Yes, I have successfully done this before with creeping bentgrass seed. I believe the type of grass seed you are attempting to germinate will determine how quickly the seed germinates (more quickly for ryegrass and fescue, less quickly for bluegrass). The water temperature is a determining factor for seed germination success. What type of grass seed was this Vietnamese man germinating?

It's a tried and true method. You can also refridgerate cool season grasses for a day or two before planting and that speeds things up.

I don't do it because it's extra work. The grass will germinate sooner or later.

How are you going to spread it?

In answer to your questions:
What kind/type of grass did the Vietnamese guy use?
A: Didn't know enough to ask him!

So glad to hear that this is a tried and true method!

Regarding spreading it around. I think I will just dump a big ole colander full of saturated seed onto my 9 by 12 dirt area and spread it around with a hand trowel.

Should I sprinkle some dirt over top of my seeds once I put them on the ground tomorrow? Or just kind of work them into the soil? I guess I'll figure it out as I go!

Thanks for the responses. Any more out there?

If I recall, it should be spread out on a tarp to dry enough for spreading. Also isn't there some type of chemical usually added to enhance germination?

Regarding spreading it around. I think I will just dump a big ole colander full of saturated seed onto my 9 by 12 dirt area and spread it around with a hand trowel.

Try this as an experiment and see how that works for you. Go to Grocery store, buy a can of course ground coffee or corn grits, soak it in water, then try to broadcast it evenly and report back how it works out for you.

Hey Texasweed!

Yeah, I realize it will be zackly like trying to spread cornmeal mush!!! Yucky, backbreaking and not easy... Wanna come over and help me? Do you think letting it dry off on a tarp will help spreading? How long should I let it dry?

Nearandwest - How long did it take for your seed to germinate in the water? Two days? Three? Weren't you afraid if you left it in the water too long that it would die without air and soil? I'd love to be able to hold mine for one more day so DH can help me spread dirt but I was afraid if the seeds germinated in the water, they'd be goners.

Our temps here are high seventies during the day and forties at night. I think this is perfect grass seed growing weather for Zone 5 - New England. Plus frequent showers headed our way. That'll help!

It took about 5 days for the bentgrass seeds to begin germinating. I kept the seeds in the woven mesh bag in which they were packaged, and the bag was put in the small trash can filled with warm water, which was kept at 85 degrees and circulated constantly. When I saw that the seeds were beginning to germinate, I immediately mixed them with Milorganite, put the mix of Milorganite/Bentgrass in a drop spreader, and seeded the greens. That was in early December, and by the following March those putting greens were catching up quickly with the other putting greens that had been seeded in September.

If your seeds germinate in the water and you wait one extra day, it should not be a problem. You will be practicing a principle of hydroponics.

Damn, I used to have an article saved about a greens keeper that used this practice...can't find it.

Anyway, I did this a couple of years ago w/ Triangle Bermuda. I used water from a stream instead of chlorinated city water. I added some compost tea too. I let it sit 36 hours then drained it and spread it on a tarp. To spread it, I mixed it with cracked corn. It came in nicely and still looks good today.
The picture shows the prep prior to seeding:
-graded with a tractor and box blade
-aerated and power raked
-then seeded and spread a light coating of top soil
This was befor I had the irrigation installed so I religously dragged my hose around.

Lol...was that article about me? I did this at The Farm Golf Club in Dalton, GA.

Oh Wow! We had a big storm last night, and then DH informed me that he didn't think he could help me do the soil spreading until Saturday. If we wait until then, the seeds will have been soaking in water for five days! Arggh! I'm afraid that they may germinate before Sat... Won't they croak if they're in water, but not getting any air? Or maybe they're more like rice, and can really groove on a water solution....LOL Can anyone tell me if I can leave grass seed soaking until Saturday? Yoy! What have I started? I am using Scott's Turf Builder brand grass seed. Contractors All Purpose Mix.

BTW, here is the seed composition: 33.20% Keblue Kentucky Bluegrass, 15.77% Divine Perennial Ryegrass, 15.76% Gulf Annual Rygrass, 13.77% Transist 2400 Intermediate Ryegrass, 9.64% Treazure II Chewings Fescue, 9.52% Seabreeze GT Creeping Red Fescue.

Man Plans, God Laughs.

Consider it as an experiment. By the way, are you going to plant all 20 lbs. of seed in that 100 sq. ft. area? If so, that is an excessive amount of seed for such a small area.

Hi Nearandwest,
If you're a greenskeeper, I bet that article was about you and your golf course. You hot ticket!

There is the 9x12 area I mentioned, and then there is also the "hell strip" near the sidewalk, about 13" wide and 25 feet long. I may have extra seed, if I do, I will lay it out on an old sheet and let it dry a little. Then I'll let hubby use the dried seed in his broadcaster to reseed the rest of the lawn. Might as well use it, right? Thanks so much for your postings. You have no idea how much it helps to know someone else has been in my shoes and has actually tried this before! I mean, that's what hydroseeding basically is, right? In its essence, I mean.

Also, I saw a phone number on the Scott's Seed Bag - Their Consumer Helpline. The number is 1-800-543-TURF (8873). When I called, and explained the whole story, this very nice guy assured me that five days of soaking the seed was gonna be ok. He said if it germinated, it wouldn't die. (I'm sure he meant, if it got planted right after that, not for another day or two.) I guess grass can grow in water? We all know how much water lawns soak up! Anyway, he also said he never heard of anyone doing this before, which kind of surprised me, but he was young.... He prolly has heard of a lot of things!

Thanks everyone for all your responses. You're nice!

Hi debra boston:

I was a greenkeeper (without the "s") for many years, and now I manage multiple golf courses for a high profile private golf community. What I'm seeing is that you have approximately 150 sq.ft. of area to seed (bare area and hell strip), so you have plenty of seed to do those target areas, as well as the rest of your lawn. You're doing great!

I realize this is a 3 year old thread...

We have some pretty bare spots in our large yard -- a result of a young teenager mowing and scalping the yard over several years. We're going to have to reseed. My husband tried to reseed the first year but I think the scalping process outlasted that seeding!

The thought of pre-germinating the seed came to me, so I came looking for info. I've always wondered how the sod farms did this, because I was pretty sure they need quick turn-around!

This thread and the experience shared here is useful. For others who may be looking and attempting something similar, and wondering about some of the the questions raised in this thread ( rinsing the seed or preventing mold growth by getting the seed too wet over days of soaking)...

I also found an article at http://homeguides.sfgate.com/pregerminate-grass-seed-40392.html

Had to look long and hard for the instructions for this, but I think it might be what sod farms do? The author says to use a burlap or mesh bag inside a covered pot, weight it initially (temporarily) to make sure the seed inside gets soaked thru, and set the bag out to drain the seed each day while you are changing the soaking water. She also writes of an optional peroxide rinse (1 part to 9 parts water) to prevent mold growth.

"Check
the seed each day when you change the water, beginning on the fourth
day. By the sixth or seventh day, you will find little white shoots,
called cotyledons, on one end of many seeds, signaling successful
germination."

[ I guess this time depends on your variety of grass seed? Wondering about the grasses that take up to a month to germinate, surely a whole month would be impractical for this method... but hoping the fescue mix we will likely use will be the shorter variety. ]

Then she allows the seed to fully drain before spreading out on top of a medium... and lets it dry on the surface of the spreading media for 30 to 60 minutes before mixing it in. Since she speaks of broadcasting this mixture of seed and spreading media, I don't think being on the ground with a trowel would be necessary? That's just not practical in my yard!

Anyway, I'm thinking of trying pre-germination.

My one remaining concern is that when we get torrential rains, 3" to 5" suddenly overnight, this area of the yard can turn into a shallow pond for a few hours before it drains off. ( We have the low lot in the neighborhood. It's very flat with a lower ditch at the street. Impractical to raise the level several inches -- too large an area, and this area serves well as a holding area to keep water from backing all the way up to our house. )

The weather has been very unpredictable this year. I don't want my newly germinated seed to wash away. What is the best method you've used to prevent this? I'm thinking I might selectively apply it to a few of the lowest areas, most likely to puddle up.

What problem does pre-germinating solve for you? In either case, you need to be able to water frequently, which is easily accomplished with a cheap timer (just bought one), or by watering just a few extra days without the pre-germ. It seems to me the problem of spreading the seeds evenly outweighs any benefit of germinating in water.

Is there any way to install a simple drain from your low spot to the street before you seed? Your lawn isn't going to fare well if it gets submerged or at least saturated with water.

Does this method work for KBG? I am afraid to try this method on 25 pounds of KBG. Expensive stuff!

I would really like the KBG to germinate more quickly because it apparently takes forever to germinate and a lot of house projects are on hold because I want the grass to establish itself.

Quote from danielJ_209-09(6b): "What problem does pre-germinating solve for you?..."

Thanks for the reply. I was thinking the upside for us would be:

--- that if we do
get a torrential flooding in the days of pre- germination, the seed is
still inside and intact instead of flooded out and washed away down the
ditch.

--- Also, the pre-germinated seeds will have a headstart and take root faster? We can watch the weather and try to choose a shorter window for
reseeding.

--- I think it'll be easier to rinse the seed inside for those days than
to keep it watered outside multiple times in a day. (Even though we don't need to reseed anywhere near the 3 acres, and not all of it is subject to flooding.) No worries, we'll do the proper work of preparing the ground, and of keeping it moist once it's broadcast.

Note, I definitely would not try to trowel on a seed mixture as the Original Poster did! I've got a lot more area to reseed than 9ftx12ft! The author at http://homeguides.sfgate.com/pregerminate-grass-seed-40392.html says we can broadcast the pre-germinated seed in a mix. Assuming we CAN broadcast manually or with a spreader, I don't see a downside to pre-germinating. Maybe I should try a trial run of the method with a small amount of seed, and see how well it mixes and then broadcasts in various media.

Quote from danielJ_209-09(6b): " Is there any way to install a simple drain from your low spot to the
street before you seed? Your lawn isn't going to fare well if it gets
submerged or at least saturated with water."

Right. The lot does clear of flooding very quickly, though -- usually in a few hours. When we moved here, the grass was established,. It has never had a problem surviving well
in the area. Any downpours and flooding situations (say 5" of rain in a few hours) are short-lived and it doesn't take long to dry out. The grass was mistreated, or the original grass would still be healthy. It's not a boggy area at all.

We do seem to have had more of these downpours this Summer than normal, so they're on my mind as I think of Fall reseeding. But rain is welcome after some weeks that were too dry.

We already have a dry well to help with flooding (about the size of a small car). We originally graded quite a bit, but the bottom of the wide and shallow ditch is not low enough given the sudden downpour or I suppose mainly the ability of the ditches to handle the water downstream from us. Neighborhoods were added; fields were usurped. There's nowhere else for that water to go except downstream, and it has to wait its turn.

Luckily it all drains very well as soon as the water system can handle it, and water has never backed up anywhere near the house. I know the bottom of the ditch is higher than our foundation but it's a long gradual slope -- to the unpracticed naked eye it looks pretty flat.

That concern about flooding in these areas is the main reason I thought of pre-germination to shorten our risk of losing any new seed before it's established. It's too long a line along the ditch to put in sandbags until grass is established. Who knows, the weather this Fall may be great for reseeding. Just thought we'd lessen the risk.

And if there is a recommended mat or even burlap we might use in the most flood-prone areas that could be used over pre-germinated seed, I'll price it out. But I was thinking even a mat wouldn't help with a flood. Worst case, if reseeding doesn't take this time, I could lay sod in a few of those areas. I think plugs would be a lot of work. And overkill -- this is a 3 acre field.

Not sure if it matters much. Years ago I read to soak them is slightly warm tea. The author claimed it removed natural growth inhibitors, If, you do this you will need to dry the seed to be able to spread it.

Today, depending on the seed you buy, it could well be treated with fungicides, fertilizer and something to hold moisture which will all be washed off with your pre-soak.

Re: pre mixing with a filler

Any chemical granulated fertilizer is largely filler. You will need to create volume to evenly spread your now dampened grass seed. You will find kitty liter works great. As to seed being washed out. Buy some extra seed so it will all match and you can reseed any bare spots. LIKE anything else read the instructions if it is 5 pounds per 1,000 sq foot 10 pounds will just cost you more and some of the extra seed will simply choke out your new lawn with too many plants competing before they mature to full size.

Sell_it, thanks.

I hadn't thought at all about losing the fungicides or any other additives if we pre-germinate and wash the seed.

Thanks for the idea of using "Fuller's Earth" aka kitty litters as a spreading medium. We have plain -- use it for cleaning up oil spills on the garage floor. I don't have cats but am pretty sure some of it has a lot of additives and perfumes nowadays to watch out for.

Good point about the downside of using too much seed. It's been years since I had to think about these issues. I appreciate all info.

Maybe our best option would be to use sod in the worst flooding areas if the seed doesn't root before it floods.

So the question for me is should I use miracle grow lawn food (liquid in sprayer) before or after I overseed our lawn

Neither. It'll accelerate growth on your existing lawn, which you don't want. It won't do diddly for the grass seed.

I soaked fescue seeds for 5 days, changing the water daily (if that actually matters), and not a single seed has produced a root yet. Is this normal for fescue or did something go wrong?