Why Add Sugar to Grass Seeds?
Why Add Sugar to Grass Seed?
Although it might be hard to believe, adding sugar to your grass seed might significantly improve your chances of successfully getting that grass seed to grow into healthy grass. There are two major ways in which the sugar will help the grass seed to grow and take root. To begin with, there's the fact that sugar is hygroscopic. There's also the fact that sugar will help to enrich the surrounding soil due to an influx of helpful microorganisms.
Why is the Hygroscopic Nature of Sugar Important?
The term "hygroscopic" means, as an adjective, that something easily absorbs and retains water. Sugar is extremely hygroscopic. This means that sugar will absorb a great deal of water and hold onto that water for a good amount of time. When sugar is combined with grass seed its hygroscopic tendencies allow the sugar-grass seed mixture to absorb and retain water longer after watering. This means that the grass seed will remain moist, which gives it an optimal chance at successfully growing. This is the primary reason for adding sugar to grass seed.
- Although it might be hard to believe, adding sugar to your grass seed might significantly improve your chances of successfully getting that grass seed to grow into healthy grass.
- There's also the fact that sugar will help to enrich the surrounding soil due to an influx of helpful microorganisms.
How Else Does Sugar Help Grass Seed Grow?
Sugar also helps grass seed to grow by enriching the microbial life in the nearby soil. Sugar is a powerful, condensed source of energy. When introduced to the soil it will encourage helpful microbes such as bacteria to multiply within the soil. These microbes are essential for the grass seed to grow because they introduce nutrients and chemicals into the soil that help the grass seed to grow. The more of these microbes that are present, the better the soil quality will be. And, the better the soil quality is, the better the chance of growing will be for the newly planted grass seed.
Grass Seed Will I Need Per Square Foot?
One of the benefits of growing grass from seed is the choice available. Homeowners may choose grass seed based on the amount of sun and shade their yard receives, as well as the amount of traffic. To determine the amount of seed you'll need per square foot, consider the grass type. of seed per 1,000 square feet. of seed; fine fescue requires 3 to 5 lbs. Seeding at the correct rate or slightly lower encourages lateral spreading of the grass plants."
- Sugar also helps grass seed to grow by enriching the microbial life in the nearby soil.
- And, the better the soil quality is, the better the chance of growing will be for the newly planted grass seed.
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Writer Bio
A legal clerk and law school student at The Thomas M. Cooley School of Law who lives in southeastern Michigan and holds a bachelor's degree in English from Western Michigan University. Geoffrey has over a decade of experience working as a freelance writer and has completed hundreds of articles during that time.
