When looking at different seed catalogs, you’ll notice that some seeds come in a pelleted format. That means they are encased in an inert material such as clay that makes planting easier, reducing the amount of thinning you need to do later. This is especially true with small seeds like lettuce and carrots as pelleting them makes the seed more uniform in size and shape.
When using pelleted seeds, there are a few things to keep in mind. The first is when sowing, you want to keep the seeds moist until the coating is cracked. This will help to improve germination. The other important note is that many pelleted seeds are pre-primed which makes for better germination and vigor of the seeds. The only drawback is that the lifespan of the seeds are thus reduced and pelleted seeds should be planted the same year of purchase rather than store for future growing seasons.
Cover Image by Dwight Sipler, used under its Creative Commons license.
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