The Secret to Good Seed Germination in the Garden

Gardeners experience many challenges when starting gardens. One frequent challenge is usually how to get good germination in your seeds. Achieving good seed germination isn’t a difficult task if you consider one very important aspect of growing seeds: moisture.

The secret to good seed germination any garden is to keep the moisture levels consistent. Once a seedling is planted the seeds must maintain moisture until germination. Consistent daily watering (or more often if extremely hot) will help seedlings achieve their maximum germination rates. To test if the bed is moist stick your finger in the soil to about 2 inches in depth and if it is dry you need to water.

Tips to Keep the Garden Watered

Watering the garden is an extremely simple concept but often in the garden if we don’t have irrigation setup in the garden it is easy to forget watering. So hear are a few tips to help with keeping the garden beds wet enough for germination.

• Mulch. If you cover the garden with a layer of mulch you will reduce the amount of moisture evaporation in the beds. Be sure to not cover the spots where the seeds were planted as too much mulch could inhibit the seeds germination rather than help it. By keeping the soil covered where the seeds are not the areas where the seeds are will pull moisture from those locations and stay wet for longer periods of time.
• Pay attention to the weather forecast. In the video below you can see the germination my seedlings had after 8 days from planting. The first two days after planting I watered heavily with a garden hose but I had checked the weather and I knew rain was on the way. Hurricane Laura had just happened and the broken storm rains were predicted to give is several days of rain. Planting before a rain is a great way to try to get consistent water in the garden. You still need to pay attention to the weather and if rain doesn’t come you need to water.
• Add Compost. One of the most beneficial properties of good finished compost is it’s ability to hold moisture. Add compost prior to planting your seeds and work it in to the soil. Compost can also be used as a light top dressing over the seeds after planting.
• Cover the garden with a row cover. A row cover will help reduce evaporation by keep the soil cooler. It can also protect your new seedlings from pest damage from caterpillars and other insects.
• Install irrigation. An overhead watering system is easy to put in the garden and can be very temporary or more permanent. I hand watered our seedlings this year but you can implement everything including soaker hoses, drip tape, or sprinklers to achieve consistent moisture. Adding a timer to your irrigation will help make forgetting to water your garden a thing of past. Irrigation Timers on Amazon (aff.)
• Consider setting yourself a reminder on your phone with a calendar program to help you from forgetting to water if you are hand watering. Sometimes life gets busy and it’s easy to get distracted so your calendar app can help keep you on track.

Related Post: How to Start a Fall Garden From Seeds in Raised Beds

Be sure to water deeply when you water. You want the soil wet to at least 2 inches to make sure there is enough water in the soil to compensate for evaporation over the day. I hope these tips are helpful in starting your seeds in the garden!