt contact is all that's needed...just harder to keep things moist when not covered.
@@TurfMechanic Agreed about the sustaining moisture unless you are in an area that stays wet in spring longer.
good one
Inside in a controlled environment does not translate to outdoors with its varying temperatures, wind, birds, etc. Seed must have contact with the soil to germinate
Yep to all of your stated points, no argument here! 😃 outside is different than in controlled environments but controlled environments do show potential...so at least there's that.
Thanks
Not a problem Damon, and for what its worth I still have that pot of grass growing today, its 3 months old now and it looks great!
I'm very very curious about a few things,
the roots per each setting. do they grow differently because of the circumstance of the seed? is one better than the other for longevity of seeding the grass?
I would imagine that because they were in a garage they didn't get hit with direct UV and bake/dry out so that would be cool to test. Maybe with two even sized plastic containers that have transparent sides. I think also that because they didn't get warm, then cold, then warm, then cold (or hot and cold) that it helped them avoid drying out or weathering and not germinating.
The whole point of covering your seed is so it don't move around. The seed in sitting in your garage not being exposed to wind and rain. You 100% have to cover your seed or don't bother. And your covering it with seran wrap. So you covered it to the max.
I put seed down in early spring when weather was still cool and watered it the first couple days and I still don’t think it did anything noticeable. I’ll have to try again in the fall maybe loosen the soil with a garden rake in bald areas.
Always prepare the area and rake the top soil for best results.
Rye is the easiest to germinate maybe u should have done that along with tall fescue and bluegrass
I overseeded without covering 4 days ago and I'm seeing germination take place in some seeds. Is it too late to go around a do a light covering on the seeds that haven't germinated?
Sorry for the late response- after 4-5 days uncovered I'd just let them be unless you are not expecting germination for another week or more due to soil temps and seed variety...or maybe because you're having trouble watering them often enough.
The test should be done outside on compact soil, with rain water only.
Here's the updated version in a real world environment filmed in spring 2022 ua-cam.com/video/WF6RwG2DGLE/v-deo.html
Have you ever did a test like this for fescue?
This is close ua-cam.com/video/WF6RwG2DGLE/v-deo.html
Awsome always i think the easy way is the best! New subscriber here
MY GOD, I JUST DID MY YARD FOR THE SECKND TIME AND IM EXHAUSTED!!!@ ITS HARD WORK AND SOMETHING KEEPS HAPPENING TO KILL ME HERE!!! For the last few days I've been doing everything imaginable to fight off every bird in the world!!!! My neighbors must think I'm insane!!! I have no grass yet, I'm seeing my seeds coming out of the ground and popping up, WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING!?!?!? I DID EVERYTHING BY THE BOOK!!!! PREPPED THE SOIL, SPREAD THE SEEDS, COVERED IT WITH PETE MOSS, NOW I SEE SEEDS COMING OUT OF THE GROUND AND ARE LAYING ON TOP OF THE GROUND!!!! ARE THEY GONNA GROW?!?!? SHOULD I GET MORE MOSS AND RECOVER THEM !?!?! WTF WTF WTF DONI DO NOW?!?!? I CANT DO THIS A 3RD TIME IM DEAD!!!! PLEEEEEAAAAASSSSEEEEE😢
I threw Bermuda seeds on top of raked soil then topped it with peat moss. I never raked the seed into the soil.Been 5 days and haven’t seen germination.
Unlikely to see much in 5 days. If you covered with peat and are getting adequate moisture on the area then it will come up, just got to wait it out. Only Perennial Rye would I expect to see in 5 days in the wild, the others can take much longer even in very good environmental settings. Dont judge results until at least day 21 even though I'd expect you to see plenty of new growth well before day 21.
I sowed very quality seeds then the rain fell. The package didn’t specify about temperature so I sowed in December in Northern California.
It was quite cold ~40 degrees - 50 degrees
Huge rains fell down that they flooded my backyard.
A few days later 2 - 3 days after sowing. I came out and checked and I picked up the seeds on the ground. It seemed like all of the seeds are just hulls and there are no seeds inside!
I have ~ half of the seeds left that I didn’t sow and I checked the seeds and I opened them up and there are seeds inside though
So I am not sure why the ones I sowed on the soil have no more seeds but just hulls!
I’ll wait to see
If someone overseeds their lawn and doesn’t cover the seed, especially if there is any amount of thatch, will most likely get very little if any germination. No ones yard when overseeding is straight soil.
Awesome
Thanks!
I heard the temp should be over fifty to get the seeds to germinate.
I'd think the saran wrap would kill the oxygen intake......
If trying to repair some areas where the dog pee'd and you don't need perfect results, is it possible to put some soil and seed down when it's 55-65 in the daytime and 35-45 at night?
Sure is, sounds a bit unprofessional but if you do that over a small pee spot take a big Tupperware bowl and cover it like a dome, the whole thing will sprout much faster and evenly in cooler temps.
I’ve found that sometimes a month or two later they come up after I forgot about them. 😆
Also that cultivator tool by Corona works really awesome if you have no top dressing agents.
That's a nice surprise, kind of like dormant seeding. I think I know the tool you are talking about. I've seen video of it being used but never used one myself. Honestly I've taken a number of close looks at covering my seed with garden crop cover all year with great success; it can be used over and over again and it works like a charm.
bird is the issue. Birds can eat all exposed seed. :)
Yes indeed. I have a couple bird feeders though and I've noticed they pay little attention to my seeded areas even though I did a poor job covering them.
And ants. Don’t forget those little buggers. 🤣
Yep. Hanging CDs in the yard seems to help some too.
Air rifle sorts that one
Wish you would of put hay on top of one with the seeds sowed on top. They did well with no sun shine Thank you
It's better to put them on the ground 7 days is like 3 days if burried
Can you do the same experiment but put grass clippings on top of the oil, then put the seeds on top of the grass clippings to mimic the thatch buildup.
This would mimic the real world experience for most of us who don't want to prep the lawn for overseeding.
Throwing grass clippings sometimes will make a yard fill in. There's a certain amount of seed in it if it gets close to 5" before you cut it.
seems like some of the seed became top cover for the seed under it.
ha, yeah, that's possible. I also think that as tap roots start shooting down the seed sitting on top of the soil moves a bit and sometimes looks like it's raising up. These are issues that are less apparent when the seeds are covered by thin layers of typically applied top-dressing.
I think the soil is packed on top of each other, that was the problem.
Crap, I should have watched this before throwing my seed out there. I didn't know I was supposed to tamp it! I raked the yard, put down fertilizer, wet the soil, heavily seeded the lawn with "super fast growing" tall fescue seed, and watered the lawn after that. I've been watering twice a day since then, it's been 3 days so far. I'm hoping I get something, next time I'll tamp the seed down...hope I didn't waste all that seed.
Tamping shouldn't be necessary. Watering compacts the ground anyway. First decent rain after spreading usually sets it in.
Dude the birds would have a freeken feast out there 🙄. I have to down five times the amount of seed even when I cover it the birds destroy it. How do I avoid this outside of killing the birds?!
Garden frost cover, 100% it works. It's cheap stuff that is sometimes billed as row cover or crop cover. Water will go through it and diffused light too and it protects against light frost, wind and slows evaporation. You can usually find rolls locally at garden supply stores or online and one of the best parts is birds won't ever touch your seed! I would budget around $60-100 per 1k sqft of cover or about $20 for a roughly 350 sqft coverage roll. Buy it once with some garden stakes and store it and use it over and over again. I've been using my stash for a couple years now in both the lawn and garden. You can actually save money on seed when you use this stuff because you'll have very little seed wasted. Hope that helps Ralph!
Did the seeds receive any sunlight during the experiment? I wonder if the sunlight affects germination or not. Great experiment!
Thanks EJ, these seeds got only minimal indirect sunlight from a window on the other side of my garage. Since they germinated around new years day there was very little (almost none) sun light that reached them. The biggest reason they germinated I think was stable moisture, no wind or movement, and most importantly seed-to-soil contact with soil that was about 55-60 degrees. I still have this pot of grass growing, its outside in the spring weather now and the grass looks awesome 👌
Sunlight definitely impacts it. How impactful depends on the grass type but it’s definitely a factor.
@@rumchata6569 it has always confused me. Do the seeds need sunlight or not to germinate? If sunlight is necessary then covering them with a thin layer of moss is wrong.
You covered the seed with seed.