Seed Orientation tip

It won’t be long before we plant our warm-season crops so I wanted to make sure you saw this video to help you get excellent germination rates. It’s all about proper seed orientation. What’s that, you say? Well, there are certain irregularly-shaped seeds that will germinate more successfully if they are planted in the correct direction.

The types of seeds I’m referring to are beans, corn, summer and winter squash, pumpkins, melons and cucumbers. (you don’t have to worry about seed orientation for round seeds, by the way)

Years ago, I used to get lousy germination rates whenever I planted bush or pole bean seeds. I couldn’t figure out what the problem was. Then, while reading a garden book, I stumbled onto the answer.

It turns out that these seeds have to orient themselves in the proper direction in order to send a root downward and a sprout upward. And since seeds only contain so much energy to get started, they often will use up all of the energy moving themselves in the soil. That’s why you won’t see sprouts where some of your seeds were planted.

So please watch this video, which I shot last spring. It will make all the difference for you!