Dan Seeds, This Land of Ours
Whether you should or shouldn’t soak your seeds before planting them. That’s coming up on This Land of Ours.
Should you soak seeds before putting them in the ground. Gardening experts say it may be a matter of preference. The idea behind soaking is to speed up the germination rate. When seeds are in nature, they’re designed to be tough because the elements can be rough on a small seed.
Plus, seeds were designed to hold off on germination until the time is right. When soaking your seeds before planting, you’re doing many things: boosting the moisture rate, removing the protective coating on the seed, and softening the seed. The shell is the hardest part of seeds because it’s meant to protect it. By soaking the seed, it enables the new growth from the inside to push through the hard shell and grow.
The seeds that could benefit from a good soaking include: corn, pumpkin, beans, chard, beets, and peas. The seeds you shouldn’t soak include: carrots, lettuce, radish, celery, turnips, and spinach.
Listen to Cathy Isom’s This Land of Ours program here.
Soaking Seeds to Speed Germination
Video by SurvivalistBoards
