Grass seed labels are packed with information, but what does any of it mean to your yard? Get some label decoding tips from Allyn Hane, The Lawn Care Nut, to help you make an educated decision when it’s time to buy.
“Growing grass from seed, I know it seems like magic. But how do you know if the grass seed that you’re getting is even any good? Cue that Yard Hack music, will ya?
So every bag of grass seed should have a label or tag and just like with most things we put into our lawns the label is most often the key to your success and with grass seed, this definitely holds true.”
Typical Grass Seed Labels Will Give You Information About the Following Items:
Cultivars
I like to see proper names here. Look for the specific cultivar, like Princess Seventy-Seven or Midnight instead of just Bermuda or Kentucky Bluegrass.
Germination
The percentage of pure seed that germinates under ideal conditions. You want this number to be high, for sure. Anything below seventy percent, probably should avoid.
Crop
Crop is the seed of any other commercially-grown grass crop. Crop could include grasses such as orchardgrass or, often times, clover. I’d strive to find the seed with zero percent crop seed, but most professionals will accept up to one percent.
Weed Content
The percent by weight of weed seed. This is any seed that is not pure or crop seed. Again, here I’d highly recommend a zero percent weed seed analysis. You should be able to find that.
Inert
The percent by weight of stuff that’s in the bag other than seed. It could be soil, sand, or anything else picked up along the way. I like this one to definitely be under five percent.
Noxious Weeds
Noxious means that weed could be a harm to the environment or animals as declared by a state agency. This one has to be zero by law in most localities, so you should be fine here.
Date Tested
This is the date the seed was tested. Typically, I’d like this to be under twelve months, previous to your purchase.
Storage
“The last tip I’ll give you is in regards to storage. Whether it’s at the store you buy it from or at your home, you just don’t want your seed to be exposed to any extremes. For example, you wouldn’t wanna leave it outside on a rainy day, like today, or, on the flip side, you also wouldn’t wanna leave it out in a lot of heat and direct sunlight. When you’re looking at the store, if the bags themselves look tattered, or maybe they have water stains on them, maybe something to avoid.
And with that, I hope this tip has been helpful to you. I’m Allyn Hane, The Lawn Care Nut. Thanks for watching and I’ll see you in the lawn!”
