Guide to Soaking Seeds Before Sowing & Why You Should Do It
Why consider soaking seeds before sowing? And exactly how to soak them? This guide explains how and shares 7 reasons why you should consider soaking seeds.
Materials
- Vegetable Seeds - Seeds that are looking more like grain can be soaked like tomato cucumber, pumpkin, squash, zucchini, peas, beans, etc... But seeds like radish, dill, carrots I do not soak in water as it will be impossible to plant them.
- Water - room temperature water is best for soaking seeds.
Instructions
How to Soak Seeds Before Planting (Step-by-Step)
- Start by placing the seeds you're planning to plant into a small, clean container, bowl, or jar.
- Next, fill the container halfway with room-temperature water. Leave the container in a warm spot for a minimum of 8 hours, but for the best results, you should do it for up to 24 hours before planting. However, keep in mind that too much soaking in water will drown the seeds and they will start to decompose.
- You might come across a few floaters that you should consider tossing away since most of the time they will not germinate, as I explained above.
- Once your seeds have puffed up, plant them immediately into moist soil
- After soaking, plant your seeds immediately into moist soil. If the seeds are allowed to dry out after being soaked, they will most likely not germinate. To prevent wasting the effort of soaking, keep the soil moist until the seeds have fully germinated.