Some seeds require special treatments prior to sowing. Previously, we’ve discussed cold stratification, but there’s several others. Today, let’s discuss soaking!
Occasionally, you run into a seed packet that says it’s best to soak the seeds for 12 to 24 hours. There’s no need to overcomplicate it, that means simply dunking your seeds in a glass of water!
This is particularly common to come across with the flowering vine, Sweet Peas. But, we also see it with Honeywort, asparagus and a few others. This list is hardly exhaustive, but it’ll always be called out on the seed packet when it’s desirable.
The effort effectively simulates heavy rainfall. It does a few things for the seed. First, it sort of “softens” the outer shell. But, the dense water application also allows a bit of moisture to enter the seed, thereby activating the germination process.
You can entirely skip this step, the soil’s moisture will act similarly. However, similar to cold stratification, the goal is to increase germination rates. When you don’t do it, usually your germination rates will suffer.
There are some growers that soak most of their seeds. We caution against this as a general practice as there’s a ton of seed varieties that don’t handle it well. But, when it’s applied to seeds where it’s technically unnecessary, it’s more about speeding up germination than it is making it more successful.
We can tell we’re nearing the end of our indoor sowing when we get to sweet peas! Despite us getting four more inches of snow today, our sweet peas tell us that winter will all be over, and soon!
