Pre-Germinating Grass Seed: Tips for Success - Fall 2024 Update

[@seannoh672]

Just did the pre-germination and laid the seeds down in the lawn by mixing with milorganite. I did try drying the seeds a bit by laying on a tarp, but milo did a great job allowing it to mix with the seeds and spread in a Scotts spreader. The pre-germination was much better for me saving me watering cost and more control and less anxiety from leaving it totally up to mother nature outside.

[@LowcountryLawn]

Awesome! Glad to know the mixing with Milo worked in a spreader! I’m going to do that in the spring.

[@nevinleiby]

Was the paint strainer even necessary or could you just do it in a large bin and open up a drain to with a screen overing the outlet of the drain to let the water out? I was just trying to think of a better way for a larger volume of grass seed with a large bin. Maybe just toss the 50 lb bag into the bin and flood the bin. Repeat each time. Or multiple paint strainer bags into 1 bin. It seems like I just need something to let the water out, keep the seed below waterline, and not remain too damp and air out between cycles. Then mix seed with compost and spread with compost spreader. Broadcast or dropseeder if possible.

[@LowcountryLawn]

A large bin with a screen covering an outlet would work. But, that seems more complicated than just using multiple buckets with a paint strainer. You can fit 5-7 lbs of seed per paint strainer. So with about 5 buckets, you could easily handle around 30 lbs of seed I think. The strainer allows you to pull the seeds out of the bucket easily at anytime if needed. Check out the entire video on Pre-germinating Grass Seed I did to see more about how I used the paint strainer.

[@nevinleiby]

@@LowcountryLawnhmm. Yeah, I was estimating about 20 five gallon buckets for 100 lbs of seed for the 2 five gallon bucket method. But 2 five gallon doesnt seem needed. I think maybe I’ll do a bin with multiple bags this time. 🤞 Thanks for your video! Huge help with practical advice!!!

[@LowcountryLawn]

@@nevinleiby that’s probably a fair estimation. I didn’t realize you were planning on using 100 lbs of seed. I agree that a bigger bin to soak them in may be the way. It looks like 5-gallon paint strainers are the biggest they sell. I’m interested in knowing what you end up using. Report back and I may try it too.

[@justatitle]

Why do you have to pre-germinate the grass seed? I’ve never heard of that. Have I been doing it wrong all these years? With not the best success!

[@LowcountryLawn]

You don’t have to, but it seems to get more of the seeds to germinate and germinate faster than just laying down seed. Plus, the roots will establish quicker hopefully allowing for less to wash away. Many other reasons too.

[@stevewall1882]

You're making this way harder than it has to be, and in doing so, you're also not as fast, efficient, and effective with this method, as you could be. Mix your wet seed with malorganite. No need to let your seed fully dry out, which completely defeats the purpose. As soon as you mix that seed with maloganite, they are both attached. You can now easily run through your spreader, or or sprinkle by hand. Seed stays wet gets on the ground quickly.

[@LowcountryLawn]

Thanks Steve. Yep, I’m on board with mixing it with Milo or something similar. I will do that next time.