I have a .75 acre lawn with lots of small bare spots that I plan to seed with 10lbs of Kentucky Bluegrass, which I know can take weeks to germinate. Realistically, I can't drag a hose around for 30-60 mins 1-2 times every day for a month to water the seeds while I'm waiting for them to germinate, and given that the patches are spread out all over the yard, using a sprinkler isn't practical either, as I would need to constantly move it.

Would pre-germinating the seed in a bucket of water be a reasonable way to reduce the manual watering time?

My plan is to put all the seed in a burlap sack and submerge in water until 70% or so have germinated, and then gently spread into raked bare spots with some potting soil. Then I can suck it up and do daily waterings for a week or so, until the new grass is a couple inches tall.

My concern is that I only have one chance to seed this season, and I don't want to jeopardize the chances of success by damaging the seed either when pre-germinating, or when handling the sprouts.

Here are the specific questions I have:

• I read that vegetable seeds can be "drowned (i.e., damaged)" if they're submerged for more than 1-2 days. Is there any risk of "drowning" the KBG seeds if they're submerged for potentially several weeks?
• Do the KBG seeds need air or light to germinate, and if so, what's the best way to handle this?
• Is there any special care I need to take when spreading the sprouts to avoid damaging them?
• Considering my situation, is my overall approach ideal, or is there a better option?
• Are there any "gotchas (pitfalls)" or any special tips or tricks I could benefit from knowing before going into this?
• Can anyone who's tried this before walk me through how it went? Did it work? Would you do it again?

Any help or advice is appreciated. Thanks!